Can our dark stained staircase be painted white?

Yes, and in a townhome it changes the whole house more than any other single job, because the stair runs through the middle of every floor. It is demanding work — balusters have to be prepared and finished individually, and the handrail needs a finish that cures genuinely hard because it is the most-handled surface in the house.

Our painted trim is peeling and going yellow. What went wrong?

It was painted over stained woodwork without the two steps that matter. The old lacquer or polyurethane needed scuffing so paint could key to it, and the wood needed a stain-blocking primer because its tannin bleeds through ordinary primer and yellows white finishes. It is repairable, but it means removing the failed paint from profiled surfaces first, which is slower than doing it correctly at the start.

Can we still use the stairs while you work on them?

Yes. You cannot close a townhome staircase for days, so we work it in sections and there is always a safe way up and down. It does mean the job takes longer than treating the whole stair at once, and the schedule reflects that honestly.

Can our hollow-core doors be refinished, or should they be replaced?

They can usually be refinished well, with one caution — the face is a very thin veneer over a hollow core, so sanding hard goes straight through it and ruins the door. They need a light scuff and a bonding primer instead. Done that way they come up well; done aggressively they are beyond saving.

Interior Refinishing in Prince Frederick, MD

The staircase is the whole house

In a townhome the stair is not a feature at the side of a room; it is the spine you walk through several times a day and see from every floor. Handrail, newel posts, balusters, stringers and treads all in a dark stained finish will define the house regardless of what color the walls are.

Refinishing it is genuinely demanding work. Balusters are narrow, numerous and awkward — there is no fast way to prepare and finish thirty of them, and they have to be done individually. The handrail is the most-touched surface in the house and needs a finish hard enough to survive that, which means the right product and proper cure time rather than something rushed back into use.

It is also the piece where cutting corners is most obvious, because you are inches from it every day with your hand on it. This is work worth doing properly or leaving alone.

Balusters take the time
There is no shortcut on narrow spindles. They are prepared and finished individually, and honest scheduling reflects that rather than pretending otherwise.
Handrails need a hard finish
The most-handled surface in the house wants a product that cures genuinely hard, and it needs to be left long enough to get there before it is back in daily use.
Treads are a different job again
A walking surface takes abrasion nothing else in the house does, and it wants a finish suited to floors rather than trim.
Stairs stay in use
You cannot close a townhome staircase for three days. We work it in sections so there is always a safe way up and down.

Stained to painted, and the trap in it

The most-requested change is stained wood to painted white, and it transforms a house of this era. It is also the job most often done badly, and Prince Frederick has plenty of houses where somebody tried.

The failure is always the same and always predictable. Stained millwork carries a lacquer or polyurethane coat that paint will not adhere to unless it is properly scuffed, and beneath that the wood carries tannin that bleeds through ordinary primer and yellows the finish weeks later. Skip either step and you get white trim going faintly tan, with paint peeling off the arrises and edges where hands touch it.

The fix once it has failed is worse than doing it right initially, because you are then removing failed paint from a profiled surface before starting over. If your trim was painted over stain and is now peeling, that is what happened, and it is repairable — just not quickly.

Doors, and why they are worth doing properly

Doors are the other piece that changes a house. Six-panel doors in a dated stain, or hollow-core doors with tired paint, are on every wall of every room and register constantly even when nobody is looking at them directly.

The thing to know about hollow-core doors is that their face is a very thin veneer over a hollow core, so aggressive sanding goes straight through it. They need a light scuff and a bonding primer rather than being taken back hard — a distinction that separates a door that looks good from one that is ruined.

Doors also want to come off and be done flat where practical, and they want proper cure time before being closed against their frames. A door shut too early sticks to its stop and takes the finish with it when it opens. Dale will look at the millwork you have and tell you what it needs. Free written estimates — call (443) 684-4101.

Prince Frederick questions we get asked

Can our dark stained staircase be painted white?: Yes, and in a townhome it changes the whole house more than any other single job, because the stair runs through the middle of every floor. It is demanding work — balusters have to be prepared and finished individually, and the handrail needs a finish that cures genuinely hard because it is the most-handled surface in the house.
Our painted trim is peeling and going yellow. What went wrong?: It was painted over stained woodwork without the two steps that matter. The old lacquer or polyurethane needed scuffing so paint could key to it, and the wood needed a stain-blocking primer because its tannin bleeds through ordinary primer and yellows white finishes. It is repairable, but it means removing the failed paint from profiled surfaces first, which is slower than doing it correctly at the start.
Can we still use the stairs while you work on them?: Yes. You cannot close a townhome staircase for days, so we work it in sections and there is always a safe way up and down. It does mean the job takes longer than treating the whole stair at once, and the schedule reflects that honestly.
Can our hollow-core doors be refinished, or should they be replaced?: They can usually be refinished well, with one caution — the face is a very thin veneer over a hollow core, so sanding hard goes straight through it and ruins the door. They need a light scuff and a bonding primer instead. Done that way they come up well; done aggressively they are beyond saving.

Full detail

More on Interior Refinishing

This page covers interior refinishing in Prince Frederick. For how the work actually runs — the order we do things in, what is included, and what it costs to put right — read the full interior refinishing page.

Interior Refinishing