damp internal stairs

[angrybird]

This is a photo of the stairs inside my house.I think they were originally outside steps as they seem very "rustic" ,the first 3 treads are damp,they seem to be a mixture of stone topped in cement I have removed all of the conker brown paint and stripped it back to basics, as the stairs are completely below ground level It would be near impossible for me to dig them out. I dont want to remove these stairs as they are part of the houses history, is there anything I could paint these stairs with ? or any other ideas please

 

[JoceAndChris]

We have a similar issue, though I must say that if my steps were in as good condition as yours I'd be very happy! How long have you lived in the property? If you've only moved in within the last year there's a good chance you can have nice dry steps with increasing your heating and ventilation or setting up a gentle dehumidifier somewhere. Our stone steps were dampish and full of insects when we moved in (mainly millipedes and silverfish) - now they're dry and I hardly ever see these creatures.

I think they have a rustic charm (and I doubt there were made for outside use - as far as I'm aware staircases out of sight, behind doors and down to basements, never were formal or particularly elegant) however here are some ideas I've mulled over for my own problem (and done nothing).

1) paint them a jolly colour using a hard wearing floor paint - your cheapest option, but not breathable. Farrow and Ball do a good range of colours.
2) clean them up as best you can and have a stair runner, either natural or pile
http://www.stairrunnersdirect.com/stair-runners/Sisal~Coir
http://www.belpercarpetandflooring.co.uk/brintons-runners-pid65.html
3) have a wooden treads and risers fitted over - quite noisy I'd imagine, and expensive.
4) have beautiful new stone treads and risers fitted over - I got a quote for mine a few years back, I think I remember it was around 4k!!!

The conservation approach is do nothing, however the lovely Conservation Officer on here would like me to do something about mine as they're dangerous. - so you have to weigh up all the considerations.

Forgive me for speaking bluntly but I don't think the steps are the issue in that photo. From an interior design perspective, there are a lot of cold, harsh colours going on. What's the age of the house? I just wonder if taking the wall colour to a warmer ochre, and painting all your bannisters one warm colour, instead of some in white and some in turquoise, and then having something soft at the bottom of the steps- a nice patterned rug - would actually make you more able to like the steps as they are. Just a thought.

 

[angrybird]

We have a similar issue, though I must say that if my steps were in as good condition as yours I'd be very happy! How long have you lived in the property? If you've only moved in within the last year there's a good chance you can have nice dry steps with increasing your heating and ventilation or setting up a gentle dehumidifier somewhere. Our stone steps were dampish and full of insects when we moved in (mainly millipedes and silverfish) - now they're dry and I hardly ever see these creatures.

I think they have a rustic charm (and I doubt there were made for outside use - as far as I'm aware staircases out of sight, behind doors and down to basements, never were formal or particularly elegant) however here are some ideas I've mulled over for my own problem (and done nothing).

1) paint them a jolly colour using a hard wearing floor paint - your cheapest option, but not breathable. Farrow and Ball do a good range of colours.
2) clean them up as best you can and have a stair runner, either natural or pile
http://www.stairrunnersdirect.com/stair-runners/Sisal~Coir
http://www.belpercarpetandflooring.co.uk/brintons-runners-pid65.html
3) have a wooden treads and risers fitted over - quite noisy I'd imagine, and expensive.
4) have beautiful new stone treads and risers fitted over - I got a quote for mine a few years back, I think I remember it was around 4k!!!

The conservation approach is do nothing, however the lovely Conservation Officer on here would like me to do something about mine as they're dangerous. - so you have to weigh up all the considerations.

Forgive me for speaking bluntly but I don't think the steps are the issue in that photo. From an interior design perspective, there are a lot of cold, harsh colours going on. What's the age of the house? I just wonder if taking the wall colour to a warmer ochre, and painting all your bannisters one warm colour, instead of some in white and some in turquoise, and then having something soft at the bottom of the steps- a nice patterned rug - would actually make you more able to like the steps as they are. Just a thought.

Hello joceAndchris
thank you for your reply, I haven't moved into the house yet, I purchased it 10 weeks ago as my first renovation project and it was in a very sad unloved state.
There is no heating in the house so I agree that when I get the heating plumbed in this should dry the stairs out,I totally agree about the colour scheme that white is so stark and the "conker brown" (now stripped off) is vile.They seem to have blocked a door in at the top of the stairs so I was thinking a nice stained glass window might let some light in and add a splash of colour.
the house was built in 1840

 

[JoceAndChris]

Well, it sounds to me like you've got just the right kind of ideas to really bring them to life again. Stained glass - how superb that would be, and very appropriate for the era.

Yes, I wouldn't worry about the damp at all. A lot of damp just dries out with more careful ownership and really keeping an eye on what's going on with your roofing, drains, heating, ventilation, etc. As the property's had no heating I'd really expect a lot of damp.

As it's your first renovation project please do post on here a lot and get a good range of ideas, opinions, and inspiration. All the very best with it - and my best advice is not to rush into any decisions at all, but just to see how you grow into the house - the stairs, for example, could end up at the bottom of the priority list.

I had one more idea but I don't think it applies in your case- hard to judge from the photo. If the edges are broken off the steps you can get very pretty nosings made up in brass - I haven't managed to find a piccy but have discussed this in the past with a brass worker - I believe they used to be used more commonly in the days when stone steps were a more standard thing.