Staircase Refinishing — University City
Staircase refinishing in University City.
University City has significant staircases — Colonial Revivals with formal turned-spindle stairs, Tudor homes with more Gothic-influenced details, Prairie-style designs with horizontal emphasis. Quarter-sawn oak appears more frequently here than in many St. Louis neighborhoods. The wood is exceptional. The finish has usually not been addressed since the mid-20th century.
University City's staircases — a study in pre-war craftsmanship
University City's housing stock developed from roughly 1910 through the 1940s, and the architectural variety is reflected in its staircases. Colonial Revival homes in the older sections have formal center-hall stairs — turned spindles, carved newel posts, wide treads designed to make an impression. Tudor Revival homes have heavier woodwork with more vertical emphasis, sometimes with Gothic-influenced newel post details. Prairie-influenced designs incorporate horizontal rails and simpler turning profiles consistent with that movement's aesthetic.
What these staircases share is material: quartersawn oak appears more frequently in U City than in the primarily fir neighborhoods of the near south side. Quartersawn oak has a distinctive medullary ray pattern — a silver-fleck figure that runs across the face of the board — that is simply not available in modern lumber. When that wood has been obscured by decades of worn varnish or overpaint, stripping it back reveals something genuinely beautiful.
The finish on most University City staircases has not been professionally addressed since the mid-20th century. What we typically find is a varnish that has yellowed and worn through on the treads, with spindles that may have been painted at some point. The structural condition of the wood is almost always excellent. The issue is the finish — and that is fixable.
We hand-strip every staircase. Dip tanks destroy the glue joints at spindle bases and raise the grain on fir and oak alike. Every spindle, every tread, every inch of railing is done by hand — the same approach Sue has used for 36 years.
Staircase work we do most in University City
Colonial Revival formal staircases
The formal Colonial staircases in U City are among the most architecturally significant woodwork in the St. Louis area. Turned spindles, substantial newel posts, broad treads with original nosing profiles. These are typically quartersawn oak or old-growth fir, and they reward a thorough refinishing with a result that reads as a genuine architectural feature rather than a background element.
Tudor and Gothic-detail newel posts and spindles
Tudor Revival staircases often have more elaborate newel post details — carved elements, heavier proportions — alongside spindle profiles with a more vertical, Gothic-influenced character. Hand-stripping these elements requires careful work around the carved detail. We strip to bare wood without damaging the profile, then apply finish that shows the quartersawn figure rather than obscuring it.
Tread-only and selective refinishing
When a staircase is structurally sound but the treads are the primary concern — worn through the finish, showing raw wood in the foot-traffic path — we can address treads specifically. We will be honest about whether a tread-only refinish will read well alongside existing spindle and railing finish, or whether a full treatment will produce a better result.
Painted-spindle restoration
It is common in U City homes to find staircases where the treads are stained wood but the spindles have been painted — usually a mid-century update. Restoring the spindles to a stained finish to match the rest of the staircase involves careful hand-stripping of each spindle individually. The result unifies the staircase visually and recovers the wood that was always there.
Lead paint in University City staircases — handled correctly
University City's pre-war homes were built and painted before lead was removed from residential paint in 1978. Any painted surface in a home built before 1978 should be treated as lead-positive until tested. Staircase spindles and railings — especially those that have been repainted multiple times — are particularly likely to contain lead in the lower paint layers.
Sue Wheeler is an EPA Certified Lead Removal contractor. Her process for staircase work in pre-1978 homes includes containment of the work area, HEPA filtration, wet methods to suppress dust during stripping, and full documented cleanup. She has been certified and operating under EPA RRP requirements since the regulations came into effect.
"We have a 1928 Colonial on Delmar and the staircase hadn't been touched in forty years. Sue stripped the quartersawn oak spindles and treads and the result is remarkable — you can finally see the ray pattern in the wood. Worth every bit of the work."
— Homeowner, Delmar Blvd., University City
Common questions
Do you refinish staircases in University City?
Yes. University City staircases — Colonial, Tudor, Prairie — are some of the most rewarding work we do. The quarter-sawn oak and old-growth fir in these homes responds beautifully to hand-strip refinishing. Call (314) 367-6054 for a free in-person estimate.
My University City Colonial home has a formal staircase — how long does a project like that take?
A formal Colonial staircase typically takes three to five days depending on scope — number of spindles, newel post complexity, whether the risers need addressing. We structure the project to maintain safe passage through the home during the work. Sue will walk through the specific timeline at the estimate.
My staircase has a mix of spindle styles from different eras — can you make them match?
We can unify the color and sheen across different spindle profiles so the visual difference is minimal. Different species or turning styles will always read slightly differently — that is the nature of wood — but consistent finish application goes a long way. If the goal is absolute uniformity, we will have an honest conversation about whether selective replacement makes more sense than finish work alone.
Let's talk about your University City staircase.
Free estimate. No obligation. Sue answers every call personally — (314) 367-6054.