Cost of painting a staircase: what you pay and what to watch

We are honest about this: the market guide we use has no fixed price per staircase. That makes sense, because no two staircases are the same. So you look at the items a staircase is made of.

This is just a sum on the from-prices, to show how the items come together. The number of hours is a working figure and not an estimate for your staircase. Twelve hours of interior work comes to from €360. If you also have the stairwell walls done, say 18 m2, that is from €270 on top, together from €630.

On a staircase with many balusters the hours can come out well above that, and on a closed staircase with no banister they can come out lower. Only once we have seen the staircase can we really say.

A staircase is one of the hardest-worn parts of your house. You walk on it every day, often on the same spot, and you see that in the lacquer. So the adhesion has to be good and you need to choose a paint that stands up to wear.

There is also a practical side: you want to keep using the staircase. Lacquer needs drying time between coats, so you cannot do everything at once. A common solution is to work on every other tread, so there is always a tread free to step on. At the site visit we discuss what suits your household.

The surface makes the biggest difference here. If there was carpet on the staircase, there is often still glue residue or staples in the treads, and those have to come out first. If the staircase has been lacquered before, the adhesion of the old coat decides whether sanding is enough or whether more has to come off.

With an older house we also look at the old paint layers. White lead has been banned indoors since 1939, but you can still come across it on old woodwork. If in doubt, we do not sand dry. You can read more at old paint and lead.

• a photo of the whole staircase, from below and from above;
• a close-up of the treads and the handrail;
• the number of treads, and whether there is a half landing or a quarter turn;
• whether the staircase is open or closed, and how many balusters there are;
• whether the stairwell and the upstairs landing are included.

There is bound to be more in your home that is due. If you combine the staircase with the hallway, it is often more practical to do it in one go. More about the approach itself is at having a staircase painted.

• Balusters and handrail. That is pure handwork and often the biggest share of the hours.
• Preparation. Glue residue, dents and open joints have to go or be filled first.
• Gloss and colour. High gloss shows imperfections sooner. Read more at high gloss or satin.
• Type of paint. That makes a difference to drying time between coats. See water-based or solvent-based paint.
• Two-tone. White risers with dark treads means more masking and more crisp lines.
• Use. If the staircase has to stay available, the work is spread over more days.

A staircase is a job of neat preparation. We degrease, sand at 150, 180 and 240 grit with Festool, prime where needed and lacquer in coats. In their reviews, customers often mention neat masking and honest advice, and that applies here too. If we think a staircase is better left a while longer, we say so.

Because we also do small-scale carpentry, we can deal with a loose baluster or a broken tread there and then. You do not need a second tradesperson for it. On interior painting in Friesland you can see what else we do indoors.

Send a photo and tell us what you want, and we will arrange a site visit. After that you get a fixed quote, and we agree when we can start and how you reach the upper floor during the work. Unlike outdoor work, a staircase does not depend on painting weather, so you simply choose a moment that suits you.

The amounts mentioned are a national market guide and not our prices. Source of the guide: Werkspot, Trustoo, Homedeal and Slimster, as of October 2026.