How To Seal A Stair Case
Everything you need to know about how to seal a staircase is on this page, from how to clean, apply and what mastic to use when sealing a staircase.
Why Should I Seal A Staircase?
Staircases are not the most important when it comes to sealing a house, the reason why you would seal a staircase and stair strings is to properly insulate the house so that heat does not escape. There is a small gap around the bottom of the staircase and the stair strings (the bit between the stairs and the wall.) Which if not properly insulated by foam or sealant can cause heat to escape and the house to be not correctly insulated.
​
Another reason to seal/reseal your staircase is to make it stand out. Old sealant can start to lose its fresh look and can collect mould over time. You can remove old sealant and apply fresh high quality mould resistant sealant to spruce up your house and give your staircase a brand new look.
What Do You Seal A Staircase With?
To seal a staircase with silicone sealant - you’ll need the following equipment:
-
Safety knife
-
Caulking gun
-
General Purpose high quality silicone sealant
-
Silicone applicator tool
-
Wonder wipes
Staircase Sealants
Listed across is a range of the Staircase sealants you can use to seal your staircases, We offer these general purpose sealants and decorators caulk in our store, they come in a variety of colours and sizes to meet your needs.
Staircase compatible silicone sealants
What Areas Of A Staircase Do You Seal?
When sealing a staircase you want to make sure you seal all of the correct areas so there is no heat escaping.
​
Staircase - When sealing the staircase you need to seal the whole perimeter of the staircase to the floor.
Stair Strings - When sealing stair strings you want to make sure you seal the whole length of the stair strings where they touch the wall, with either foam or clear silicone sealant.
How To Seal A Staircase
Step By Step
Once you’ve got your equipment and tools, it’s time to start sealing your staircase.
Preparing the Silicone
Firstly you are going to want to find the correct silicone sealant from a shop. There are many good brands out there to choose from, Dow Sil is a high quality brand you can use to find the correct mastic for your staircase.
use your Stanley knife to cut the silicone sealant tube open. Before attaching the head or nozzle of the silicone, cut the tip as close to a 45-degree angle as possible, this will make applying it much easier and neater. Then place the silicone into the caulking gun and pull the trigger slowly until you feel a bit of resistant so that the tube is securely in the gun and will not fall out.
​
Clean the surface
You need to make sure that before applying the silicone that the surface has no dust, residue, water or old silicone if reapplying. You can wipe the surface down where silicone will be applied but you need to make sure it is then dried afterwards because silicone will not bond to a wet surface.
​
Apply the sealant
Get as close as possible to the edge of the area you want to seal, and then apply the silicone by pressing the caulking gun trigger. In a smooth movement, begin from one end and work you way to the other end. Do not touch the sealant once you have have applied until you have sealed the whole area. When finished Applying click the leaver on the back of the sealant gun to loosen the tube and stop sealant from oozing out the nozzle. Cover the end of the nozzle so no excess sealant spills on the floor.
​
Smoothing the sealant
Now spray the sealant you have applied with water (Water helps remover the excess sealant and stops it from sticking), then grab your sealant tool and attach the correct head onto it with the rounded radius you desire. Start from one end by putting the flat edge onto the floor and then gently pushing the tool up against the corner, then slowly glide along the sealant bead keeping one edge flat. As you pulling the tool along it will be taking up excess sealant so have a paper towel ready so when the sealant builds up you can bring the tool away from the area and wipe off the excess sealant and start back where you left off until the perimeter of sealant is complete. Your staircase should now be sealed properly. you may want to have a look over and run the tool over any bits and are a bit wider or need slight touching up. If there are gaps this is no problem you can re apply and start the process again in that small area.
Give the sealant 24 hours to cure do not run any water or disturb the sealant during this time.
Removing Old Staircase Sealant
To remove old sealant you will need a Stanley Knife a small scraping tool, sealant remover and some sort of cloth.
Start by running the Stanley blade down the centre of the sealant, next scrape away as much sealant as you possibly can using the scraper (be carful not to damage the staircase and surrounding area whilst doing this). Apply the sealant remover to the left over bits of sealant and leave it for 15 minutes.
Now you can rub over the sealant with a cloth and it should peel away quite easily.
The sealant removing process is a lot more time consuming than applying sealant. Once you have finished removing all sealant you can now clean down the area and re apply.