For stripping, a lot depends on the paint you are trying to remove...how old is the house? how many layers? any chance it is lead paint? Are you planning to paint or stain the treads once they are stripped? If you've only got a couple layers and/or if it's not lead paint, a heat gun may work well. Otherwise, you'll want a stripper. We stripped the stairs in our last house - a 200 year old farmhouse with about 15 layers of flaking nasty paint. I started with conventional methylene chloride (I think) based stripper. Each application would get one layer off and it was taking forever - I worked on 2 stair treads for about 3 solid days and they still weren't done. I tried a heat gun but it wasn't all that effective either, plus it's not really safe on lead paint. Plus the bottom layer or two were milk paint, which is near-impossible to strip with either a heat gun or regular stripper. I ended up using Peel Away, which is a lye based product - you paint it on like paste and cover it with special wax paper. Then you leave it sit for 24-48 hours. When you remove the paper and scrape off the peel away, the paint comes with it. You then wash the new wood and spray it with vinegar to neutralize the lye (otherwise your wood will continue to get eaten away). Peel away was great because 1) it eliminated a lot of elbow grease - the stripper did the work for us, 2) it was nasty, but not nearly as nasty as the meth chloride stripper, 3) it is considered one of the best strippers for lead paint because something in the lye bonds with the lead and prevents it from being absorbed by the body. Plus the lead paint stays wet and gooey, and never has a chance to get scattered as dust like it would be if you were scraping/sanding. Alas, it's not all peachy though. Peel Away (at least the formulation we used - they have a few different ones) can discolor/darken the wood, so it's best to use on wood you are planning to repaint, not stain. We stained the treads and painted the risers and handrail and you could definitely see the discoloration where we stained (we prefered to think of it as "patina" though!). It also didn't get all the paint out of the little cracks. In places it made the wood very soft so we had to be very careful when removing it - we gouged the wood in several places. Oh, and one thing I noticed was that you REALLY have to soak the thing in vinegar (which raises the grain) - if you don't neutralize it enough, you will wake up one day 3 months later to find your new paint job sliding down off the wall because the peel away has eaten it away from the backside. (Ask me how I know this....) Even with the Peel Away, it took us several months of weekends to get all the trim stripped in our house - it's a dirty messy job, but worth it in the end. HTH! Good luck!

I would say millworkman has it covered. The different species on the treads and the "working the edges" or a room are two very possible reasons why you have these concerns. Edge work is very tough. Edge work without removing baseboards is INTENSELY hard. Edge work with Rubio is tougher still. Edge work without removing baseboards with Rubio is darn near impossible (to get a perfect outcome). Did your contract include removing baseboards? If it did, it would have had a clause that states it and you would have paid another $$$ for the service. A high-end professional will include it in his/her high-end price tag. The rest will do this piece meal or a la carte. The sanding technique with Rubio is THE PREP for this material. It takes someone with a "gift" with the sander to get Rubio to work properly. Your professional has been up front about his dislike for the finish, yet s/he has managed a "decent" finish (not perfect, not horrendous). I would say this person doesn't like Rubio because s/he doesn't like the sanding requirements (they may not have the touch with the sander to get a happy finish). I'm going to guess the sanding on the edges fell short. Without that HIGH END sanding, Rubio is going to make you pay for it.

Agreed. The lower stringers look as if they are completely dependent on a single piece of OSB used improperly. The upper stringers are supported by a single nail on the bottom and a notch towards the top. The notch is on the upper side of the stringer, which is also "V" cut for each thread/riser, in other words the non structural side of the stringer. Both the upper and lower stringers need better support. Stair isn't built to code. Even in areas when permits and licenses aren't required, code prevails. This would be a heavily used stair. Pay attention. I prefer carpet when coming into the house from a garage... cheap shoe cleaning short loop carpet. But if you prefer the look of scratched Oak...

Overall, the stairs look nice, although some of the detail work could be better. So I wouldn't go with #3 or #4. I think you can cautiously fix what you have. I don't have any more to add, though.