So this nice lady noticed that I have some skills she is inisisting
that I paint her enclosed stairway. I can't say no to this woman
since she has been so nice to me.

Her house is almost brand new and she has done most of the painting
already herself . She just doesn't have the tools or confidence to do
the stairway. You wil see that she made an attempt to paint it and
gave up. I am fully equipped for painting but seriously I have never
painted for anyone but myself.

The stairs are 12 feet long from bottom to top and rise 8 feet. One
side has a cutaway for a oak railing. The other side is a plain wall
with a plain railing and a light fixtuure. The height of the ceiling
at the top of the stairs a standard eight feet.

The ceiling returns to the downstairs in four planes. She doesn't
care about drips on the steps since they are cheap particle board
which she plans to sand and then apply some kind of artistic
treatment. There is no trim at the bottom to worry about just plain
unfinished steps. There is a tiny amount of trim at the top where the
upstairs room trim enters the hallway. It requires no paint.

It's doable but not such an easy job. It looks like I will have to
have a special ladder to serve as a scaffold so that I can reach all
of those ceiling planes to cut them all in. I don't have a ladder
like that but any excuse to buy a new tool is good enough for me. I
will add it to my vast selection of ladders.

How much would someone in your area charge for a job like that or how
much would you charge? Any other advise or opinions from someone who
has painted such a stairway?

I have the pics cause I know we all like pics. I could not
successfully take a pic of the ceiling itself since it is just plain
white but it is a continuous return in four seperate planes. Links:

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P2150004.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P2150005.jpg