Have you thought about using a solid color stain instead of paint?

I did everything from drywall repair, to tile, to kitchen cabinets to sanding staining floors.

Painted or stained tongue and groove?

I'm pretty sure solid stain was what was on there before.

@Summer DeanI've seen lots of smoke stained ceilings, but this would be a little unusual.  

So I'm doing major rehab of a 5 unit in San Diego and scratching my head on one particular "feature" of the buildings.The ceilings are really nice vaulted open beam ceilings with stained ship lap tongue and groove finish between the bay's - it's visually the nicest part of the units.Turns out the roof is - literally - 1x6 tongue and groove, then 1/2" sheathing, then roofing paper, then shingles.

I can smell the money through the pictures ;-)Since I am late to the open house, I do have a few rewind questions:1) What wood and stain did you use on the stairwell railing - in particular the newel post in your first set of photos?

We do hold a small damage deposit just in case a pet does end up staining a rug or damaging a bedspread. 

I spent 30 hours touching up small gouges in the walls, washing the tile floors, repairing leaky faucet, cleaning residue left on walls, light switches, and cupboards, removing trash left behind, cleaning vents, fan blades, replacing light bulbs, repairing blinds, cleaning stains from carpet, fixing broken drawer, washing garage floor, & cleaning windows.  

Should we try with another type of stain?