Carpet is often a popular choice for stairs – especially if you have children – as it’s safer and quieter. And the good news is, although it might seem like a bit of a daunting task at first, once you know how to carpet stairs, it’s only a little bit more complicated than carpeting a room.
But, first things first. You’ll need to measure your stairs and find a piece of carpet that will be suitable.
STEP 1
It’s best to kick things off with a bit of prep. So if you’ve bought a cut-to-fit piece of carpet you’ll need to ensure its turned over at the edges using tacking. Or for a more professional finish why not enquire at your local carpet shop whether they can do it for you with a tacking machine. It’s also a good idea to give your stairs a once over to check they’re in sound condition – this may involve replacing loose treads or risers with new timber. Click here to view our stair parts brochure.
STEP 2
Next-up you’ll need to start fitting tackless strips (wood strips with sharp protruding nails) to your stairs – these are usually positioned in the centre of the stair tread, and are 1.5 inches narrower than the carpeted area. You’ll need to fix them in place using a hammer and nail. A hammer can also be used to tap the tack’s nails so that they point towards the riser. Once complete, you’ll then need to do the same thing, but this time attaching a tackless strip to the bottom of the riser – so you’ve got a corner.
REPEAT THIS ON EVERY STEP OF YOUR STAIRCASE
STEP 3
Okay, so in the next step of how to carpet stairs, when you’ve got all your tackless strips hammered into place you’re then ready to lay padding to the edge of it. Start by cutting the padding so it’s the same width as the tackless strip and is long enough to wrap over the nosing at the front of the step. Once this is done you can staple it in place – stapling every 3inches along the tackless strips and on the underside of the nosing. You can check your pad is lying straight using a framing square.
REPEAT THIS ON EVERY STEP OF YOUR STAIRCASE
STEP 4
Right, so now we’re ready to start laying that carpet. And if you’re feeling a bit lethargic after all that prep, now might be a good time to go and grab a cup of tea before we start the serious stuff…
Okay, so lay your stairs, making sure the pile of your carpet is facing down the stairs, and starting at the bottom step, tack the carpet to the bottom of the first riser, pulling it over the first step. Use a bolster to press the carpet down onto the gripper strip, going over it a second time, this time tapping it with a hammer to fix the carpet firmly in position. You’ll also need to stretch and fit the carpet in place using a knee-kicker.
So there you have it, now you know how to carpet stairs!
We hope you found our guide on ‘how to carpet stairs’ useful. If you require technical support for installing stair parts please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
