How to Install Carpet on a Staircase

Carpeting on stairs faces much more strain than that in rooms and often deteriorates much faster. However, replacing a worn stair runner or carpeting a bare staircase is straightforward when you know the right approach. This guide will provide all the information and steps needed to get the job done.

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Getting Ready to Carpet a Staircase

To prepare your stairs for carpeting, start by removing any old carpet. Use pliers to carefully pull up any carpet tacks, ensuring you don't damage the wood. Afterward, give the stairway a thorough vacuuming.

Measure each stair carefully for the new carpet. For straight stairs, wrap a measuring tape or rule around a full stair, starting at the inner edge of the tread, moving over the outside of the tread, and down the riser below it, then up to the top of the next tread. Add 1 inch to this measurement and multiply it by the number of steps, excluding the top landing riser. Measure any landings and include these measurements with the tread length; also, add 1 inch for the ends to be turned in. Finally, divide the total length by 36 to find how many yards of carpet runner you'll need. You'll need a similar length of padding, though the actual amount will be slightly less, as the padding does not fully cover the stair risers.

To measure for carpeting on a curved staircase, first measure the straight stairs and landings as described above. Then, measure each angled or turning step at its widest point where the carpet will cover, adding 1 inch. Measure each wedge-shaped step separately. To calculate the total yards of carpet runner and padding required, add all stair measurements together, add 1 inch for the top and bottom edges, and divide the total by 36.

Carpet runners are available in standard widths of 27 inches and 36 inches; choose the one that best suits your stairs. Avoid using leftover carpet from room installations—cut-to-fit pieces must be turned under at the edges, which can be challenging. It's a good idea to buy about 6 extra inches just to be on the safe side.

Select high-quality, thick rubber or felt padding for the stairs; skimping here won't save you in the long run. Ask your carpet dealer to calculate the amount of padding you'll need and the number of tackless strips required. These strips should cover approximately twice the width of your staircase for each step.

Next, rent a knee kicker from the carpet dealer. This tool is essential for stretching the carpet tightly over the fastening strips at each riser-tread junction, ensuring a more secure runner than using manual stretching methods.

Start the installation by nailing the fastening strips at each riser-tread corner; don't forget to wear your work gloves for safety.

Measure the width of your stairway and subtract the area that will be covered by the carpet runner. Divide the remaining space by 2. This gives you the number of inches on each side of the stairs that won’t be covered. From each side of the stairway, measure this distance from the base of the riser and the inside of each tread, marking these points with chalk or pencil. Repeat the same measurement from the opposite side. Check each stair across to ensure accuracy; these marks will determine the center of your carpet runner.

Cut the strips to match the width of the runner using a small handsaw. For each step, position a strip centrally on the riser, with the teeth pointing downward, about 3/4 inch above the tread below. Use a 3/4-inch-thick piece of scrap wood to hold the strip in place while you secure it with nails. Then, center another strip on the tread, with the teeth facing inward toward the riser, placed 5/8 inch away from it. This will form an open V-shaped arrangement of strips at the back of each stair, whether straight or wedge-shaped, with one strip near the floor at the bottom riser and one at the top tread. Avoid nailing a strip to the top riser.

After securing the fastening strips, measure and mark the carpet padding. Cut the padding to the width of the carpet runner, subtracting about 1/4 inch so it sits slightly recessed under the carpet edges on each side. Using heavy scissors, cut padding to fit each stair tread, ensuring it's long enough to wrap from the tread’s fastening strip around the tread and extend 2 to 3 inches onto the riser below. For wedge-shaped steps, create a paper template to cut the padding, ensuring it covers the tread, rounds the edge, and extends over the riser beneath.

To install the padding, position a trimmed piece of padding with the waffle side facing up, centered on each tread, and align its end against the fastening strip at the back. Use a staple gun to secure the padding by placing staples diagonally every 2 inches along the fastening strip. Stretch the padding over the tread and down the riser below, keeping it evenly stretched, and staple it in place. Use the paper pattern to cut and install padding on wedge-shaped stairs in the same manner.

Lastly, unroll the carpet runner and drape it over the stairway, with the nap or pile facing outward and down from top to bottom. For winding stairs, treat the straight flights as interrupted by wedge-shaped steps, laying the carpet over the bottom straight flight and up to the first wedge step. Pull the carpet into position from the bottom upwards, ensuring the nap or pile faces the right direction (down) and the carpet is aligned with the fastening strips and the chalked centering marks on the stairs. Even a small misalignment at the bottom can become noticeable by the top, so adjust the runner carefully.

Once the fastening strips and padding are secured, refer to the next page to learn how to attach the carpeting to the stairway.

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Installing the Stairway Carpet

With the fastening strips and padding already in place, you're now set to secure the carpet onto the stairs. Begin fastening the carpet at the bottom of the first riser. Position the end of the runner over the bottom fastening strip, ensuring that around 3/8 inch of carpet is turned up against the floor. Trim any uneven edges from the runner's end using a sharp utility knife.

Insert the point of an awl into one side of the carpet and use it to push the carpet’s end onto the fastening strip, leaving about 3/8 inch of carpet loose below the fastened edge. Smooth the carpet down into place along the strip, working across the entire end with the awl until it's securely fastened.

Complete the bottom of the runner by wedging the loose carpet end into the 3/4-inch gap between the fastening strip and the floor. Use a tack hammer to secure the carpet end firmly into place along the floor at the bottom of the riser.

Stretch the carpet over the stair using a knee kicker. Pull the carpet runner into position, ensuring it’s straight. Position the kicker's head flat in the center of the tread, about an inch from the riser corner, and directed straight at the riser. Kneel on the floor and hold the kicker with one hand, while holding a stair wedging tool or a broad-bladed chisel in the other. Lean all your weight onto one knee, then sharply bring the other knee forward to strike the cushioned end of the kicker. This will stretch the carpet under the kicker and hook it onto the teeth of the fastening strip on the tread. At the same time, use the wedging tool or chisel to push the carpet into place in the corner behind the tread fastening strip. Work your way from the center of the tread to the sides, angling the kicker towards the side you're fastening.

Once the carpet is stretched and folded into the corner along the step, wedge it securely into place along the riser-tread joint, using a hammer to drive the wedging tool or chisel into the joint. Repeat this process for each subsequent stair, always starting from the last firmly secured riser-tread joint.

To install the runner on winding stairs, begin at the last straight stair and wedge the carpet into the riser-tread joint. Stretch the carpet up over the tread of the first wedge-shaped stair, angling it to reach the next step while keeping it taut along the wide outside edge of the stair. Let the carpet slightly bulge over the riser where it was just wedged in.

Keep the carpet firmly in place at the correct angle, then fold the bulging carpet down over the riser. Pull the carpet up at the inside edge of the stair to form a wedge-shaped tuck of carpet behind the runner. The runner should appear to flow evenly up the stairs, with no part of the tucked carpet visible from the front.

Carefully fasten the tuck in place. Fold the runner back from the tucked carpet, bringing the loose part down but holding the tuck firmly. At the bottom of the tuck, as close as possible to the riser-tread corner, nail a second flat fastening strip across the folded carpet, with the teeth pointing down. Then, pull the runner back up over the fastened tuck, stretch it into place with the knee kicker onto the next tread fastening strip, wedge the riser-tread joint, and proceed to the next stair. Repeat this process for each wedge-shaped stair.

At the top of the stairs, finish the end of the runner at the back of the last tread, but don't extend the carpet onto the final riser. Before stretching the runner over the last riser, trim any excess carpet evenly from the end, leaving about 3/8 inch of carpet against the riser. Stretch the carpet into place with the knee kicker and wedge the cut end into the gap between the tread fastening strip and the last riser.

Congratulations! Your stairs now have a fresh new look.

For additional guidance on carpet installation, explore the following resources: