How to Carpet a Stairway

Measure the distance from the wall to the end of your stairway. If you have a banister or baluster, decide whether you want the carpet to stop before it reaches that space, or whether you want the carpet to extend through to the other side of the stair. After you have decided, remove the banister or baluster if you have not already done so.

Draw a line across a carpet tackless, or tack, strip to mark the measured distance. Inspect the area to make sure there is a nail protruding from the strip no more than 2 inches from each end. If necessary, make the strip smaller to ensure proper nail placement.

Cut the strip at the appropriate place, using metal snips. Place the spare piece of strip on the tread of the bottommost stair, flush with the riser. Place the cut piece butted up against the extra strip, centered along the tread. Make sure the nails in the strip are facing the riser.

Nail the tack strip in place with a hammer and thin finishing nails, placing nails at each end and every 6 to 8 inches along the width of the strip. You can then remove the spare piece of strip.

Measure a piece of carpet pad to the same width as the tack strip you installed. The length of the pad should measure the depth of the tread, plus 3 inches. Cut the pad to these dimensions with a carpet cutter or sharp utility knife.

Lay the edge of the pad on the tread so it butts up against the tack strip. Staple the pad in place with 9/16-inch staples and a staple gun so it is attached to the tread, not the strip. Install a staple every 3 inches for proper security.

Pull on the other edge of the carpet pad to stretch it tightly across the front of the stair. Staple the other end of the pad to the underside of the front of the stair, using the same staples and spacing. Once both ends are stapled in place, trim away any excess beyond the staples on the underside of the stair.

Unroll your carpeting and push it up the steps so that it extends over three or four treads ahead of you. Line up the very bottom of the roll of carpet with the bottom of the very first riser. Staple it in place against the riser with the same spacing and staples as before.

Pull the carpet tightly up over the first tread. Pull it as tightly as you can to cover the tack strip you installed earlier. Line up a knee kicker --- a small carpet stretcher --- along the center of the carpet, 2 inches from the riser.

Hold down the knob of the knee kicker with one hand and hold the back end level with the other. Bang up against the kicker with your knee. This will force the carpet onto the tack strip, securing it in place on the nails of the strip.

Bang the carpet in place every 3 inches along the length of the stair. If you find gaps or bumps in the carpet, lift the carpet straight up off the tack strip and start over.

Line up a carpet tool with the gap between the tack strip and the riser. Bang on the back of the tool with a rubber mallet to pack the carpet tightly into the gap. Install a staple at each end of the tack strip, securing the carpet to the tread just where it meets the riser.

Pull the carpet up over the riser and onto the next tread. Staple the carpet 2 inches above the bottom of the riser. Repeat installing tack strips and carpeting all the way up the stairway. At the topmost stair, staple the carpet to the underside of the top stair to finish the installation.