Stair Carpet Runner Installation Tips

Money Saving Tips

• While you're already saving money since you're installing your stair runner yourself, you can save even more money. Call your local carpet outlets and home improvement stores; many will rent out the necessary, job-specific tools such as a knee kicker or tack hammer. Using carpet manufactured as a stair runner makes the job a little more straightforward, but if you have some colorful rugs laying around and you have some sewing skills, you can create an inexpensive, custom stair runner that works as well as prefab versions.

Stair Terms Tips

• Know your stair lingo, which makes understanding your installation instructions far simpler. The three most essential terms include: tread, which is the top, flat part of the stair; riser, which is the vertical section of each stair; and tread nose, which is the raised lip between the tread and the riser that is found on some stairs. The very top and bottom of your stairs are the landings.

Safety Tips

• Never install your stair runner in a way in which part of the runner is attached to the top landing, which creates a tripping hazard. The topmost part of your stair runner should reach just below the top tread nose; if your stairs don't have tread noses, the topmost part of your runner should end at or before your topmost stair riser. Cut your runner pad about 3 inches thinner than your runner's width so you can staple the runner directly to the stair beneath, not through the carpet pad and then to the stairs. At the end of your installation process, test your runner by pulling to detect any areas where you may need to add staples.