Staircase design has endless possibilities. And this includes your treads. There is carpeting, rubber matting, vinyl, fiberglass, and even metal on metal.
Carpet is a popular choice for most stairs, as it is child safe and makes it softer when walking up and down the stairs. And if you decide on carpeting for your stair treads, then you may be wondering what the next steps are.
Steps To Carpeting Your Staircase
A good thing to do here is to set aside a weekend where you can accomplish this task, as this is something you want to make sure you are giving your full attention and don’t want to have to repeat. If something doesn’t work out, that could cost you more money for materials.
Preparation
Once you know what type of carpet you’re installing, you’ll be able to prepare. The thickness of the carpet will be depending a deciding factor on how you will attach it to the treads. In this scenario, we will assume that the carpet is black, thinner, and just covering up around three quarters of the tread across. So, we should be using an industrial electric stapler as our weapon of choice, in order to get the carpet down and staying in place.
Measuring
It is crucial that you make sure everything is aligned. Measure out the stair tread and, with some tape, figure out where the sides of the carpet will be. Keep it aligned on each tread.
Padding and Carpet Placement
Place padding down across each stair and then cover it with the carpet. Make sure that the padding doesn’t protrude out of the sides of the carpet.
Stapling
Using silver staples is not going to help with keeping the staples invisible. So, a trick here would be to take a black sharpie and color the tops of the staples in order to make them invisible. Then, staple the carpet about every two inches across, one row on the top and one row of staples on the bottom of the tread. For example, if you have a 12 inch wide piece of carpet, that’s six staples across the top and bottom of the tread where the carpet and padding lies.
Last Step
Literally the last step (no pun intended) is to make sure that the pieces of carpet are securely attached to each tread. Give it the walk through, coming down the stairs at your normal pace and perhaps at a higher rate of speed in order to confirm you have attached the carpet properly. Also, make sure that the padding stays hidden underneath and that nothing has popped out that will make the treads not aesthetically pleasing.
If a high quality staircase is what you need, contact the stair professionals at Acadia Stairs today!
