Anyone ever do this your self?

I want to add a padded carpet to the center of my stairs.

The dude wrote:
Anyone ever do this your self?

I want to add a padded carpet to the center of my stairs.
In the old days, they used brass rods at the base of each riser to hold
it in place. Personally, I consider it an abuse of hardwood, but if your
heart is set on it, I'd hire it out. Carpet laying is not as easy as it
looks, and getting it tight and square, and getting the outside rolled
edges of the carpet 'stripe' to lay right, takes special tools and a lot
of experience.

And no, you don't want to reuse the carpet out of the bedrooms.

--
aem sends...

aemeijers wrote:
The dude wrote:
Anyone ever do this your self?

I want to add a padded carpet to the center of my stairs.
In the old days, they used brass rods at the base of each riser to hold
it in place. Personally, I consider it an abuse of hardwood, but if your
heart is set on it, I'd hire it out. Carpet laying is not as easy as it
looks, and getting it tight and square, and getting the outside rolled
edges of the carpet 'stripe' to lay right, takes special tools and a lot
of experience.

And no, you don't want to reuse the carpet out of the bedrooms.

--
aem sends...
HA I was not planning on reusing the carpet.
I am looking to just do the center of the stairs, not the entire stair.
I can hire it out, but I was told it was an easy DIY project

In article ,
The dude wrote:

aemeijers wrote:
The dude wrote:
Anyone ever do this your self?

I want to add a padded carpet to the center of my stairs.
In the old days, they used brass rods at the base of each riser to hold
it in place. Personally, I consider it an abuse of hardwood, but if your
heart is set on it, I'd hire it out. Carpet laying is not as easy as it
looks, and getting it tight and square, and getting the outside rolled
edges of the carpet 'stripe' to lay right, takes special tools and a lot
of experience.

And no, you don't want to reuse the carpet out of the bedrooms.

--
aem sends...
HA I was not planning on reusing the carpet.
I am looking to just do the center of the stairs, not the entire stair.
I can hire it out, but I was told it was an easy DIY project

My parents planned on doing only the center of the stairs, back in the
day. The carpet people talked them out of it. The logic went that unless
you love housecleaning, it's going to look awful most of the time. Much
more tedious to clean than full carpet or full hardwood.

The dude wrote:
aemeijers wrote:
The dude wrote:
Anyone ever do this your self?

I want to add a padded carpet to the center of my stairs.
In the old days, they used brass rods at the base of each riser to
hold it in place. Personally, I consider it an abuse of hardwood, but
if your heart is set on it, I'd hire it out. Carpet laying is not as
easy as it looks, and getting it tight and square, and getting the
outside rolled edges of the carpet 'stripe' to lay right, takes
special tools and a lot of experience.

And no, you don't want to reuse the carpet out of the bedrooms.

--
aem sends...
HA I was not planning on reusing the carpet.
I am looking to just do the center of the stairs, not the entire stair.
I can hire it out, but I was told it was an easy DIY project
I'd only think about doing it DIY if you can find someplace that stocks
or will fabricate an edged (and maybe pre-padded) stair runner for you.
Then it is just a matter of putting down the tack strips on each step,
figuring out how to fasten at the top (like with a metal hammer down),
and working your way down the stairs. I'd probably start one step down,
kicking and tacking each step into place (tacks as needed on the risers,
to make the tight bends). Then stretch and square the top end, and trim
it and hide it under the transition strip. Carpet on stairs wears out a
lot quicker than the rest of the carpet. Just for giggles, I'd consider
buying a spare section of runner, and storing it for later.

The old metal rods were so, when the nose of each step got threadbare,
you could loosen the rods, unfold the six inches of slack hidden on
bottom step, and move the whole thing uphill six inches to provide a
fresh edge.

--
aem sends...

"The dude" wrote in message
. ..
Anyone ever do this your self?

I want to add a padded carpet to the center of my stairs.

It can be done either by taking the carpet with the right equipment or using
metal rods that hold it in place. It is important the carpet be tight in
place and not a tripping hazard.

Keep in mind that carpeted stairs can be more dangerous, are more difficult
to clean, and is the fastest wearing part of the house. I'm glad to be rid
of mine and now we enjoy the easy to clean hardwood. Carpet is falling out
of favor because of all the downsides of it, such as holding dirt and
allergens.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote in message ...

of mine and now we enjoy the easy to clean hardwood. Carpet is
falling out
of favor because of all the downsides of it, such as holding dirt and
allergens.

Not with me it's not. I like carpet, and totally do not like hardwood
floors at all. Sure, I have to have the carpet cleaned a couple of
times a year, but it's worth it to me. The funny thing is, most of the
people I know who do have hardwood floors, have area rugs everywhere.
What's that about? Different strokes I suppose, but I doubt if the
carpet people are going out of business any time soon.

Cheri

Cheri

On Aug 27, 11:37*pm, The dude wrote:
Anyone ever do this your self?

I want to add a padded carpet to the center of my stairs.

This is not a hard process and can be done with just a handful of
"special" tools. I installed mine a couple of years back and had it
done in under 2 hours. I started at the bottom and worked my way up
as that seems the most logical way to go. The key tool that I used
was my pneumatic stapler with 3/4" staples. Keep it tight by stapling
the carpet where the riser meets the bottom of the tread and then
where the back of the tread meets the bottom of the next riser and so
on. I am just a DIY'r, but everyone comments how nice the stairs
looks. If you have the inclination, air compressor and a pneumatic
stapler, go for it.

On Aug 28, 12:37*am, The dude wrote:
Anyone ever do this your self?

I want to add a padded carpet to the center of my stairs.

Maybe we could swap stairs? We have carpet on our stairs and I
absolutely hate it, have thought about removing it since we moved in.
It's the first thing you see when you come in the front door and it
always looks awful. It's a royal PITA to vacuum, and steam cleaning is
even more so of course. The crease at the bottom of the riser (is that
the right term?) always needs extra time to remove pet fur, etc. that
accumulates there.

KD

If carpet is a bad idea then I need to do something so they are not
slick for the kids in socks and such.

Any suggestions??



KD wrote:
On Aug 28, 12:37 am, The dude wrote:
Anyone ever do this your self?

I want to add a padded carpet to the center of my stairs.

Maybe we could swap stairs? We have carpet on our stairs and I
absolutely hate it, have thought about removing it since we moved in.
It's the first thing you see when you come in the front door and it
always looks awful. It's a royal PITA to vacuum, and steam cleaning is
even more so of course. The crease at the bottom of the riser (is that
the right term?) always needs extra time to remove pet fur, etc. that
accumulates there.

KD

"The dude" wrote in message
. ..
If carpet is a bad idea then I need to do something so they are not slick
for the kids in socks and such.

Any suggestions??

no running in the house!

i have bare wood stairs going down into my basement and they can get
slippery with just socks on.
i am contemplating putting those rectangle rug pieces down on each
step.
they are about 10" deep and 20-24" wide.
anyone?

"readandpost" wrote

i have bare wood stairs going down into my basement and they can get
slippery with just socks on.
i am contemplating putting those rectangle rug pieces down on each
step. they are about 10" deep and 20-24" wide.

Is it a finished basement where looks are important? Is it the sort of
indoor-outdoor square 'stick on tiles'?

That sort will fray fairly fast. at the edges and can be hard to pull back
up after being down for a while, but may be suitable enough for an
unfinished basement with a bare (not fancy) stair, and add a safety bit. It
wont look good enough or last long enough though for a finished basement
that guests etc may traverse.

I have a friend who had a semi-finished basement and a problem like that.
Game room and pool table down there so the hubby and his buddies would
gather to have beer and play pool. That part was floored. The other side
was dirt floor with paving stones set in it.

For stair safety, she ran a long thin runner of that outdoor 'green grass'
stuff (heavily staple gunned down with dark staples) and it was sufficiently
nice looking and durable for the conditions.

"The dude" wrote

If carpet is a bad idea then I need to do something so they are not
slick for the kids in socks and such.

Any suggestions??

Google "stair treads".

That looks like a tripping hazard... Anyone else use them?

rose wrote:
"The dude" wrote

If carpet is a bad idea then I need to do something so they are not
slick for the kids in socks and such.

Any suggestions??

Google "stair treads".

rose wrote:
"The dude" wrote

If carpet is a bad idea then I need to do something so they are not
slick for the kids in socks and such.

Any suggestions??

Google "stair treads".


Gag. Not those nasty clear self-adhesive things? Just strip the wax off
the stairs, and make sure the hand rail is solid. As soon as the shine
wears off, the steps will be fine. Yeah, you'll have to touch up the
finish every few years, but the wear marks add character.

I suppose you could rout some shallow grooves in the walking zone of
each step to provide gripping edges, but the refinishing would be a ton
of work.
--
aem sends...