How much carpet do I need for a stairs?

far2812

I don't know if this is a silly question but is there a standard amount of carpet you need for a staircase?

It is a 13 step staircase and that's all I really know and I am trying to work out how much carpet I will need.

Thanks

System

far2812, it might be worth asking someone who works in a carpet store as I know someone who always buys the end pieces for the stairs and usually gets a good deal. Quite a few of the carpet places have "ends" usually at the back of the store. Hope this helps, I have no idea on actual sizes as such though..

broonbear

an average step is 18'' long and say..... 36'' wide. You'll need 19 ' 5'' and 36 '' wide to do it in one piece or a cheaper way is get a carpet 6 ' long 13 ' wide and do it in 4 pieces but it's near impossible to get a pattern match this way so watch out

mazinmouse

A stair carpet wears out at a greater rate than most carpet laid elsewhere, and one way you can prolong the life is to lay the carpet so the pile direction falls over the edge of the stairs. If you rub your hand across the pile of a carpet you will raise the pile if you are brushing in any direction than the natural lie of the pile.. Ideally you want the carpet direction to be such that when you rub your hand from the back of the step to over and down the front of the step the pile lies smoothly.

When I used to measure carpets for stairs I made an allowance on the overall length so that the carpet could be moved up /down the stairs. This meant a fitter could go back at a later date and move the carpet so that the area that had been on top of the step now was on the vertical/riser part of the step. Just a way of prolonging the life of the stair carpet. If you are purchasing carpet in pieces, and getting best value for money is MSE critical, then you might wish to allow enough 'turn' for each section.

Is that getting too complicated? Apologies for rambling. it is late.

sebastianj

mazinmouse, or any other expert,
Can you pls tell me what type of underlay is best for stairs? You sound knowledgeable.
regards,
seb

mazinmouse

I hasten to add that I am not an expert and I wouldn't know what was the best brand now as I haven't sold carpet for years... but I definitely wouldn't go for a waffle type underlay,- although in their day they were regarded as the best thing since sliced bread.

I have been very pleased with Cloud 9 I think it was Nimbus.(?) brain and age and forgetting mean I know no more than that about it.

Although you don't see the underlay and most people skimp on it or lay new carpet over the existing (out of sight out of mind), what a carpet is laid onto will affect its wearing ability almost more than anything else. Unless you are very sure your underlay has a lot of life in it then it is a false economy to not buy a good quality / new underlay. That is why I am always wary of free underlay ... offers without being sure of exactly sure of what underlay is being provided. And now I am going to shut up on the subject and hope someone else chimes in who has more recent / up to date knowledge.

hwalkerh

Are you laying it yourself? if not just get the company to come and measure it as then you know it will be right.

I fitted my own underlay and gripper rod as that definitely saves some money. I wouldn't attempt to fit carpet, let along stair carpet.

i would recommend cloud nine underlay as we have used that throughout the house.

barrymung

Just checked and have Blue Heaven here, which is Cloud 9 but with a quieter backing*, Early days but it's most impressive.

(*Cloud 9 has a paper backing which can make a noise..Blue Heaven has a synthetic polyfilm backing which is quieter underfoot)

McKneff

mazinmouse wrote: »

I hasten to add that I am not an expert and I wouldn't know what was the best brand now as I haven't sold carpet for years... but I definitely wouldn't go for a waffle type underlay,- although in their day they were regarded as the best thing since sliced bread.

I have been very pleased with Cloud 9 I think it was Nimbus.(?) brain and age and forgetting mean I know no more than that about it.

Although you don't see the underlay and most people skimp on it or lay new carpet over the existing (out of sight out of mind), what a carpet is laid onto will affect its wearing ability almost more than anything else. Unless you are very sure your underlay has a lot of life in it then it is a false economy to not buy a good quality / new underlay. That is why I am always wary of free underlay ... offers without being sure of exactly sure of what underlay is being provided. And now I am going to shut up on the subject and hope someone else chimes in who has more recent / up to date knowledge.

Spot on advice there - good post.:T

I remember foam backed carpet being the best thing since sliced bread, no one told us that a few years down the line when you wanted it up the foam stuck to the floor like sh.t to a blanket and you had to virtually scrape it off with a shovel.:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

barrymung

mazinmouse wrote: »

Although you don't see the underlay and most people skimp on it or lay new carpet over the existing (out of sight out of mind), what a carpet is laid onto will affect its wearing ability almost more than anything else.

Cheap underlay can affect having the carpets cleaned at a later date too, believe it or not.

Cheap underlay can deteriorate over time and turn into dust; when the carpet is cleaned this dust can be pulled up through the carpet and into the pile, making it look dirtier than before it was cleaned!

mazinmouse

"remember foam backed carpet being the best thing since sliced bread, no one told us that a few years down the line when you wanted it up the foam stuck to the floor like sh.t to a blanket and you had to virtually scrape it off with a shovel.:rotfl::rotfl:"

Yep! We moved into a flat and had to use a metal scraper to remove the backing from the floor. Hard work and dirty too.

As I understand it, one of the other probs with a waffle style underlay is that because it 'gives' when walked on it may not support the carpet evenly so the secondary backing on carpets can stretch. If you look at modern underlays I think they'll mostly be an even layer of material - no folds - so the carpet is supported evenly across its width and length.

We also used to use felted underlays but were not always without problems -sometimes they'd have thinner patches too.

And dragging a bit more info up from the depths... with tufted construction carpets the secondary backing is what holds the cloth together. Which is also why if a carpet is ever flooded most will never be the same again once they dry out because the secondary backing used to come away from the body of the carpet and without that stabilising factor a carpet can stretch every whichway!

I'm almost feeling nostalgic for the wonderful world of carpets now...