Carpet on stairs

When it comes to stairs in a residential setting, carpet has always been the predominant flooring choice. Even though more of our customers are using hard surfaces for their stairs (hardwood, laminate, vinyl), the majority of our clients are still using carpet for their stairs.

There are a few reasons why more people will still choose carpet for their stairs:

• They feel it will be a safer surface to walk on
• They prefer the look of carpet on their stairs, even if they are installing a hard surface floor in other parts of their home
• The cost is typically lower for carpet versus a hard surface product on stairs

Let’s look at some of the different ways to use carpet on the stairs in your home.

Standard wall-to-wall

The most common carpet installation for stairs we do here at Burritt Bros is a standard wall-to-wall version. As the name implies, the carpet covers the entire set of stairs from one wall to the other (or railing). There are many different carpet options that will work for this type of installation, from basic and neutral to colorful patterns.

Runners

Another choice for carpet on stairs is a runner. Typically, clients will choose to use a runner for their stairs if they already have a hard surface floor on the stairs. They may want to add some colour to their stairs, or they may want to have some added safety of having a softer surface on their stairs. A runner allows the flooring on the stairs to be visible at the sides of the staircase, which can add to the continuity of the interior design of a home. The edges of the runner are bound to provide a nice, finished look. Clients are not limited to only one width for runners. Some of our suppliers have purpose-made runners in set widths. But we also have the option of creating custom-width runners that fit the stairs of our clients.

Open tread stairs

A less common but very interesting version of stairs is the open tread staircase. These are sometimes referred to as “Hollywood” stairs. Unlike traditional stairs, open tread stairs are constructed with no risers, so you can see through them. Installing carpet on this type of staircase can be challenging, but the result can be quite amazing. There are typically two ways to install carpet on open tread stairs:

• Fully wrapped, where each tread is wrapped entirely in carpet
• Partially wrapped, where the carpet is installed over the top of the tread but the underside of the tread remains uncovered

At Burritt Bros, we feel that carpet is still a fantastic option for your home, especially on stairs. Please contact us if you have any questions about your next flooring project: info@burrittfloors.com