Stairs + Carpet = Sigh of Relief

I got the carpet runner installed on the stairs today. While not perfect, I am happy with the way it came out. I've carpeted a few rooms in my day, but never stairs. The big concern was the mitered corners on the landings. This was a wool stair runner that I paid $32 a lineal foot for, so I ordered the bare minimum and there was no room for error.

I originally was going to go with the traditional installation of tackless strips and seam tape. After reading on-line I found a few entries that said for wool carpet you should not use seam tape. Instead, you should seal the ends with latex and stitch the seams together with needle and thread. Instead of the tackless strip, you should use a crown stapler.

Well, I used fabric glue instead of latex and the stitching proved to be very difficult. Mainly because of the fabric glue. I bought both straight and hooked upholstery needles and broke 2 of them before I gave up. Getting the needles through the set fabric glue was not easy. Instead of stitching I made my own seam tape with green bedsheets and fabric glue. That and a few staples made for a very strong seam. The crown stapler was very nice to work with, and the staples are nearly invisible.







The first corner is a little off. The pattern meets at the inside corner, but is a little off at the outside corner. Really, I was just over-thinking it. I was so worried I would really screw up, I looked past the obvious and made it much more difficult that it needed to be. Other than those reading this blog, I doubt many will notice.


The next one I got dead-on and it took a fraction of the time.


In the end, I had exactly 1-foot of extra carpet. For now, it will sit like this at the top of the stairs. Eventually, I will have the same runner in the upstairs hallway.