Stair runner pad

[highup]

Customer is heading out of town so I have a dilemma. I'm starting a carpet runner tomorrow afternoon and never thought about how slippery the synthetic felt pad would be on these oak stair treads. I don't think there's any of that Karastan rubberized felt pad anywhere within 120 miles.
The house is old, the stairway is new. I took the carpet there this afternoon and laid out the runner location with tape so that id have a good starting point tomorrow afternoon. It was at this point I discovered the synthetic felt was so slippery. I hate hammer tacking the daylights out these beautiful stair treads. Double faced tape is so sticky and permanent, I don't like that so much either.
The Carpet is a thin looped pile Karastan with a jute back. I'm using short pin tackstrip on the tread. Nothing on the riser and the nose will be wrapped. I
If it was summer and there was a place outside, I might dust the pad with spray glue and make them like a post it note.

 

[MSLI]

I would try duck tape. Half on pad half on tackless. Then work top down.

Another option maybe Hot glue gun with regular sticks. 5 dots of glue rather than staples.

Have fun out in the field again

 

[DarisMulkin]

I'd go with the duct tape but you are pounding holes in it with the tackless and a staple only makes a pin hole. Obvisily they don't care about the wood if they are covering it. You don't have to staple the hell out of it just some well placed ataples to hold it in place and tape the nose.

 

[highup]

Normally I do work top down, but since im stapling under the nose, I was going to start at the bottom and use kicker pressure and the stair tool to hook the carpet on the strip. It's not going to need much pressure, not being waterfalled.
I can go 3/8" over the nose and duct that edge and the strip. I suppose I could bite the bullet and put a 20" strip of double faced tape on the tread just before the nose, then place most staples where your feet actually land. The runner is striped and was bound (not serged)
Its in 3 sections, 12 stairs.

 

[highup]

I'm screwing the tackstrip in. I've done it before.
All the strip has 1" ring nails. Couldn't bring myself to driving those in.
I use two staples from the tacker to position the strip, then drill all the holes, then all the screws.
Goes really fast. I'm using a 1" galvanized looking drywall screw. I already countersunk the holes in the tackstrip last night after I cut them to length. I wanted to gain a bit doing that ahead of time. If these are ever removed or need to be repositioned because it's replaced with a thicker carpet it will be a piece of cake.
I didn't bid the job, so a half hour "screwing" with the strip isn't an issue.

 

[MSLI]

I forgot about this little trick I used at my brothers a few years ago. Blue painters tape over the wood first, then double face tape or reducer tape on top.

However I say less thinking is more Step out of your comfort zone on this staircase ( step, stairs ) by using 5 pad staples, evenly placed along tackless and that’s it. Work top down using the nose of the gun to apply light stretching under the nose of step. Once the wrap is complete, need be, you could always kick towards the tkls to firm up the tread, but for a runner ( 27” wide or so ) chances are you won’t need to. Less is more by stepping out of bottom up comfort zone and go with gravity

 

[highup]

I just thought of something. How about a strip of blue tape first, then I lay the double face tape on top of that.
Thank you.
I've seen that done for temporary holding using hot glue.

 

[highup]

Well gotter done. The first step and landing weren't planned because the pattern is a two toned strip pattern. Changing direction would look odd.
After seeing the carpet installed on the steps, there was a leftover piece with binding. She put it on the landing and it actually looked fine because the carpet is in rows...... So, sorta striped both direction.
Anyway, we're sending some of the leftovers out to be bound, so that we can also do three of the risers that we hadn't planned on doing.
Anyway, done for how. She was happy enough to add an additional $50. The carpet didn't hide staples easily, so it went slower than I was expecting. It's a Karastan wool with a jute back.

 

[highup]

It felt good screwing the tackstrip in. It went pretty quick.
The lower step wasn't in the plan, so when she asked me to do it...... I only had a 23" piece of tackstrip. The carpet runner is 29 1/4
.....I did however have some cedar shims. It got McGuyvered.

 

[MSLI]

Well gotter done. The first step and landing weren't planned because the pattern is a two toned strip pattern. Changing direction would look odd.

1/4 turned runners on 1/4 turned landings do look odd, but thanks to those pictures, we now know that an uncovered landing also looks odd…… Gotta love that David Hunt statement ( a true Master Craftsman in our industry) “ Discernment “ and as long as we have a strong argument for or against a decision, there becomes no real true Right or Wrong decision, just a discernible different one.

Nice work Highup , it’s not easy fastening a nice consistent line against the stair molding. And it’s always tricky meeting bottom runner to the landing with that 3/4 round molding in the way. More discernment and on and on

 

[highup]

Luck be, that the first step up from the landing has no trim under it, so it will butt to the underside of the nose at 90 degrees to where I wrapped it. That riser piece will butt to the underside of the bullnose, then butt to the base shoe. Just saying, that it won't be a single, continuous strip from the bullnose out onto the landing.
She's been indecisive throughout and so have I when being asked for advice. We'd planned on just doing the upper 12, simply because of the stripped pattern.
The stairs are at one end of the 20 foot long room, so the viewpoint to guests is just the lower step and landing plus the dark wood contrasting with the railing. Whoever constructed the stairway for them did a fantastic job.

 

[MSLI]

then butt to the base shoe.

Most times when the customer asked to stop the runner at the shoe molding, I didn’t like it, because I think the runner looks complete when it touches the wood floor / hard surface. Also I prefer runner and landing connected to each other, if discernment allows.

 

[highup]

In this case it will look more like an area rug/doormat on the landing. It's a done deal, so we're not going to continue making "what ifs"
Because of it's location, nobody will even notice it.

 

[highup]

It's not going to continue over the landing edge. Is going to stay 29", the stair runner width.

 

[MSLI]

That newel post jots out quite a bit, adding to the layout challenges.

In this case it will look more like an area rug/doormat on the landing. It's a done deal, so we're not going to continue making "what ifs"
Because of it's location, nobody will even notice it.

Cool ! I was just adding different ideas for discussion purposes.

 

[highup]

And I love them. The more the merrier
The carpet she had chosen simply limited the options a little bit because of preferences on pile direction..