Carpet Stair Treads Installation Guide

If you happen to have a beautiful oak staircase but it is beginning to show wear, or maybe it is a bit slippery for your precious toddler, get the traction back with carpet stair treads. These treads also provide the stairs with a cover for protection without completely covering the gorgeous wood. The newer types of adhesives will actually dissolve in just a bit of oil when you decide that you are ready to go back to the original stairs or are ready to upgrade to newer treads. Natural fibres such as sisal or seagrass are beautiful and look amazing on stairs.

When you are ready to retread the stairs here are the steps that you need to take.

1. Scrub your stairs with water and an oil soap that has been made for wood. Use an old toothbrush for removing any dirt that might be between the riser and the tread as well as around the baluster base. Don’t forget the area that is right underneath the tread lip. Wipe it all down with a soft cloth and then allow the entire thing to dry.
2. Measure between the base of the baluster and the wall on a step and then mark the very centre.
3. Find the very centre of the tread and then put it on top of the mark you made in the centre of the stair. Centre it from 1 or 2 inches back from the edge of the front of the tread. Mark a line along each side of the carpet tread as well as across the edge that is nearest to the front lip of the tread. Make these lines either with a pencil or with carpenter’s tape.
4. Lay an adhesive pad or a strip of double-sided tape along that front line and between the edges on one of the steps without removing the backing of the mounting. Place the tread directly on the top of the tape and then add tape under the remaining sides of the tread.
5. Add padding that has been cut to fit inside the dimensions of the carpet tape. Choose a type of padding that is not thicker than the carpet itself as this can serve to lift the actual carpet off of the tape. Also, use webbing made from latex that has been covered with an adhesive to affix the pad and the carpet tread.
6. Take the facing off of the tape and then set the tread down carefully on the tape, smoothing out the edges.
7. Repeat the process with the rest of the stair treads, making sure that they are all spaced the same. Smooth the carpet treads down onto the tape as you go.