How to measure a Stair Carpet

Measuring stairs is more difficult than measuring the whole room. There are different sections like the hallway, the curved stairs, the landing all of these should be measured individually and must be noted down. Before going to buy carpet you must have the calculations along with you because it will let you know exactly how much you need and whether it lands within your budget or not. If you are unaware of the process of measuring a stair carpet and unsure regarding that, simply follow our guide which will help you to buy the exact one.

Items required for measuring Stair Carpet

• ·         Paper
• ·         Ruler
• ·         Tape Measure
• ·         Pencil or Pen

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 How to measure a Stair Carpet Step by Step

1. Tread Width Measurement with Tape Measure

The horizontal part of the stair on which you step, is called tread. Take measurement from one side of the stair tread to the other side, with the help of tape measure. After taking measurement, round up the reading to the nearest foot or next 30 cm, and note the measurement. Ideally the width of the tread goes to 3 feet.

2. Addition of Extra Inches (2 Inches)

When installing carpet, it is advised to fold or bend the carpet up to 1 inch on either side to hide the roughness of cutted-carpet edges. If we do not consider these extra 2 inches, the carpet will be short of length. For example The stair width measured exactly 34 inches, so We will add 2 inches more, making it 38 inches.

3. Riser and Tread Measurement of a Stair

Start taking measurements from the back edge of the tread towards the front edge with the help of tape measure , and note the reading from front to back of the tread. Now bend the tape measure at 90 degree angle and go down the rider side. When reaching the base of the stair’s riser, calculate the measurement from the back of the tread to the base of the riser. If the problem of overhanging arises then, do the measurements separately for tread and the riser. Mostly the height of the riser ranges between 6-7 inches.

4. Round-up Measurements

Now it’s time to round up the measurements we have taken and note them on a paper. The width of tread and the combined length of tread and riser will be round up to the nearest foot or next 30 cm (as 1 ft= 30cm). For instance, we say that a stair having width of 46 inches (114cm) and height of 18 inches (46cm), so will round up both measurements and will be written as “3ft by 2ft”. This rounding up process is very helpful, as there will be extra carpet on both sides.

5. Landing Measurement (Length x Width): 

The process of measuring landing is pretty simple, use tape measure to take the measurement of length and width. Keep it mind, while measuring the width of landing, you have to bend the tape measure and note the riser height up to its lower side. Now do the same process of rounding up the measurement to the nearest foot, if you prefer the metric measurements.

Start taking measurements from the back edge of the tread towards the front edge with the help of tape measure , and note the reading from front to back of the tread. Now bend the tape measure at 90 degree angle and go down the rider side. 

 Measuring Corner or Winding Staircases:

 This process needs a bit more measurements. List the steps below:

• Select the widest part of the winding or corner staircases and then measure the length and width of both riser and tread.
• Now repeat this process for all the winding stairs individually, as may be any of them will have even minimum difference which will cause the measurement error.
• Now add these measurements to your original calculations.

When Carpet should be replaced

You should replace the carpet, whenever you find that carpet is showing signs of wear & tear because of its abundant use throughout the day. Its lasting depends on the care and maintenance, if someone takes care and keeps the carpet in good condition it will last for even 15 years. There are few steps for keeping your carpet in good condition

• Addition of padding under the stair carpet.
• Don’t wear shoes on the carpet.
• You should clean the carpet on a regular basis.

How Much time it takes to carpet the stairs

It depends totally on the skills and techniques of carpeting stairs. A professional carpet fitter always recommends,It will almost take 30 minutes. If you are doing it by yourselves, then it will take time first to learn how to do it. And after than completing the carpeting process. In this process there are also high chances of mistakes and it takes almost 1.5 hours or even 2 hours.A professional carpet fitter, always recommended, will take almost 30 minutes.

The process of adding padding also takes time which will be added to the total time. As fitting stairs is also an important part, and it also prolongs the life of stairs.

 Online Carpet Calculator:

If you want to know how to measure a stair carpet  but your math or calculation skills are not so good, then you can go for an online calculator for the calculation of your stairs carpet. Simply you have to provide some basic values like width, height and number of stairs etc. The calculator will give you the exact measurements.

Here is the link: https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/carpet-calculator/

Summary

Wherever you go for buying new carpet, keep it in mind that you complete your calculations for the carpet that how much you need. Having the correct measurements with you enables you to buy the exact size without wasting your time and money. So the question “how to measure a stair carpet” is briefly answered but as all knows that measuring stair carpet is a tricky process always consult with professionals who are doing the same business and have expertise in that field

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