Can anybody recommend a really hardwearing stair covering ?

[barbara01]

Hi - Could anybody give me some advice re. covering my stairs ? - I'm in a two bedroomed Victorian house. I've put laminated flooring throughout in order to make it look more spacious, but the problem is the stairs, where I've put a carpet. - The stairs are very steep and fairly narrow. Every stair carpet that I've put down has never lasted more that two years without rips and wear / holes appearing. I was told that the last carpet that I got, was hardwearing, but in just two years, it's showing the same signs of wear and tear in the exact place that the other one did.

I just despair at the carpet which is on full view, as soon as anybody comes through my front door. Has this happened to anybody else ? Does anybody know why this keeps happening and can advise me ?

Many thanks - Barbara.

 

[Phillsteeples]

Barbara,
I had a similar problem when I lived in Lincoln and tried many different types of floor covering but didnt have much sucess;then three years ago I came up with the ideal solution;we moved to a bungalow !
I hope this has been of help to you,

Phill

 

[barbara01]

Thanks for that Phill and you've certainly got me thinking there - lol !!!

It's also good to know that I'm not the only one with this problem !!!

I'm looking at the flipping stair carpet, as I type. It looks as if it's years old and has had a real hammering and yet it's only been down two years !!

Does anybody know of any solution ??

Cheers - Barbara.

 

[toptec]

Do you remember those old style stair carpets that leave a 6 inch gap either side which you could gloss?

We laid one of those several years ago and it lasted until we sold the house last year. Hardwearing, as it is more heavy duty than a normal carpet, and it looked great. You can still get them.

 

[2scoops0406]

Decent underlay with commercial contract carpet on top.

 

[breezer]

I was going going to say it really does have a lot to do with the quality of underlay.
I never believed it till we had our landing / stair / hall carpet done. ok its old now, but not worn, but when it was first laid you had to be carefull you did not hit the ceiling, it was that bouncy (ok, may be not THAT bouncy, but it sure was bouncy)

The other thing you may be able to do is when its starting to look worn (ours still isnt) take it up, and turn it round (end to end) so what was on the riser is now the tread. Oh then put it back down again

 

[mattysupra]

The other thing you may be able to do is when its starting to look worn (ours still isnt) take it up, and turn it round (end to end) so what was on the riser is now the tread. Oh then put it back down again

LOL breezer! Thats a good plan but there are reasons why it runs in one direction, turning it around 180 degrees will increase wear, what you do is move it all half a step up so you end up with what you said about walking on the riser and the tread now being on the 'riser'. You need one spare step tho to replace the bottom one that will now be half a steep short!

Anyway- where about is this carpet wearing? is it on the tread edge (the bit the middle of your foot treads on? ) if so then this can be poor quality underlay, poor quality carpet or the edge of your steps are sharp and not rounded correct.
If wearing on the riser (normally 1" above tread) this is caused by underlay not being fitted correct and being finished short by a tight floorlayer, it can also be caused by people wearing trainers and the rubber of the trainer pulling the pile out

And last of all- poor maintance! Also these ribbed looking carpets that seem to be a favourite at the moment wear very poor.

 

[barbara01]

Hi mattysupra - Many thanks for that. - The carpet has worn in exactly where you have said, on the riser, 1 inch above the tread. Also, at the foot of the riser and the back of the tread the carpet is coming apart. There's a thin piece of exposed wood, with Gripperrod written on a fading red background. There are several nail ends sticking out of it, which are so short that I'm not surprised that it hasn't kept the carpet down. This is all now ripped back, where it's come apart, on several stairs, showing the thin green underlay, underneath. - You can imagine what a mess it looks.

What's annoyed me too, is the fact that the guy who fitted the carpet saw the state of the last one and knew that it also had only been down a couple of years. He said that this would last, yet it's just turned out to be a carbon copy of the previous one.

I'm going to try and do a makeshift job of nailing the carpet down myself, to keep the stairs safe, but the wear on the riser is not looking good. I'm just hoping to get it right this time, on the next carpet. It's only a small house, with narrow, steep stairs, but because the stairs are in full view from the front door, the carpet looks bad.

Many thanks for the advice, 2scoops0406, toptec and breezer. - I'm now thinking about good underlay, commercial quality, on a runner type carpet.

 

[mattysupra]

try google 'nicf' or 'national institute of carpet and floorlayers'. On here you will find approved fitters and even better 'master' fitters in your area. You will find the cost of using these people will be about the same as allied carpets etc. But it will be a much better job. If you find yourself a master fitter you can be guarrented a long lasting and good quality fitting.

This is not (nicf) a institute you can just join! All fitters are tested and master fitter has a very very high standard they need to pass. Far past any NVQ qualification etc!

 

[barbara01]

Many thanks for that mattysupra ! - I'll do that.

- I can't help but think of the stair carpet in my family home, years ago, that never moved and lasted a life-time ! - At the time, I never gave it a second thought and just took it for granted, lol !!!

- Also, on checking my stair carpet again, noticed that there's no underlay at all, behind the riser !!!

I'll look for a fitter in my area, tomorrow, as you advised.

 

[mattysupra]

yep, no underlay on the riser will cause the wear an inch above the tread like i said!

 

[lazzerr1]

I too have this issue, but with a twist.

I live in a maisonette (1st floor, but with front door on ground level) and we have two dogs.

So, not only am I hesitant to install carpet because of the wearing out, but also because of the state that the carpet gets with the dogs using it all the time. (We wipe the dogs paws before they use the stairs, but you can never wipe them completely clean).

Any suggestions?

 

[Pollyat47]

Get a really good underlay - this makes your carpet much harder wearing. Get stair carpet a little longer than needed and you can then get it moved slightly after a year to help it to wear longer by changing the main wear areas slightly.
Hope this helps

 

[crazydaze]

Firstly you need a really good FIRMER underlay. Avoid soft rubber or pu foam underlays, look for either rubber crumb underlays or genuine natural felt, they are both superior to deep soft underlays.

Secondly, buy a decent carpet, there is product that will meet your needs but is it in budget??? A woven wilton twist like Ulster York Wilton (£36m2) or of course a Woven Axminster (£50m2) will perform brilliantly, but a decent quality twist at around £25m2 in a 50oz pile weight (Victoria Tudor Twist as an example) will perform well too. Sub £20m2 80/20 twists will not have the same quality of wool/man made fibre and will not perform as well.

Really good 100% manmade fibre carpets will wear brilliantly but may not have the same appearance retention of wool rich products.

It simply isn't true to say that product is'nt available for your needs, it is possible that you have been buying from the wrong retailers in the past or simply not had the budget to get what you really need for the job.

 

[joinerjohn]

Had to laugh at the poster who suggested turning the carpet around then making the riser bit the treads. If only every staircase was put in at 45 °, life would be so simple.