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How to Lay Patterned Carpet on Stairs

Employing a carpeting may provide a transition between a decorating color used to a main color on another on one level of the house. A pattern motif also may provide continuity between two regions of the house. Laying stair carpet that is patterned presents some challenges plain carpeting does not.

Planning Essentials

Crucial to choosing the ideal carpet is knowing the pattern fall, or period where a pattern repeatsthere may be a pattern. Spacings and pattern sizes may vary within a piece of carpeting, and attributes in the backing or stiffness may cause the pattern to be skewed or jagged. According to the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), there are no industry-wide standards for patterned carpets. Ask for professional assistance or follow carpet to be measured by CRI methods where you need to cut , stretch and tack to best align a carpet pattern and calculate.

Making Allowances

One of the most significant challenges of covering stairs is planning sufficient carpeting. Deciding on a premade runner or runner from the yard requires you figure out the carpet required to cover top and bottom risers and/or landings and only insures a stable breadth. Stair carpet extends to cover part or all the top landing with a two – to 3-inch turn-under prevent it from fraying and to anchor carpeting. Cutting stair carpet has distinct challenges. Along with the landing turn-unders, allow 1 additional inch of diameter each side under so carpeting edges do not fray to flip. This is a professional practice called tack-and-turn. Whether carpet has been laid runner-style down the center of the stairs with wood visible on each edge, turning under the outside edges or the full width of the stairs provides a steady hold for carpet stronger job as a whole, and a neater. You can have runner borders jumped to prevent fraying.

Waterfall Setup

In waterfall setup, carpet is put in a strip, anchored to stairs with tackless strips, staples and decorative sticks. Waterfall setup is most successful when your carpet has small pattern that is repeated or an all-over. Your target is to earn all treads look attractive while showing off the routine as a whole. A floral, small fine or geometric, dot stripe acts as a unifying element for the staircase as does a random or small pattern with a border.

Cap and Band

In setup, carpet is cut to cover each stair at one time. This technique is ideal for a runner carpet comprising phases of plain carpeting and spaced decorations such as medallions. Imperfections in either stair or carpeting structure makes ideal orientation of a spaced look impossible. Rug that is additional may be required by treating each tread and riser depending upon the layout, but lets you create the ideal alignment for even a pattern.

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