Stair Carpet & Stair Runner Fitting in South East London & Kent
We supply and fit full stair carpets and stair runners, with fresh underlay and gripper, and the old carpet lifted and taken away. Every staircase is quoted in writing after a free site visit, because no two flights are cut the same way.
Wall to wall stair carpet or a runner
A full stair carpet covers each tread and riser from side to side and usually carries on across the landing. It is quiet, warm and safe on the feet, and it hides tired or patched timber. A runner is a narrower strip laid down the centre of the flight, leaving a border of painted or finished wood showing on each side. It suits period hallways and anyone who likes the look of their staircase but wants grip and softness where people actually walk.
Both need the same groundwork. The flight is surveyed for straight steps, winders on a turn, half landings and open sides, because each of those is cut differently. The landing is part of the decision too: carrying one carpet from the bottom step to the bedroom doors gives a continuous finish without a seam on the top step.
Pick the grade for the nosings, not the showroom
Stairs wear faster than any room because every foot lands on the same edge. Our advice, repeated on our carpet fitting page, is simple: if the stairs are the busiest part of your home, choose a heavy-domestic twist. Very soft, deep piles look lovely in a bedroom but flatten and open up on a nosing.
Ranges we regularly supply include Cormar Apollo, Avebury and Primo, which are UK-made wool twists; Brockway Reflections and Galloway; Westex Ultima, a premium wool loop; and Penthouse Apollo Elite, a heavy-domestic polypropylene. Loops can look smart on a runner, though pets with claws are worth mentioning at the survey. Our carpet versus LVT for stairs guide covers the hard-floor alternative honestly.
Uplift, gripper, underlay, then a tight finish
First the old carpet, gripper rods and underlay are lifted and removed. Treads are checked, and loose boards are screwed down and nail heads punched below the surface so nothing squeaks or shows through later. New gripper goes along each tread and riser, and fresh underlay is cut to every step.
The carpet is then cut, knee-kicked tight onto the gripper and trimmed neatly at the bottom step and at door bars. On a staircase that means each winder is cut separately, and the landing edge is finished so the pile meets the top nosing cleanly. Our stair carpet fitting guide explains winders, underlay choice and measuring in more detail.
Waterfall or cap and band, held by gripper
A runner can fall straight from the nose of each tread to the next, known as waterfall, or be pulled tight around the nosing and into the riser, known as cap and band. The first is softer and quicker; the second follows the step exactly and suits a crisp, tailored hallway.
Decorative rods look excellent on a period flight, but they should not be the only thing holding the runner down, otherwise it shifts and wears unevenly. We fix the runner properly underneath and treat rods as the finishing touch. See widths, bindings and rods in our stair runner fitting guide, and the photos below are from our project gallery.
What a stair carpet costs
Our pricing page lists a guide for a hallway, stairs and landing in carpet of £480 - £780 on average, supplied and fitted. Where your flight sits in that range depends on the carpet chosen, the number of winders and whether you want a runner, binding or rods.
The site visit is free, and the written quote that follows includes uplift and disposal of the old carpet, gripper and underlay, furniture moved and replaced, door bars and clean-up.
Stair runners and landings we have fitted
Stair carpet fitting across Kent and South East London
Stair carpet questions
Can you fit a runner over existing stair boards?
Yes, a runner goes onto bare, sound treads. If there is carpet on the flight now, that and its gripper come up first, the treads are checked and any squeaks are fixed, and then the runner is set out and fitted.
What carpet is best for busy stairs?
Where the stairs are the busiest part of the house, we suggest a heavy-domestic twist. It holds up far better on the nosings, which take the most wear, and the extra life more than covers the difference.
Do you take away the old stair carpet?
Yes. The old carpet, gripper rods and underlay are lifted and taken away as part of the job, and that is shown on the written quote.
Can you do the landing and hallway at the same time?
Yes, and it often looks better. Running the same carpet from the stairs onto the landing avoids a join at the top step. Our pricing page shows a hallway, stairs and landing guide figure for exactly this combination.
Can I choose a carpet range or do you supply it?
We supply the carpet as well as fitting it, so one team handles both. Ranges we commonly fit include Cormar, Brockway, Westex and Penthouse, and we can talk through which suits your stairs at the free site visit.