Cost to Install Carpet on Stairs
Your stairs and landings' carpeting will typically run you about $28 per square foot to install or replace. Homeowners who perform the work themselves can anticipate paying about $14 per square foot, but the results are rarely as nice as those obtained by hiring a professional.
In most cases, the price of professional installation covers the carpet, new padding, installation tools, any necessary replacement trim, as well as the removal and disposal of your old carpet.
Average Costs
- Average Do It Yourself cost: $14 / Square Foot
- Average Contractor Installed Cost: $22 – $35 / Square Foot
- Typical Cost Average: $28 / Square Foot
Overview of Stair Carpeting
Since laying carpet on stairs requires more labor than installing this flooring throughout the rest of the house, the cost is significantly greater. In fact, carpeted stairs could even receive their own labor line item in estimates for carpet installation.
Regarding the carpet, which is the second-largest component of the cost of replacing stairs carpet after labor, there are numerous options for colors, materials, and patterns, and prices vary widely. The price of carpeting a stairway will also depend on other elements including site circumstances, the length of the stairway, and whether or not stair rail spindles need to be accommodated.
Polyester or olefin carpet is the least expensive type of carpet, with prices ranging from $1 to $2 per square foot or $9 to $18 per square yard. Triextra and nylon are good options for stairs' midrange carpet. $3 to $5 per square foot and $27 to $45 per square yard are the prices for midrange carpeting. Wool carpeting is the priciest type of carpet available. Cost per square foot or square yard for wool carpeting is $20.
An ordinary staircase with 12 steps and Berber olefin carpet without spindles will cost roughly $550 to carpet. The most expensive option is a wool carpeted 12-step staircase with spindles, which can go up to $2,500. About 12 yards of carpeting are needed for both projects.
Factors Affecting Carpets on Stairs
The entire cost of removing the old carpet from a staircase and then replacing it will depend on a wide range of factors. The following considerations will ultimately affect how much it will cost to replace the carpet on your stairs:
- Number of stairs - In addition to the square footage cost, contractors typically charge a "per stair" price. Generally, this cost ranges from $10 to $50 per square foot, depending on your location, the site's features, etc.
- Carpet removal and disposal cost - A contractor will bill between $1 and $3 per square foot for removing and discarding the old carpet that covered the stairs.
- Carpet type - The cost and availability of carpet vary widely. Depending on the material, such as olefin or polyester, carpet prices can range from $1 to $2 per square foot. Wool carpet, for example, can cost up to $20 per square foot.
- Spindles on the stairway - Spindles on a stairway will increase the cost by $2 to $15 each stair or spindle. Spindle work is a challenging and time-consuming task. It is necessary to make further cuts, stretch the carpet, and staple it around each spindle.
- Carpet runner - Cost a little more than carpet that covers the full stairwell. Due to the more complex cuts needed to install carpet runners, budget an additional $0.50 to $1 per square foot.
- Landing - Carpeting a stairway with a landing is not more difficult or expensive than carpeting a stairway without a landing, but it does require additional carpet.
- Site condition - The state of the stairs will have an impact on the entire cost of installation. Before the carpet is put down, the stairs must be mended or replaced if they are in bad shape. In addition, some staircases have steps that are steeper than others (which may not be up to building codes). This complicates installation and may present a safety risk.
The Price of Carpet and Installation Materials
The retail costs for each item that a homeowner will require to properly remove the old carpet from your stairwell and then replace it are listed below.
- $2 – $20 per square foot : Carpet
- $5 – $25 per tool : Vice grips
- $5 – $20 per knife : Heavy-duty utility knife
- $0.25 – $0.40 per square foot : Carpet padding
- $7 – $10 per box : 5,000 ½-inch carpet staples
Costs of Licenses, Inspections, and Installation
❋ Inspection and Permits are Free
$0: A homeowner does not need a permit to replace and put carpet on their stairs.
❋ Installation and Labor Time
Each stair costs $20 to $40 in labor. Both Fixr and Costaide estimate the cost of labor to be between $3 and $15 per stair. Both values are excessively modest. HomeGuide's estimate of $20 to $45 per stair is more accurate than our estimate; but, if site conditions are poor or, for instance, the carpet is laid as a runner that must be edged on both sides, which is labor-intensive job, the cost per step could reach $45 in some cases.
Cost factors for replacing stair carpet include:
- The need to edge a carpet runner or cut the spindles around them
- Dimensions of the stairs
- Labor costs in your location
- Season - installing new carpet before the holidays, for instance, entails higher labor costs
- Experience of the installer: Paying more for a great job from a seasoned carpet layer is worthwhile.
Project Finish Date
- 3 hours to 2 days | Stair carpet installation
The length of time it will take to put carpet on stairs is determined by a number of distinct factors. First off, if the staircase has spindles, it will take longer because of how difficult it is to maneuver around them. The amount of stairs that need to be carpeted also affects how long it takes to install.
Finally, consider if you are adding a runner rather than carpeting the entire staircase, or whether the staircase has a landing that needs to be carpeted. An expert carpet installer can cover a staircase without spindles in a matter of hours. However, if you decide to install the carpet yourself rather than hiring a professional, plan on it taking a whole day or longer.
DIY or a Professional
The accurate replacement and installation of carpet on stairs is a difficult task that calls for skill and experience. The last thing you want is for a stairway's rumpled or loose carpet to cause a slip or fall. It takes a certain amount of skill to get carpet to lay perfectly around spindles, so a novice DIY is unlikely to be successful.
By removing the current carpet off the stairs, a homeowner might be able to make a small financial savings. However, installing carpet on stairs is one of those interior chores that, in most cases, calls for hiring a pro to get professional-looking results.
