Rugs, Carpets and Carpeting - Carpeting Stairs

I have a basement (400 sq. feet) and then about 30 steps and 50 sq. feet of stair landings to carpet. We're going for something relatively cheap on the carpet - likely a Home Depot basic carpet for @ $1/sf. I was thinking of renting the tools and doing this myself (I've never done it before) until I found out that it would only cost about $300 for Home Depot to install the carpet in the basement. The trick, however, is that the stairs are considerably more expensive to install - $12.50/stair. I could do those, but then I'd be renting the same equipment and might as well do the basement myself as well. Altogether it seems that my cost is either about $600 myself (including tool rental) or $1500 installed by Home Depot (they're cheaper than Lowes). But if I could do the stairs WITHOUT the stretcher then I could do it myself and save a lot of money.

My stairs are the type that have no back to them. The carpet just wraps around. Do these small stairs really need to be power stretched? It seems unnecessary to me. It seems like I should be able to pull it as tight as possible around each stair and staple underneath. And if one starts to get loose somehow I can just reattach (since they're all independent) or get a new piece and do it again. Right?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.

We don't use a power stretcher on stairs any how. That's done with a knee kicker. It may be a bit of a challenge the first few, but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. If you wish to tackle them, holler and we'll talk you through it.

Smokey,

Do you mean a power stretcher isn't used on ANY stairs or just open stairs? Could I do the other stairs (going to my basement) with a knee kicker rental?

That's correct. I bought a little stretcher several years ago that was designed to do stairs. What a piece of junk! It didn't provide a good, tight stair install so I went back to my kicker. I would imagine there's some one out there who uses something other than a kicker on steps, but have no idea why. A kicker is faster and does a better job of getting the steps tight. Don't, however, misunderstand. For flat lay, a kicker is only an installation aid, not the main stretching tool. For your floors, a power stretcher is not optional, it is a must. But, for the steps, it's the way to go.

Smokey, thanks for your help. One other question. What do you do with the sides of the stairs? It seems to me that if you've cut the carpet to fit the stair it might unravel on the sides and since you wouldn't have molding to cover the edges that could be a problem. Or is it?

Thanks again.

Unravel? Are you using a loop pile carpet? Have you definitely decided to proceed with the project on your own? If so, how much do you know about the process? You don't want to get any carts ahead of any horses. One step at a time.

Of all flooring, carpet is probably the hardest and takes the most hand skills to perform a job that doesn't look butchered.

$9 a yard carpet
12.50 per full wrapped steps

Sounds like a super deal to me.