You can use berber on the stairs, and we did. Check out my thread to see just how well that worked out!

Here is a link that might be useful: stair thread

Any time you start listening and actually believing anything the lady at Home Depot tells you, your on your way to a complete disaster!!!!!!!!!!!!

The lady at Home Depot is ignorant!! Clueless!!! down right uneducated about carpet. She must have worked in plumbing last week.

Loop pile carpets are installed on stairs daily, without concern, from the professional, that knows how to handle a loop pile on the stairs.

I even have mine wrapped around floating stairs.

Thank you so much.

Floorguy, I pretty much took her with a grain of salt but she was telling me the problems a previous customer had when she tried to do that. But its a great relief to know that was a fluke. I'm so tired of making decisions and then finding out something about it won't work and I have to find alternatives. Let me ask this, would you trust Home Depot guys to do the installation? ($200 for a whole house plus $7.00 per stair.) I figured since they are probably independent contractors with experience, I could trust them. And it IS a rental property.

I have another question. I was told the higher the twist number, the better the carpet. They have four Trafficmaster Berbers I was considering:

36 oz., 15.30 twist with 10 yr wear warranty, 20-yr stain and 20-yr color for 1.34 sf plus pad

52 oz, 14.0 twist at 2.04 sf plus pad

36 oz., 9.7 twist at 1.34 sf plus pad with same warranty

32 oz., 18.40 twist at .98 sf plus pad with 10 yr wear warranty, 5 year stain, 5 yr color

If the twist number is important, why would one with a higher twist number be so much cheaper than a low twist (or is the warranty the key)?

Any advice on that information?

Twist shouldn't matter on a berber. On frieze's or plush carpet, the twist will give you an idea of how well the carpet will spring back. It's true that a higher twist and heavier carpet will be better in that case. But, on a berber? Why are they even talking about twist?

Make sure you use a nylon berber, not a polypropelen/oelefin version. Nylon is more durable, softer under foot and easier to keep clean. Also more expensive but worth it.

I also have berber in my entire basement plus the stairs. The HD lady doesn't know her stuff.

NO!!!! Don't have HD do the install! too many hands for the money to go through before the guy actually installing see's any, and it ain't much. HD subs it to a workroom, that subs it to a contractor, that subs it out to joe installer, living week to week, on what they are willing to pay him. HD installers are the lowest paid, least quality, I have ever seen.

Try going to www.CFIinstallers.com and in the "Find an Installer window, type in your zipcode. This will be the best decision you ever made in the life of your carpet as it is only as good as the guy installing it.

I have the oelefin berber and it's an almost white, light gray. I also have three dogs and no matter what they do to it (except the part they unravelled) the carpet cleaners bring it back to like new condition. The carpet cleaner said it's because it's oelefin that it cleans up so well. I don't think I'd ever get any other kind.

i want to clean berber carpet on my stairs without having to hire someone. any ideas? by hand?