We've got 2100 sq. feet of carpet that needs to be put in...we're replacing 1000 sq. feet and 1100 is new construction upstairs. I would like to use a frieze downstairs in 3 bedrooms and a cut pile upstairs...will that look strange? Any tips on what to buy? I'm set on nylon and trying to find weight greater than 50 ounces..probably going with the 6 pound pad. Secondly, we have stairs going straight up that are boxed and carpeted...we'll have red oak running up to them and I"d love to see if I could get hardwood risers for them...will I have to rip out the current box and just start over? Can I just lay the hardwood top and a thing sheet of paintable plywood or such for the kick part? The only other option I thought of was just using wood matching my kitchen floor on the sides and have a runner installed down the middle to keep people from falling down hardwood stairs. They have berber on their stairs now and it's very worn down and I just don't like the look of all carpeted stairs..any tips on how to handle this? The stairs are enclosed by walls on both sides all the way up..so there are no spindles to deal with.. Thanks! TAra

I have very young children (5, 2, 1) and have never had any problems on my hardwood staircase w/o carpet runner. My husband and I personally don't like carpet runners bc of having to vacuum the stairs to get the dog hair off. With the hardwood it looks gorgeous and many times i just sweep it, or get a paper towel for quick wiping and that is about it! I don't miss it at all. Most new builds in my neighborhood chose the no carpet runner option. And for some reason, I for some reason have issues with slipping on carpet on the stairs, but not the hardwood stairs. also, our children do not wear socks on the stairs. We only are barefoot on the stairs because that is just how we are in the house, generally

we have what you're talking about, and tho I like it I wish we had all wood stairs. But safety is an issue there since they can be slippery in sock feet. The ends of the steps are wood (so 3/4 in. thick) and then the carpet is in the middle which makes it flush with the ends of the steps. The wood ends are maybe 5-6 in. wide (on each side). It has the appearance of a wood step with carpet on it, but the carpet and wood (on the ends) are the same level. Does that make sense? Here are the only pics I could find on my computer of our steps (well, part of them haha) they aren't good quality but maybe you can get an idea of what they look like.

Any good carpet installer would be able to do it. Should be no more than $500.00. For reference, we typically pay around $250.00 for the stairs when they are installing the remaining portion of the house.