We’re looking at carpeting two staircases. Main reason is safety, particularly since one of our small dogs fell last week due to lack of traction. He didn’t go all the way down, and is OK, but I don’t want it to happen again.

One staircase is in the foyer and goes up to the bedrooms, and the other is a back staircase that goes up to the master suite as a second route. We’ve looked at samples and talked to three flooring installers and are getting contradictory info and advice.

Front Stairs with narrowed area at top three steps:

Note: the lower portion is not graduated, the photo distorts the width.

Back stairs:

At first we wanted to have bound runners made for both areas, but one guy pointed out that there was quarter-round molding on the front stair treads where they meet the risers. The stairwell also narrows for the top three steps. He said it would look bad to do just tread covers, and said we should remove the molding and do a runner. He also said that the runner should be a uniform width and to reduce the reveal on the top section where the treads narrow. We’re waiting for his quote.

A second installer suggested making bound tread pieces instead of a continuous runner to avoid having to remove the molding and to reduce cost. The carpet I initially chose runs around $55 per sq. yd. She recommended, if making a runner, that it narrows at the jog, keeping the reveal uniform and stepping the runner in. She also suggested using a less expensive carpet on the back staircase, as it’s not really a public area. They charge $50 to come out to measure and quote (we’re 4 minutes from their store if it matters). We haven’t yet committed to pay for a quote.

A third installer is scheduled to come out to measure next week. All three carry a lot of the same brands.

I’ve done runners a few times, but never had to deal with moldings or jogs before, and now I’m unsure of how to proceed.

Any advice on the best way to approach this would be helpful. We don’t plan on being in the house more than another 10 years or so as we are retirees and will need one level living by then. I want it to look good, but don’t want to spend a fortune on it.

thanks

Joanne