# Price to install carpet on stairs?



## Tommy Plumb

My grandmother is having carpet installed and with the fiasco that occured last time she had work done I want to make sure she isn't getting ripped off here.

What would it normally cost to install carpet on 12 steps? The old carpet/padding is already removed and the tack strips are there. The carpet guy wants $1,000 to do it and he's useing a $0.62/sqft carpet. The one I took off is probably about 20'*3'. It seems like $962 for somthing one or two guys will work on for an hour or two is pretty high.

They want $1,000 to do one 16*12 bedroom, another 12*12 bedroom, and a 15*10 den which I think is reasonable. Then another $1,000 for 12 steps which seems really high to me.

This is through Home Depot by the way which I would normally never recommend for any work but my family has used them and been happy with their work and don't want to listen to me about lousy subcontractors, inflated prices, etc.


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## rredogg

Total rip-off on the cost of that install. I'd do a little shopping around with neighbors or friends and see if you can find someone else.
Carpet instaliation is very labor intensive and both skill and tools are needed. That being said that price in my mind is way to high for that amount of stairs.


Best of luck, rredogg


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## Floorwizard

90 bucks a step?

never heard of it.


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## ron schenker

Are there spindles on the steps?


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## mdshunk

This is timely.... I had carpet laid on steps a few weeks ago by a carpet sub. His labor is $4 per step for wall to wall, $6 per step to go against one wall and roll or "tailor" one edge, and $8 per step to run carpet up the middle of the steps and tailor both edges. These were prices directly from the install sub, and not from the carpet store, mind you.


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## sjrhome

I just had a carpet installed in my 16 x 23 master bedroom. Required one seam. Install cost me 170 bucks plus a tip. This was from a reputable flooring store in my area. Total job with the rug was 875.00


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## Tommy Plumb

Their are no splindles to go around.


Thanks to everyone for the advice. 

Unfortunatly my grandmother didn't listen to me and paid out $1,000 to do the steps. I wasn't aware or it before but they did the sides of the steps as well. It took one guy about two hours to complete the stairs. 

Now it's turned into a little mess. I wish she would have listend when I told her to stay away from Home Depot installations.
On the side of the stairs though I removed the molding and told them to staples along the edges so the molding would cover them. Their is a line of staples down both sides of stairs at odd intervals/angles. 
On the steps themselves their are staples just thrown in random places.
Every seam they made is visable.
I believe the carpet may be defective as every 2ft - 3ft evenly spaced you can see a high spot in the carpet.

They claim they have to staple the carpet like they did because the carpet is thin. Amazingly enough the old carpet which was just as thin was stapled under the moldings and in such a way as all the staples were hidden.

They claim the seams are inevitable due to the type of carpeting. This may be true.

They claim the high spots in the carpet are due to the floor being uneven. I would believe it if the high spots wern't evenly spaced in every room they did three of which are on slabs.



And of course she paid up-front and now they just say too bad.


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## Remodeling

Is the carpet tight? Can you grab a few tufts and pull it up by more than an inch or so. Just wondering if the high spots are from the previously rolled carpet not being stretched in properly. 

Seams in the carpet are not going to be invisiable and some carpet does seam better than others. But, the seams should not jump out at you. Do you have any pictures you can post?

Rich


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## Tommy Plumb

Remodeling said:


> Is the carpet tight? Can you grab a few tufts and pull it up by more than an inch or so. Just wondering if the high spots are from the previously rolled carpet not being stretched in properly.
> 
> Seams in the carpet are not going to be invisiable and some carpet does seam better than others. But, the seams should not jump out at you. Do you have any pictures you can post?
> 
> Rich


I know the seams arn't going to be invisible with a thin carpet like this. Perhaps I am being too critical about that.

The high spots though are what gets me. I figured they just didn't kick it enough and asked them about it. They told me it was as tight as it needs to be an insisted it was high spots in the floor.

I don't have any pictures but when I go over there this week I'll take a couple.


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## mrbakhshi

*Home Depot Scam*

If you still have the invoice from Home Depot..study it carefully. There's a "mistake" on the invoice that charges for the steps. I just (yesterday) received an estimate from them. The charge for 13 steps should have been $110, but the invoice had stated over $1050. 

This is how this works: in my case, total sq. yds for entire basement is 124. There are 13 steps. So the math for STEPS only should be:

13 steps * $8.50 per step charge = $110.50. 
Instead the invoice stated :
124 (??) * $8.50 = $1054. 

They did change it once I brought it to their attention.

Now, it could be just a innocent mistake. But seeing as it has happened to more than just me, I'm suspect. (any lawyers reading this?)

Do let me know what you find!


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## Tommy Plumb

I will get my hands on the invoice and check it out. It sure would be nice if she got a refund.

Home Depot in the meantime has had two people come look at the carpet. The first guy said the floor was uneven which was the reason for the lines. If we wanted they could take the carpet up, plywood over the floors and put it back down. He also claimed the staples had to be in the middle of the runners on the stairs at odd angles because of the type of carpet. He stuck to that story and wouldn't listen to anything I had to say.

Note: The basement carpet (on the slab) has these lines, the first floor carpet has these lines (oak floors), and the den (upstairs on another slab which is an addition) has these lines.

A manager came out to look at it last Friday. He is supposed to be sending someone to clean up the staples which he admits should not be there. He also admited the padding may be bad as he has seen this happen before. Although it really seems to me that this is a defect in the carpet itself. He stuck to the story though that it was probably the floor and offered a 10% refund to accept the job. I told him their is no way three differant surfaces have the same imperfections with the lines running in differant directions in differant rooms and they needed to fix the problem.
He really does not want to pick up the carpet. He said that the carpet may be damaged in taking it up (won't seam and strech correctly again). I told him in that event they needed to replace the carpet. At this point I found out the carpet we got was discontinued meaning if they damage any piece of it they have to redo the entire house in a differant carpet. I know that would be a decent chunk of money for them to eat but I don't feel she should be made to live with a defective product either.


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## mrbakhshi

*Home Depot Install*

I had to pay for the carpet and install up front as well. The only way I was convinced to do this, I was told that they have a 1 yr satisfaction guarantee. I'm waiting to receive this in writing...something I'll definately read carefully.


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## mrbakhshi

After waiting 6 weeks to get my carpet installed, I had to cancel the order and pay Home Depot $200 for the privilege of talking to them. Officially $160 is for the "restocking" of the stock carpet that I purchased and then returned to them. $40 was a non-refundable deposit. Sigh! what a scam! 

The person who measured for the basement measured it wrong (missed an entire section of basement). The carpet was the wrong size and would have multiple seems down the middle of the room the way they layed it out. But ofcourse according to them it was my fault. After fighting with them for two weeks, I gave up. Ofcourse since it was all paid up front, I'm at their mercy to get any of my money back.

Anyone reading this...don't buy carpet install from Home Depot.


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## AtlanticWBConst.

Yep...


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## louann

wow poor grandma,i hate when things like this happends,the good thing is she has you to help her out.
I just got a quote of 150.00 to put the carpet in a bedroom of 12x13 the funny thing is that the rug is a remnent and cost 115.00. i only have 200.00 --so what to do. LOUANN.


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## Denver flooring rep

As a flooring rep for a major company "not a big box store" I really hate to hear these stories! I write estimates daily and I have never heard of such a rip off? In addition to the actual yardage, which we charge $2.60 per step for the standard waterfall step, and $5.50 for hollywood style. The most expensive type are full warp floating steps @ $10 per step. Other costs that can add to the labor would be wrapped stringers @ $.65 per lin ft, upholstered, capped, pie steps and landing figure $5 each. Spindles are $1.60 each. A birdcage step can run up to $26. The average job probably works out to under $50 for stairs, and the max might be $150-200 for a very complex stairway?:furious:


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## Stoutt

Wish you all were in my neck of the woods! 
I would love to have some work on the side!


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## DStars

*Hollywood / Waterfall - what's difference?*



Denver flooring rep said:


> As a flooring rep for a major company "not a big box store" I really hate to hear these stories! I write estimates daily and I have never heard of such a rip off? In addition to the actual yardage, which we charge $2.60 per step for the standard waterfall step, and $5.50 for hollywood style. The most expensive type are full warp floating steps @ $10 per step. Other costs that can add to the labor would be wrapped stringers @ $.65 per lin ft, upholstered, capped, pie steps and landing figure $5 each. Spindles are $1.60 each. A birdcage step can run up to $26. The average job probably works out to under $50 for stairs, and the max might be $150-200 for a very complex stairway?:furious:


*What is the difference between waterfall or hollywood style with carpet on stairs?*


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## Bud Cline

> What is the difference between waterfall or hollywood style with carpet on stairs?


A simple answer is:

*Waterfall:* Continuous run of carpet, acroos the surface of a step, down the riser, across the surface of the next step, doen the riser, and so on.

*Hollywood:* Open stair requiring each individual stair to be wrapped, see-thru where a riser would otherwise be.


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## racebum

hi there, i actually own a carpet cleaning / install business. what you asked for in the first post would run a max of 400 in labor for all of it, stairs and rooms, possibly less. the $2000 quote is out of line for the industry, it's at most a half day job


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## marins

Depend but in one average room 12x12 the cost to install carpet around $100, $5 for step. 


http://www.rempros.com/installation-prices/cost_to_install_carpet.html


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## Bud Cline

Putting dates on these comments appears to be a waste of time.:yes:


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