I am glad you are sharing this message. Inside, it's carpet only for me. Don't take chances with the lives of friends and family. Sadly I lost my sister in 2019. She slipped going down hardwood stairs, and broke her back. It was high enough up, that she lost the ability to breathe on her own, and passed away a few days later. Use the carpet. Your life is worth it.
And even if you do they stay dirty. In most eu countries carpets are old fashioned. And that is my thought. We have boards with a rubber anti slip bar in them works good enough. If you fall then you learn. 😉
Been in floorcovering for 30 years, nearly every customer that gets a hardwood staircase, is back within a few months to get a carpet runner ( assuming they did not get the runner in the first place). Get a high density , low pile , NYLON ( not a polyester or polytriextra or olephin ) carpet for best high traffic performance
The stairs in my son's house are carpet. The carpet the builder used is a bit slippery also the trend don't seem very deep. The home is only a few years old and the rest of it seem well build.
My wife and I lived in our 2 story house for 43 years. We did a big renovation and put porcelain tile in the living room and hallway. There was no question that we wanted to stay with carpet on the stairs and the hall in the front of the stairs for the comfort and safety. It turned out we had to wait for a full month for the new carpet and I made the mistake of removing the old carpet so for one month we had to use hard wooden stairs. Our beautiful home became not very nice. I am 70 years old and can run up and down carpet stairs all day long. The hard wood stairs jarred my old body, felt horrible and why anybody would choose hard wooden stairs over the comfort of carpet is beyond me. When the new carpet stairs were installed over good quality 3/8 foam backing ( recommended for stairs ), my wife and I felt like we had died and gone to heaven. Remember the rest of the house is porcelain tile with a few area rugs and we love that, but hard stairs are something I will never have .
@@abutterfly7975, some people prefer not to keep their home clean. Some people feel the work of taking off their shoes that they walked around outdoors isn't worth the effort. They rather increase their chance of slipping down stairs. Okay
"why anybody would choose hard wooden stairs over the comfort of carpet is beyond me" Because I'm not lugging a vacuum up and down stairs every week, that's why. You can tell who cleans their house and who doesn't...
I grew up with uncarpeted hardwood, and i love the look. But I’m also always barefoot indoors, pretty decent traction. But when I do have a home, I’ll probably have wood or vinyl stairs with a carpet runner installed.
No joke; currently sitting on the carpeted staircase in our new home, was looking up videos on how to remove carpet from stairs as we were GOING to have the hard wood beneath the carpet refinished tomorrow along with our floors. Now, I'm looking up places to get new carpet installed lol. Seen too many accident videos on reddit, I'll pick safety over style any day of the week. Cheers
I have 40 years experience in the architectural world and although my experience is commercial buildings, not houses, I did not hesitate to follow the advice of the flooring supplier I have done business with most of my career. When I installed vinyl planks on my basement stairs, I also installed rubber nosings. Although it's not the best look for a residence, I know for sure no one will ever slip on those stairs.
We moved into a new home last year with hardwood stairs. It was way too slippery for my liking (we normally walk around barefoot or in socks in our home). We ended up buying fabric for the treads. It looks pretty good, you can still see the hardwood around the edges and of course the risers. But it adds so much more traction.
What a great tip for people with stairs, whether commercial or residential. I don't hair stairs, but I appreciate anyone who shares sound, helpful advice.
Our first home had ugly worn out rubber treads over the hardwood stairs. When we had the floors redone we didn’t put anything back on the stairs. About a month or so after, my oldest child, about 4 at the time, fell down half the flight of stairs 😬. From there on out it’s carpet or some kind of runner on stairs for us. Lesson learned and no one was hurt thankfully.
I appreciate how quickly you got to the point, the quick snap transitions and calculation without filler/waste statements. 👍🏿 too many videos ramble. This one did not.
So glad you didn’t really fall! And the dummy falling down the stairs was HILARIOUS! Thanks for educating viewers on the difference between all these items! Became an instant subscriber!
I spilled down laminate covered stairs, broke my tailbone, bashed my head and got a concussion. I used skateboard grip tape (sticky on the back, sandpaper like on the front). I put 2 small strips of this on the front of each stair, it worked like a charm and I was able to make the laminate very safe.
Epic stunt :-D (Also have done that on carpeted stairs.) The stairs were to shallow, so I installed wood treads that were full depth (and also corrected the start/end riser dimensions). I added sand to the polyurethane coats to give a little more friction. I also added a strip of gorilla tape for a visual reference of the stair edge and a little more traction.
I have fallen on stairs covered in that builder grade cheap carpet in my old house many times. My house now has berber carpet on the stairs to the basement. In 12 years I've never even slipped. And I use them daily to get to the garage.
I slipped on my top stair that had berber carpet on the stairs. Luckily I just bounced down all of the stairs breaking my tailbone. Now I have a high quality carpet and not one fall from anyone.
So did I, in socks thinking what the hell as I’m trying to break the fall, my son comes out of his room “mommy what happened? all I heard was dooon, doon, doon, doon” , Hit the back of my head and injured my tailbone, 1st time I’d ever fallen down stairs, I thought carpet was supposed to be safe
Good video with points to ponder! We replaced every piece of carpet in our home with either hardwood or vinyl and I would never go back. Carpet may be less slippery but it is dirty and impossible to really clean even tough you think it is, We put the vinyl planks on the steps leading to the finished basement and I we have never had any issue with slipping. The steps are up to code and very well lit and have a sturdy hand rail. What we had on those steps before was a indoor/outdoor carpet which was very slippery.
We just pulled the trigger on some new vinyl planks for our entire downstairs and stairs. We moved into a new construction home a year ago and our stock stair carpet is extremely slippery. It's caught me off guard a few times. Looking forward to getting our new floors!
Mom always said 'watch were your going' (only because Dad did a crappy job). Great info that I'll have to share with my stair renovatin' neighbours. (Measuring stair tread width and 'untrue' sides - stair tread jig...works like a charm.)
I can vouch for that! Ceramic tile stairs, slipped fourth from the bottom, fell on my spine and prolapsed three disks spent six months having physical therapy! Luckily at that point I lived in Austria and they have top notch medical cover without stupid high US coverage or I would have everything to cover the costs!
I've only redone stairs a handful of times - a cool tool that was introduced to me was a stair tread gauge. You can buy one or make one. Not even the time, but the headaches it saves... worth it IMO. Definitely a good call on PL for the nosing.
I recall friends and coworkers giving us a hard time about replacing carpet on our stairs with more carpet when we bought our house, but they didn't have kids and the stairs feel a bit steep compare to others. This makes me feel like we made the right choice
I think a lot depends on the shallowness of the tread. The deeper the tread, the safer carpeting is. The shallower the tread, the greater the chance of slipping on carpet, especially wearing socks.
I fell down the stairs the most on carpet stairs 😅. Once a week in my old townhouse stairs and once in a year in my new house basement stairs. So yeah, totally agree it’s all in when the home was built for some reason. I never fell down my hardwood staircase in my new house. Maybe because we know it’s hard and proceed with caution 😅! Those carpet stairs are really slippery barefoot stepping wrong on the edge. Also, most people hate the way carpet stairs look and it gets really dirty fast. If selling your house always replaced them!
I’ve been installing all types of flooring for 32yrs now and in my house the stairs will always be carpet. Lost count how many times I’ve lost my balance on stairs considering I have a below knee prosthetic for the past 18yrs. 1000% recommend carpet. On another note make sure your installer wraps the underlay over the nose of the stair. Big difference!!!!!!!!
one way to help is rather than cutting your nosing off the existing steps , build them out using scrap lumber then your left with a deeper tread and its less work adding some boards to risers than it is to cut off noses. We use one piece vinyl stair treads by Cali Bamboo and after fitting the treads you build out risers until they are flush w existing nose then simply use either vinyl plank or desired riser material giving a finished look in crotch as it rests on top of stair tread and deepest tread possible without sticking out beyond stringers.
I saw the 'dummy' falling down the stairs in the preview and had to click. Worth it. If you want to improve stair traction when using vinyl or wood, consider the surface texture and a good toe strip (the piece at the front edge; probably has an official name). Otherwise stick with carpet for the 'cushioning' effect when you face plant your way down.
Thanks for this video, I would never have thought about that. I will say tho, I don’t want carpet in my house, rugs are fine because they are easily replaceable, so I’m guessing we’ll have to get a runner for the stairs when we remodel!
I think the best choice for looks and safety is a hardwood stairs with a carpet runner. Installed cpt for over 10+ years and heard a lot of horror stories about hardwood stairs accidents. Cpt runner is a good mid choice.
I clean carpets mainly for a living for many years. One of the largest rental property owners I work for has removed carpets from their rentals with the exception of the stairs for the very reason you mentioned. I suspect they don't want to be held liable for an accident. Btw, guess where the dogs urinate now? Not long ago one of my customers had her son fall down the stairs to the basement she said he fractured his neck. I don't know how bad the injury was, but I'm well aware of what can happen with such an injury. The thing is, those stairs were covered in carpet and had a proper rail. It's the only time I'm aware of since I started out in 1987.
Great video! The house we just bought might have wood stairs (wood floors under carpet) going up to 2nd floor.. we were gonna keep the wood floors but not sure about the upstairs. I like carpet in bedrooms, plus it's easier for my dogs to climb. If we kept wood for the stairs, would prolly put a carpet stair runner..
I have had to go up and down carpeted stairs with crutches....broke my leg skiing and many years later broke my knee. I had many near misses going down the stairs that could have been falls. I love the look and cleanliness of wood and have wood floors but will keep my carpet.
Thanks for the vid. Think I will stay with carpet. Just couldn’t stand all that Klacking noise from the kids going up and down all day. Especially during lockdown, Aargh!
I hate having to redo the same project twice. Redoing my stairs now, and I like the look of hardwood best. But I have a young child so safety is paramount. I think I'll do the safest option now and redo it in a decade. The old stairs had 40+ year old carpet so anything is an upgrade
I have slid down the staircases throughout the years because they all had carpet. like land on your butt, continue sliding down sorta slide. I have vinyl on them all now, no sliding.
I have no stairs...why am I watching this? I purposely bought 1 level because of how many serious home injuries happen on stairs. lol This is SUPER helpful for people who may have never considered this. Nice.
Thanks for this! I live in the Pacific Northwest and have off-white (!) carpeted stairs 😂😭. So I'm going to steal your idea and just change to a darker carpet ✔ Maybe mud-colored.
It also depends on whether the carpet is a good quality carpet or cheap nylon mix . I fell 3 times down my rented Gov't owned duplex stairs before I bought my single storey unit. They used cheap industrial carpet that was so slippery.The stairs were also narrow and steep. Cheers from NSW Australia.
When I decided to re-do the stairs in hardwood I didn't want the kids slipping and falling down them - so I hammered nails through the bottom of each step leaving the points exposed on the top surface and then I spread a layer of glue on each step, sprinkled them with sand, gravel and pieces of broken glass for the best no-slip surface possible. The stairs look great and we're all safe!
Time for an update! There's now "Cap-a-Tread" which fits over the nose of the stair. I'm going to try it on my staircases just because carpet always ends up looking bad...dirty and crushed down because everyone steps on the same part of each stair tread. Cheers!
i slipped on carpet stair once and so did my friend. i think the thing for us is, we walking more carefully when we expect the hard wood floor may slippery.
Carpet is the safest for older folks, one slip is enough to kill them. Sometimes they can’t control their movements or sometimes they feel dizzy suddenly.
We have a steep staircase with vinyl plank. It looks nice but I hate it. The stairs are a bit narrow for me and they put a vinyl corner piece over the edges so walking in socks means a bump right under the ball of your foot as you are walking down. I’ve learned not to wear slide type house shoes and my 16 year old daughter actually slipped down the last 4 steps the other day and bruised her back. Seriously thinking of somehow just carpeting the stair area...
Growing up I slipped multiple times on our carpeted stairs. Then slipped several times on the in-laws carpeted stairs to the basement. My grandmother was found at the bottom of her carpeted stairs. I’ve never slipped on wooden stairs.
A well installed "decorative" runner might do the job. Runners can be made of most carpets, rememants can be used, just make sure it is well installed.
I just put polyurethane on my stairs. First coat wasn't slippery. 2nd coat was really slippery. I just mixed in some of those anti slip sand particles for a 3rd coat. Hope it works out ok.
They do make pre made stairtreads out of vinyl plank now. The old method you cut the nose off of the stair and install a stairnosing. That usually is not in code for building codes. It shortens the tread. If you are installing vinyl on your stairs use pl remade vinyl treads.
Was just thinking about this for my house. Thinking that you could more easily catch your foot on carpet and fall than on a smooth surface... Bottom line- be careful, move slowly, and use the hand rail.
Oh and I have hard wood floors middle level and upstairs and hard wood Leading upstairs which I’ve never found to be an issue. They look Great and I simply dust them.
funny and entertaining video, thank you for the informative video, keep on making the funny videos. Also I enjoyed the end where you fell and said you can fell your legs.
Well, everyone has their opinion. I rip out carpet from stairs every time we move. What you didn't test was what kind of shoe is being worn. Slick leather soled shoes on carpet are a recipe for a fall. Grippy athletic shoes work well on hardwood or vinyl. The weight of the person climbing or descending the stairs is a factor too. Just dragging a light block of sock covered wood over a surface is hardly a good scientific test. But to each their own. I'll stick with uncarpeted, hardwood stairs every time. (Not to mention that uncarpeted surfaces are so much easier to keep clean and allergen free.)
Never really considered this before but definitely good to know. Almost makes me want to recommend installing some clear grip tape at the edge of each stair on future jobs
Wood at top, then carpet for the rest. I've got 2 sets of 14 steps straight in 11 feet. Wood at top step, then carpet, and never had a slip. But other set with carpet at top step: several misses, always the top step. Friction won't save a heel that misses the structure under the step, but the soft steps below make the ride survivable.
I had my vinyl planks done on the stairs today. I hope my kids don't fall. We have never fell down our stairs before thanks to God! Don't want it to start now.
I've found that sometimes, when wearing shoes on carpeted stairs, the carpet will catch the tread on the sole and trip me. I prefer hardwood with bare feet.
Interestingly, I replaced the carpeting on my stairs with hardwood. It's been about 10 years on each. I slipped 3+ times on the carpeted stairs in that timeframe and zero times on the hardwood covered stairs. Given the durability of the hardwood, would hesitate to do this again. YMMV
The bit of a lip on vinyl stair nose is a trip hazard. It might keep sox from slipping off the edge but if you catch it wrong, it will send you down especially if your hands are full with something like a laundry basket that is hard to see past.
Cutting nosing off my vinyl covered stairs will make the tread too short, in fact illegal. Carpeted stairs have no problem since the riser is sloped leaving no extended nosing.
Carpet isn't the prettiest, but everyone in my family has fallen down the stairs at some point. Carpet = not even my elderly mother got injured. The cushioning is literally life saving. Sometimes function is more important than form. We just replaced our carpet with new carpet.
I am glad you are sharing this message. Inside, it's carpet only for me. Don't take chances with the lives of friends and family. Sadly I lost my sister in 2019. She slipped going down hardwood stairs, and broke her back. It was high enough up, that she lost the ability to breathe on her own, and passed away a few days later.
Use the carpet. Your life is worth it.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
I’m sorry for your loss but I fall a lot on carpet. A lot!
Sorry to hear about your loss.
Amen! And sorry for the loss of your sister.
@@Giulia2404 Maybe it is your shoes that are slippery. Be careful!
I don't dislike carpet on stairs, I can even deal with the fact that they tend to get stains, it's the vacuuming each one of them that annoys me.
I hear you!
This is why I stopped carpeting stairs. Dispite my best intentions, I never clean them enough with carpet
Also carpet is gross. Traps too much crap.
@@WalterMelons gradually working my way to being carpetless. Can't wait. It's so gross no matter how clean you think it is, it's not clean.
And even if you do they stay dirty. In most eu countries carpets are old fashioned. And that is my thought. We have boards with a rubber anti slip bar in them works good enough. If you fall then you learn. 😉
I replaced my stairwell with a fire pole. Going down is easy, but going back up is a little more difficult. Solved the carpet vs hardwood debate.
😂
😂😂😂😂😂
😮😅😂
Should have replaced it with a ladder.
Been in floorcovering for 30 years, nearly every customer that gets a hardwood staircase, is back within a few months to get a carpet runner ( assuming they did not get the runner in the first place). Get a high density , low pile , NYLON ( not a polyester or polytriextra or olephin ) carpet for best high traffic performance
The stairs in my son's house are carpet. The carpet the builder used is a bit slippery also the trend don't seem very deep. The home is only a few years old and the rest of it seem well build.
SAMEEEE@@jobrownsmith116
I solved the "not as comfy as carpet" conundrum by sticking carpet to my feet, problem solved. Keep em' coming
There’s a name for that....slippers:)
My wife and I lived in our 2 story house for 43 years. We did a big renovation and put porcelain tile in the living room and hallway. There was no question that we wanted to stay with carpet on the stairs and the hall in the front of the stairs for the comfort and safety. It turned out we had to wait for a full month for the new carpet and I made the mistake of removing the old carpet so for one month we had to use hard wooden stairs. Our beautiful home became not very nice. I am 70 years old and can run up and down carpet stairs all day long. The hard wood stairs jarred my old body, felt horrible and why anybody would choose hard wooden stairs over the comfort of carpet is beyond me. When the new carpet stairs were installed over good quality 3/8 foam backing ( recommended for stairs ), my wife and I felt like we had died and gone to heaven. Remember the rest of the house is porcelain tile with a few area rugs and we love that, but hard stairs are something I will never have .
It stains and has to be vacuumed and looks rundown. Too much work to keep up.
@@abutterfly7975, some people prefer not to keep their home clean. Some people feel the work of taking off their shoes that they walked around outdoors isn't worth the effort. They rather increase their chance of slipping down stairs.
Okay
"why anybody would choose hard wooden stairs over the comfort of carpet is beyond me" Because I'm not lugging a vacuum up and down stairs every week, that's why. You can tell who cleans their house and who doesn't...
Because carpet on stairs looks like crap.
@@fomin23 ✅carpeted stairs are a dated look
I grew up with uncarpeted hardwood, and i love the look. But I’m also always barefoot indoors, pretty decent traction. But when I do have a home, I’ll probably have wood or vinyl stairs with a carpet runner installed.
No joke; currently sitting on the carpeted staircase in our new home, was looking up videos on how to remove carpet from stairs as we were GOING to have the hard wood beneath the carpet refinished tomorrow along with our floors. Now, I'm looking up places to get new carpet installed lol. Seen too many accident videos on reddit, I'll pick safety over style any day of the week. Cheers
I have 40 years experience in the architectural world and although my experience is commercial buildings, not houses, I did not hesitate to follow the advice of the flooring supplier I have done business with most of my career. When I installed vinyl planks on my basement stairs, I also installed rubber nosings. Although it's not the best look for a residence, I know for sure no one will ever slip on those stairs.
We moved into a new home last year with hardwood stairs. It was way too slippery for my liking (we normally walk around barefoot or in socks in our home). We ended up buying fabric for the treads. It looks pretty good, you can still see the hardwood around the edges and of course the risers. But it adds so much more traction.
What a great tip for people with stairs, whether commercial or residential. I don't hair stairs, but I appreciate anyone who shares sound, helpful advice.
Grew up in a home that had the same. If you fell down the stairs it wasn't from slipping...
Our first home had ugly worn out rubber treads over the hardwood stairs. When we had the floors redone we didn’t put anything back on the stairs. About a month or so after, my oldest child, about 4 at the time, fell down half the flight of stairs 😬.
From there on out it’s carpet or some
kind of runner on stairs for us. Lesson learned and no one was hurt thankfully.
Ooof, that's a tough lesson for a parent of a little one to learn. So glad your little one was a-ok. That must have been frightening for them AND you.
I appreciate how quickly you got to the point, the quick snap transitions and calculation without filler/waste statements. 👍🏿 too many videos ramble. This one did not.
So glad you didn’t really fall! And the dummy falling down the stairs was HILARIOUS! Thanks for educating viewers on the difference between all these items! Became an instant subscriber!
Really appreciate the comment Rose:)
My builders damaged the treads on my Oak hardwood stairs, that they reckoned couldn't be fixed. This has given me some ideas. Thanks.
The thing with hardwood is you can make it a coarse finish so it has about as much grip as carpet but looks really good.
I spilled down laminate covered stairs, broke my tailbone, bashed my head and got a concussion. I used skateboard grip tape (sticky on the back, sandpaper like on the front). I put 2 small strips of this on the front of each stair, it worked like a charm and I was able to make the laminate very safe.
Use the handrail. It's there for a reason.
Epic stunt :-D (Also have done that on carpeted stairs.)
The stairs were to shallow, so I installed wood treads that were full depth (and also corrected the start/end riser dimensions). I added sand to the polyurethane coats to give a little more friction. I also added a strip of gorilla tape for a visual reference of the stair edge and a little more traction.
I have fallen on stairs covered in that builder grade cheap carpet in my old house many times. My house now has berber carpet on the stairs to the basement. In 12 years I've never even slipped. And I use them daily to get to the garage.
Thanks for this comment. I’ve slipped many times on my builders cheap carpet on my stairs and I now I understand why … it’s cheap 😆
I slipped on my top stair that had berber carpet on the stairs. Luckily I just bounced down all of the stairs breaking my tailbone. Now I have a high quality carpet and not one fall from anyone.
So did I, in socks thinking what the hell as I’m trying to break the fall, my son comes out of his room “mommy what happened? all I heard was dooon, doon, doon, doon” , Hit the back of my head and injured my tailbone, 1st time I’d ever fallen down stairs, I thought carpet was supposed to be safe
Thank you! I am in the decision making place for stair coverings. This helped a lot.
Great video, solidified my decision to stay with carpet on the stairs and upstairs!
Good video with points to ponder! We replaced every piece of carpet in our home with either hardwood or vinyl and I would never go back. Carpet may be less slippery but it is dirty and impossible to really clean even tough you think it is, We put the vinyl planks on the steps leading to the finished basement and I we have never had any issue with slipping. The steps are up to code and very well lit and have a sturdy hand rail. What we had on those steps before was a indoor/outdoor carpet which was very slippery.
We just pulled the trigger on some new vinyl planks for our entire downstairs and stairs. We moved into a new construction home a year ago and our stock stair carpet is extremely slippery. It's caught me off guard a few times. Looking forward to getting our new floors!
Mom always said 'watch were your going' (only because Dad did a crappy job). Great info that I'll have to share with my stair renovatin' neighbours. (Measuring stair tread width and 'untrue' sides - stair tread jig...works like a charm.)
I can vouch for that! Ceramic tile stairs, slipped fourth from the bottom, fell on my spine and prolapsed three disks spent six months having physical therapy! Luckily at that point I lived in Austria and they have top notch medical cover without stupid high US coverage or I would have everything to cover the costs!
I've only redone stairs a handful of times - a cool tool that was introduced to me was a stair tread gauge. You can buy one or make one. Not even the time, but the headaches it saves... worth it IMO.
Definitely a good call on PL for the nosing.
Those are definitely great tools to use when it comes to fitting stairs! Maybe next time I'll be smart enough to buy one:)
Wow, you just saved me a bunch of headache updating my stairs. What a great tool. Thanks.
Hopefully, up here in Canada, the government will keep us safe by banning stairs.
I think their cunning plan is to ban you ! !
Or socks...
😂 😂
Or maybe you will have to get that one vax that prevents you from slipping by 75%
@@babymoon5282 The only problem is that after you get it, you find out that it's only 40% effective and will require bi-annual booster shots...
Are there aesthetically pleasing materials that can be added to stair surfaces to make them less slippery?
yo
I recall friends and coworkers giving us a hard time about replacing carpet on our stairs with more carpet when we bought our house, but they didn't have kids and the stairs feel a bit steep compare to others. This makes me feel like we made the right choice
I may replace the carpet, but not going for the wood bc of my kids. Thank you for the message and helping me with this decision.
I think a lot depends on the shallowness of the tread. The deeper the tread, the safer carpeting is. The shallower the tread, the greater the chance of slipping on carpet, especially wearing socks.
Use slip proof tape on the stairs, especially the nosing. It works perfectly for us. Also, pick those luxury vinyl planks with texture on top.
That stuff is great. A friend has glossy painted stairs. Very scary before the tape. The tape would be pretty much invisible on wood grain pattern.
I fell down the stairs the most on carpet stairs 😅. Once a week in my old townhouse stairs and once in a year in my new house basement stairs. So yeah, totally agree it’s all in when the home was built for some reason. I never fell down my hardwood staircase in my new house. Maybe because we know it’s hard and proceed with caution 😅! Those carpet stairs are really slippery barefoot stepping wrong on the edge. Also, most people hate the way carpet stairs look and it gets really dirty fast. If selling your house always replaced them!
I'm with you. Laminate for me, anytime
I’ve been installing all types of flooring for 32yrs now and in my house the stairs will always be carpet. Lost count how many times I’ve lost my balance on stairs considering I have a below knee prosthetic for the past 18yrs. 1000% recommend carpet. On another note make sure your installer wraps the underlay over the nose of the stair. Big difference!!!!!!!!
one way to help is rather than cutting your nosing off the existing steps , build them out using scrap lumber then your left with a deeper tread and its less work adding some boards to risers than it is to cut off noses. We use one piece vinyl stair treads by Cali Bamboo and after fitting the treads you build out risers until they are flush w existing nose then simply use either vinyl plank or desired riser material giving a finished look in crotch as it rests on top of stair tread and deepest tread possible without sticking out beyond stringers.
Hahahaha that intro was sweet!
Thanks Buddy
😂 That illustration was funny! My best friend and I used to slide down my wood stairs on purpose when we were kids 😂
I saw the 'dummy' falling down the stairs in the preview and had to click. Worth it.
If you want to improve stair traction when using vinyl or wood, consider the surface texture and a good toe strip (the piece at the front edge; probably has an official name). Otherwise stick with carpet for the 'cushioning' effect when you face plant your way down.
Ripped off dirty carpet from the stairs and installed oak wood treads. Just beautiful. As for slippery? We wear slippers around house, no issue.
Nice! Slippers are the way to go:)
Thanks for this video, I would never have thought about that. I will say tho, I don’t want carpet in my house, rugs are fine because they are easily replaceable, so I’m guessing we’ll have to get a runner for the stairs when we remodel!
I don't care for carpet or wood, both suck. Have animals, move anything heavy, drop something forget it. Never again 🤣💥
@@shanew7361 add in 3 kids and exactly carpet is a no go! Lol
@@courtneybauman8795 Preach! Yea I will do vinyl or tile on all my floors next house.
@@shanew7361 same here. Tile would be nice, but I think vinyl will be more in our budget at the moment.
@@courtneybauman8795 Amen on that lol I'm sticking with carpet and wood until next house lol
For basement stairs, paint with the additional, clear anti-slip finish
I used a anti-slip spray. I’m amazed by the longevity of the stuff.
you nailed the slipping scene, extra points for stunt well done :D
I think the best choice for looks and safety is a hardwood stairs with a carpet runner. Installed cpt for over 10+ years and heard a lot of horror stories about hardwood stairs accidents. Cpt runner is a good mid choice.
Agree!
But not painted steps under it.
God that sucked. Never again with the cleaning and they never looked good.
Our bullnose on laminate had a lip. I just bought a hallway runner carpet and cut it to fit each step. Good for the feet and the dog.
Thanks for the best advice on the stairs. You are amazing
I clean carpets mainly for a living for many years. One of the largest rental property owners I work for has removed carpets from their rentals with the exception of the stairs for the very reason you mentioned. I suspect they don't want to be held liable for an accident. Btw, guess where the dogs urinate now? Not long ago one of my customers had her son fall down the stairs to the basement she said he fractured his neck. I don't know how bad the injury was, but I'm well aware of what can happen with such an injury. The thing is, those stairs were covered in carpet and had a proper rail. It's the only time I'm aware of since I started out in 1987.
Great video! The house we just bought might have wood stairs (wood floors under carpet) going up to 2nd floor.. we were gonna keep the wood floors but not sure about the upstairs. I like carpet in bedrooms, plus it's easier for my dogs to climb. If we kept wood for the stairs, would prolly put a carpet stair runner..
I broke 4 toes because of a hardwood spiral staircase. A well polished hardwood is slippery as hell when carrying tools.
🤕 ouch
Esp in socks
I have had to go up and down carpeted stairs with crutches....broke my leg skiing and many years later broke my knee. I had many near misses going down the stairs that could have been falls. I love the look and cleanliness of wood and have wood floors but will keep my carpet.
Getting ready to my stairs and showed this to my wife. We laughed big time .Good job.
I'll be sticking with carpet. I've had it for 15 years with no issues of slipping. I use a fabric carpet runner.
Thanks for the vid. Think I will stay with carpet. Just couldn’t stand all that Klacking noise from the kids going up and down all day. Especially during lockdown, Aargh!
Dang kids!
I agree
I hate having to redo the same project twice. Redoing my stairs now, and I like the look of hardwood best. But I have a young child so safety is paramount. I think I'll do the safest option now and redo it in a decade. The old stairs had 40+ year old carpet so anything is an upgrade
I have slid down the staircases throughout the years because they all had carpet. like land on your butt, continue sliding down sorta slide. I have vinyl on them all now, no sliding.
Me too! I fell so much on carpet stairs. Don’t know why.
I always fall on carpeted stairs. I hate them.
I have no stairs...why am I watching this? I purposely bought 1 level because of how many serious home injuries happen on stairs. lol
This is SUPER helpful for people who may have never considered this. Nice.
Thanks for this! I live in the Pacific Northwest and have off-white (!) carpeted stairs 😂😭. So I'm going to steal your idea and just change to a darker carpet ✔ Maybe mud-colored.
:) heck of a plan
It also depends on whether the carpet is a good quality carpet or cheap nylon mix . I fell 3 times down my rented Gov't owned duplex stairs before I bought my single storey unit. They used cheap industrial carpet that was so slippery.The stairs were also narrow and steep. Cheers from NSW Australia.
When I decided to re-do the stairs in hardwood I didn't want the kids slipping and falling down them - so I hammered nails through the bottom of each step leaving the points exposed on the top surface and then I spread a layer of glue on each step, sprinkled them with sand, gravel and pieces of broken glass for the best no-slip surface possible. The stairs look great and we're all safe!
I would have loved to actually see a video of you putting on the v, plank on the basement stairs. I think that's my next project.
Time for an update! There's now "Cap-a-Tread" which fits over the nose of the stair. I'm going to try it on my staircases just because carpet always ends up looking bad...dirty and crushed down because everyone steps on the same part of each stair tread. Cheers!
What about those anti-slip strips? I believe they're made out of rubber.
On a side note; why am I watching this? My house doesn't even have a stairs.
i slipped on carpet stair once and so did my friend. i think the thing for us is, we walking more carefully when we expect the hard wood floor may slippery.
Carpet is the safest for older folks, one slip is enough to kill them. Sometimes they can’t control their movements or sometimes they feel dizzy suddenly.
There are more variables than that. What about a gloss versus satin versus flat finish. What about putting down nonskid tape or not?
I have vinyl tile on my stairs covered with a rug runner. The runner is adhered to the tile with carpet tape. Very safe.
We have a steep staircase with vinyl plank. It looks nice but I hate it. The stairs are a bit narrow for me and they put a vinyl corner piece over the edges so walking in socks means a bump right under the ball of your foot as you are walking down.
I’ve learned not to wear slide type house shoes and my 16 year old daughter actually slipped down the last 4 steps the other day and bruised her back.
Seriously thinking of somehow just carpeting the stair area...
Yeah I have still slipped on carpeted stairs. We have a set of wood and a set of vinyl now. Just have a runner for both.
Thanks for the experiment! Something I had always wondered about.
Growing up I slipped multiple times on our carpeted stairs. Then slipped several times on the in-laws carpeted stairs to the basement. My grandmother was found at the bottom of her carpeted stairs. I’ve never slipped on wooden stairs.
We have tile with an oak nose. When your shoes are wet the tile is a death trap. I would like to do commercial carpet at some point.
A well installed "decorative" runner might do the job. Runners can be made of most carpets, rememants can be used, just make sure it is well installed.
You alway have the most advance,high tech and precision calibrated equipment😂, great video!
Could also put carpet on either hardwood or vinyl planks on stairs
Dare you to try this with various types of shoes on wet flooring. even polyaspartic in a garage can be extremely slippery when wet.
I just put polyurethane on my stairs. First coat wasn't slippery. 2nd coat was really slippery. I just mixed in some of those anti slip sand particles for a 3rd coat. Hope it works out ok.
They do make pre made stairtreads out of vinyl plank now. The old method you cut the nose off of the stair and install a stairnosing. That usually is not in code for building codes. It shortens the tread. If you are installing vinyl on your stairs use pl remade vinyl treads.
Good to know that😳but about the carpet you used is new, you should use the old flattened carpet, that is lot more slippery
Was just thinking about this for my house. Thinking that you could more easily catch your foot on carpet and fall than on a smooth surface... Bottom line- be careful, move slowly, and use the hand rail.
Oh and I have hard wood floors middle level and upstairs and hard wood
Leading upstairs which I’ve never found to be an issue. They look
Great and I simply dust them.
funny and entertaining video, thank you for the informative video, keep on making the funny videos. Also I enjoyed the end where you fell and said you can fell your legs.
Carpet installation should be a building code for any stairs. I would never buy house with hardwood stairs. Thanks for sharing this video.
I'm glad you don't make the rules.
Well, everyone has their opinion. I rip out carpet from stairs every time we move. What you didn't test was what kind of shoe is being worn. Slick leather soled shoes on carpet are a recipe for a fall. Grippy athletic shoes work well on hardwood or vinyl. The weight of the person climbing or descending the stairs is a factor too. Just dragging a light block of sock covered wood over a surface is hardly a good scientific test. But to each their own. I'll stick with uncarpeted, hardwood stairs every time. (Not to mention that uncarpeted surfaces are so much easier to keep clean and allergen free.)
another option, instead of carpet, I wrapped my stair with lino. It looks nice, non-slippery, easy to clean, cost effective, easy to install.
What is lino?
I fell on my slippery steps and the biggest bruise on my backside. Completely black! It was crazy.
They sell a jig for fitting stair treds . It’s effortless and fast. And I would go with a hardwood stair all day long keep the vinyl in the bathrooms
Never really considered this before but definitely good to know. Almost makes me want to recommend installing some clear grip tape at the edge of each stair on future jobs
Didn’t know it comes in clear. Will google it now.
Wood at top, then carpet for the rest. I've got 2 sets of 14 steps straight in 11 feet. Wood at top step, then carpet, and never had a slip. But other set with carpet at top step: several misses, always the top step. Friction won't save a heel that misses the structure under the step, but the soft steps below make the ride survivable.
I had my vinyl planks done on the stairs today. I hope my kids don't fall. We have never fell down our stairs before thanks to God! Don't want it to start now.
Ive silpped down my hardwood stairs a few times, scary, probs need to install some gripper
I use carpet treads for the top of the stairs only. Best of both worlds.
Please show a better detail on how you installed the vynle flooring on your stairs
I have fallen down carpet stairs twice in this past year, compare to never once on vinyl my entire life.
ouch sorry to hear that
I hate the blunt nose when installing vinyl plank. I think I'm going to just replace the carpet with a lower pile more stain resistant product.
Ty amazing to watch not to slow gets to the point funny and not corny hehe
Thank you😀
I've found that sometimes, when wearing shoes on carpeted stairs, the carpet will catch the tread on the sole and trip me. I prefer hardwood with bare feet.
really? bare feet and hardwood can be slippery imo
Interestingly, I replaced the carpeting on my stairs with hardwood. It's been about 10 years on each. I slipped 3+ times on the carpeted stairs in that timeframe and zero times on the hardwood covered stairs. Given the durability of the hardwood, would hesitate to do this again. YMMV
i find carpet more slippery then wood stairs if im barefoot atleast
I put vinyl planking on my stairs and put thin carpet pads down with a double sticky face carpet tape works great 👍 no slipping or sliding
Do you think the adhesive will discolor the vinyl planks?
@@amyangel7623 nope
@@amyangel7623 I'll try and send u a picture
Amy depends how much money u want to spend my own opinion vinyl looks just as good as the real thing
The bit of a lip on vinyl stair nose is a trip hazard. It might keep sox from slipping off the edge but if you catch it wrong, it will send you down especially if your hands are full with something like a laundry basket that is hard to see past.
You said number 2. LOL
You're a funny carpenter.
Cutting nosing off my vinyl covered stairs will make the tread too short, in fact illegal. Carpeted stairs have no problem since the riser is sloped leaving no extended nosing.
Excellent sharing! keep it up. God bless you and your family.
Carpet isn't the prettiest, but everyone in my family has fallen down the stairs at some point. Carpet = not even my elderly mother got injured. The cushioning is literally life saving. Sometimes function is more important than form. We just replaced our carpet with new carpet.