Removing Old Carpet from the Stairs and Preparing for a New Runner

We’ve been juggling a lot of projects around the house lately—from Clara’s room to the master bath, the kitchen, and the veranda—and it’s been about six weeks since we last wrote about our staircase. Many of you have been asking about the new stair runner we ordered, and although it was back-ordered and arrived a little late, it’s finally here. But before we could install it, we had to get rid of the last remnants of old carpet in the house: the stairs.

Back in May we removed the carpet from the top step to install hardwoods, and once the master bath carpet was gone, the stairs were the last place with carpet. Between putting off the tedious work and worrying about our small dog and little kid navigating slick steps, we let it slide for months. But with the new runner staring at us from its packaging, we finally decided to tackle the job—for the puppies’ sake and for peace of mind.

The work wasn’t technically difficult, just boring and detailed. Our toolkit consisted mainly of pry-and-pull tools: a crowbar for loosening the carpet, pliers for yanking out staples, and a flathead screwdriver for prying up smaller fasteners. Each tool had a role in removing carpet, tack strips, and the dozens of staples that held everything in place.

Once a corner was loosened with the crowbar, the carpet usually came up easily by hand—with gloves, of course. The padding tore away quickly, but the real headache was the staples. There were so many that we marked a sample area to demonstrate the density. In that marked section there were 49 staples and tack-strip nails; multiplied across the 12 steps, that’s nearly 600 fasteners we had to remove.

Many staples popped out with a simple pry using a screwdriver or the pliers. Often only one side came up, so we went back to pull them fully free. A few were stubborn, some snapped, and at least once or twice the frustration produced a few not-Clara-approved mutterings. But step by step, we cleared the metal from each tread and moved on.

We spread the work across three days, usually stealing an hour or two here and there and working together in shifts. All told it was roughly seven hours of effort. If I were to edit a montage of the process it would mostly feature Burger, our dog, making repeated cameo appearances—curious about the activity, stretching on the steps, and staying close while we worked. At one point he even gave Sherry a surprised nose lick in the middle of her concentration.

By the end we had a completely carpet-free staircase and, more importantly, a carpet-free house—one of Sherry’s before-baby goals accomplished. While the exposed wood is in generally good condition and not badly scratched, there are a few more noticeable staple holes in spots near the bottom steps. We suspect those areas were either re-stapled or treated differently during the original installation.

Our plan is to paint the stair risers white and leave the treads their natural color so they match the upstairs flooring. Painting the risers will hide most small defects once we fill and caulk the holes. The new runner will cover the tread holes and we’ll also use the same approach we used previously to refinish the downstairs floors to fill and blend any remaining imperfections. We’re not changing the tread color since the stairs transition directly into the upstairs floors and we wanted a consistent look.

One final prep step before the runner goes down was painting the walls and ceiling along the stairwell. We didn’t want to risk dripping paint on the new runner, so we tackled that first. Working at height with a ladder and a long roller pole added complexity—some points were around 16 feet high—but the job took about three hours and it feels great to have it finished. We used the same neutral Edgecomb Gray that we painted in the foyer so the upstairs will flow visually with the entry.

Assuming the risers get painted and dry soon, we expect to reveal the new runner early next week. In the meantime, Clara and Burger have had no trouble navigating the uncarpeted steps—they’re not as slick as we feared, likely made less slippery by years of light wear under the old carpet. Still, we’re glad to add the runner for traction and comfort.

Anyone else in the middle of removing old carpeting and plucking staples one by one? It’s a tedious but satisfying part of a DIY stair renovation. Once the runner is down, all that meticulous work will be worth it.