Carpet for Stairs, Bedrooms & Basements in Maple Ridge

The back of a carpet sample, or its spec sheet, has more useful information than the front. Four things on it matter most.

Fibre. Nylon is the most resilient: it springs back after being walked on, so it's the fibre for stairs, halls and family rooms. Polyester is soft, holds colour well and resists water-based spills, and it usually costs less, but it flattens sooner under heavy traffic. Triexta sits between the two. Wool is the natural option, resilient and slow to burn, but it costs more and doesn't suit a damp basement. Solution-dyed fibre, coloured before it's spun, resists fading and stains best. There's more on fibres, room by room, on the Carpet Installation page.

Face weight is how much yarn is in the pile, in ounces per square yard. More yarn usually means a fuller carpet, but on its own it can mislead, because a tall, loose pile weighs as much as a short, tight one. Density is the better guide: how closely the tufts are packed. Bend a sample back on itself. If you can see a lot of backing between the tufts, it will crush sooner than a shorter, tighter carpet.

Twist is how many times each tuft is twisted per inch. A higher twist holds its shape and resists matting longer, which matters most on stairs and in hallways. Two carpets that feel the same in the store can wear very differently because of twist alone.

Finally, check what the manufacturer says about the underlay. Most carpet warranties set a maximum thickness and a minimum firmness for the pad, and some styles, loop carpets especially, need something thinner and firmer than a plush. A thick, soft pad on stairs makes the edge of each step feel mushy, so stairs get a firm pad. The right pad for your carpet and room is part of the install: see Carpet Installation.

Stairs take more wear than any other carpet in the house. Every foot lands in the same spot on every step, and the front edge is bent and scuffed on every trip. That's where a dense nylon, a high twist and a firm pad earn their price. The pile should run down the stairs, so every step wears and looks the same.

Stairs also use more carpet than their floor area suggests. Each step needs enough to cover the tread, the riser and the wrap over the nose, and the pieces are usually cut so the pile runs the same way on every step. If you can, book the free on-site measure before you order. The staircase, the seams in the rooms and the pile direction all change how much carpet you need, and running short means a second order that may not match the first.

There are two common ways to carpet a staircase. A waterfall install runs the carpet over the nose and straight down to the next step. A capped, or Hollywood, install wraps it tightly around the nose and under it, for a more tailored look. Open-sided stairs, winders and a landing at the top each need their own plan, and that's worked out at the measure.

You can see what it looks like in our recent work. In an Albion home in Maple Ridge, new carpet went on the stairs and landing alongside a new main floor: see the Albion staircase in Our Work. For more carpeted, wood and mixed staircases, browse the Our Work gallery.

If you'd rather the stairs matched a new hard floor instead, that's Custom Stairs: the carpet comes off and treads, risers and square nosings go on. Keeping carpet on the stairs while the floors around them go hard is also a common, sensible mix. The detail that matters is the top step, where the hard floor on the landing meets the carpet going down.