Runners and stair rods ...

[Martin Pentreath]

... and whiskers on kittens.

Errrr, sorry, came over all Julie Andrews for a minute, one cup of tea too many.

I'm planning the refurb of my hallway and staircase, which looks like being a lot of work - I've just been reading archived threads on stripping multiple layers of paint from staircases, and it doesn't sound like fun. Anyway, to take my mind off the hard work I thought I'd check out the possibility of having a runner on the staircase, held in place by stair rods. Any advice on this course of action?

Google reveals a few online suppliers of reproduction stair rods and there also seem to be a lot of antique ones available on Ebay. On one of the websites it strongly recommends that the the stair rods be used decoratively only, and that the runner be fixed in place some other way (presumably the usual gripper system). This seems a shame somehow. I rather liked the idea of them actually being functional. Surely in ye olden dayes stair rods were intended as the sole means of holding the carpet down? Also by not having the carpet fixed in any other way it would be easier to move the runner up a notch every so often to spread the wear. Any thoughts on/experience of this?

[Owain]

"Martin Pentreath" wrote | ... and whiskers on kittens.

B*ST*RD!!!

I have a streaming cold and was eating lunch when I read that. I now have a plate of snotty sandwiches and a snotty crumby keyboard.

| I rather liked the idea of them actually being functional. Surely in | ye olden dayes stair rods were intended as the sole means of holding | the carpet down?

Yes.

| Also by not having the carpet fixed in any other way it would be easier | to move the runner up a notch every so often to spread the wear. | Any thoughts on/experience of this?

Yes. Much easier and much less damaging to the carpet to move the runner up/down by a couple of inches every year to equalise the wear than it is with spikey grippers.

Owain

[Cicero]

============= My recollection is that stair rods were usually the only means of attachment with the possible addition of a few 'blue tacks' top and bottom, but if one rod came loose the whole runner came loose. You could use heavy duty staples under each rod for extra security. Staples can be removed without damage to the carpet using the proper tool (Focus etc) which is a bit like a miniature wrecking bar / crowbar.

One other thing might cause problems; you'll need a bit of extra length at the top and / or bottom of the runner to allow for the 2" periodic adjustment. You will have to find some way of hiding these extra bits when they're not needed - possibly under the landing carpet. It shouldn't be too difficult to find a way of doing it but it may cause a bit of a bulge at the stairhead.

Cic.

[N. Thornton]

the downside is accidents, stair rods are not 100% secure.

NT