Removing Carpet From Stairs - Cuckoo4Design

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In today’s post, I want to talk about removing carpet from stairs and figuring out how to fix base molding issues that occur where the stair treads and risers meet with the landing. I also have a second follow-up post about refinishing stairs that were carpeted where I address refinishing or painting/staining the hardwood stairs.

Removing the old carpet from the stairs is definitely the easy part of this project besides requiring some elbow grease. Fixing the molding can be a tad bit more difficult to figure out. I was scratching my head a few times for sure. If you are just getting more carpet installed after removing the old one then the project is a lot fast and easier and you can skip some of the steps that I’m describing in this tutorial. In the end, it was all worth it to me because the stairs are a million times better than before and hardwood is so much easier to keep clean than carpet.

Table of Contents

• How to remove carpet from stairs
• Supply list for removing carpet from stairs
• Stair carpet removal instructions
  • Step 1: Pull up the carpet
  • Step 2: Remove tack strips, fasteners, and padding
  • Step 3: Patch Holes
  • Step 4: Sand down the dried wood putty
  • Step 5: Clean stairs with a broom and vacuum
  • Step 6: Inspect your work
• Fixing Stair Case Molding after the carpet is removed from the stairs
  • How to fix stair tread gaps
  • Fix the staircase molding
• Photos of stairs after fixing molding and removing carpet from stairs

How to remove carpet from stairs

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Last spring when I installed the bamboo plank floors upstairs, the stairs started to stick out like a dirty thumb. I had re-carpeted them once already and the older the kids got the dirtier they managed to make the stairs look no matter how many times I cleaned them. They never listened to my rules about not taking food into their rooms and spilling so much stuff on the way. The occasional cat vomit on the stairs didn’t help either.

So one day I just had enough and just ripped the carpet, padding, tack strips, and staples off.

Supply list for removing carpet from stairs

• vise-grip pliers
• standard pliers
• hammer
• pry bar
• flat head screwdriver or staple remover
• safety goggles or glasses
• gloves
• dust facemask for sanding
• utility knife

Stair carpet removal instructions

If you are removing the carpet from your stairs only so you add new carpet afterward, you don’t have to be as detailed since everything will be covered again.

And if you are planning on leaving the stairs bare so you can either refinish them or add an overlay, then you should check out the entire post since you might run into some issues that need to be fixed.

Step 1: Pull up the carpet

Wear your safety goggles and protective work gloves. Grab the corner of the carpet on the first upper thread with pliers or vice-grip pliers and pull. Removing the carpet will expose the carpet padding. Make sure you are firmly standing on the stairs so you don’t fall backward. Some carpets come off easier than others.

Work your way down the stairs and keep disposing of the carpet as you go. It’s best to throw it out in sections.

Step 2: Remove tack strips, fasteners, and padding

After that remove all the carpet padding which is attached with more staples. Use the flathead screwdriver, staple remover, and pliers for that. Removing the carpet pad from your stairs is a lot easier than the actual carpet because it is a lot lighter. Simply pull it away from the threads. It tears easily so it will most likely come apart in smaller chunks. Just have a trash bag handy to discard it right away.

Carefully remove the tack strips, nails, and staples so you don’t damage the wood any further. Use the pry bar (in some cases the flat-head screwdriver works well too) by shoving it under the tack strip and pushing it down so the tack strip lifts up. Throw the tack strips away right away since a lot of sharp metal parts stick out of them.

Use the pliers to remove all the staples and nails from the stairs.

Step 3: Patch Holes

Use wood putty and a putty knife or your finger to fill the small holes that the staples and fasteners have left behind. Let the wood putty dry.

Step 4: Sand down the dried wood putty

Use a hand sanding block or a palm sander with sandpaper to sand down the filled wood putty holes. Make sure to wear a face mask for the sanding.

I ran into more issues and had to sand more because our builder had painted the walls of our home before adding the carpet, so we had globs of paint and drywall compound stuck to our stairs which I had to sand as well since I wanted to refinish the stair. If you are just adding carpet again, you can just skip all the sanding. This part took quite a bit of time.

Step 5: Clean stairs with a broom and vacuum

Use a hand broom to brush off all the debris from your stairs and then go over it again with a shop vacuum to make sure you get everything clean. I also like using tack clothes for the final sweep because their sticky surface really grips and lifts every tiny bit of dirt and dust.

Step 6: Inspect your work

Carefully run your hands over the stairs to see if you missed any staples or nails. Most likely you already found anything sticking out while sanding. Any missed staples and nails sticking out can cause injury to someone’s feet and you have to be 100% sure that you didn’t miss anything.

I’m not happy with how many knots are in the pine which really does make it look like cheap wood. I don’t even think we can make them work. They are water-stained as well. But even just in the raw sanded state, the stairs look better than with the dirty carpet.

Fixing Stair Case Molding after the carpet is removed from the stairs

This part is a little hard to explain and it is probably better shown with photos.

The issues were at the top of my stairs where we had a different depth in stair treads and were left with a gap at the top after removing the top tread where the bamboo wood flooring was going to go. Gosh, what a long sentence. let me show you:

The new bamboo tread was shorter than the old one and left a big gap. See below:

I had to also find a way to line up the molding the right way. Please see the below photo:

Let me know if you have a different way to fix a gap like this.

How to fix stair tread gaps

After doing some research I decided to go with Abatron Wood Epoxy that you can use to fill and reshape rotted wood on door and window frames. You have to mix the two components (A and B) together. I used my hands but don’t forget gloves. You end up with a nice doe that you just spread into the holes and gaps with your hands and a spatular. After letting it dry the recommended time, it is sandable, paintable, or stainable just like wood.

See how I mixed the two parts into a dough with my hands below:

It worked out really great and was the perfect solution which I will show you in a bit.

Fix the staircase molding

The molding or lack there off is obviously unique to every house. When we moved into our house years ago, the sides were carpeted as well and I ripped that off a long time ago which meant the molding needed to be fixed.

Now that all the carpet is gone there are more molding and gap issues to be fixed.

materials

• paintable caulk
• finishing nails
• hammer
• different variety of moldings like quarter round and base molding
• electrical or regular miter saw
• coping saw
• angle cutting tool
• putty knife
• face mask/dust mask
• different grit sandpaper
• electric sander
• oil-based primer (water-based primer doesn’t cover the knots in the imperfect cheap wood)
• paint brushes
• safety goggles
• wood filler

Here you can see my photos of how I made the molding line up and how it worked out for me. Determining the right size for the angles is a little hard sometimes but my little handy angle-cutting tool certainly helped with that. I should write a post about how to use that for sure.

Tip don’t forget to pre-drill the holes for your finishing nails before attaching the molding to the walls. It’s so important.

I spent many many hours with my iPad and Netflix working on these steps. That’s totally what I like doing. Am I the only one?

Make sure to caulk everything nicely at the end before you start priming.

Photos of stairs after fixing molding and removing carpet from stairs

Look at this result so far! Doesn’t it look a million times better with only the primer?

I do have to end up using an oil-based primer (because the water-based primer isn’t covering well enough) and also oil-based paint or stain. That job requires open windows though and I have to wait for warmer weather.Or I could just use an overlay product on the stairs. The first product is made for rounded stair treads which mine are. It’s expensive though. It would be lovely not to have to paint.

Here is what I ended up with so far:

The moral of this post is that you shouldn’t be afraid to rip off that filthy carpet because it will eventually look so much better. And I absolutely love just being able to take a dustpan and brush to clean the stairs. I’m also more relaxed because I don’t have to yell at the family members for carrying around drinks and food. I could care less now.

For the second part of this story, you can see what I ended up doing to finish the stairs and then added riser decals to them.

UPDATE: Since this stair makeover I have written a blog post about how to install a carpet runner on stairs and I love this updated look so much.

Thanks for reading and don’t worry about giving your carpeted stairs a makeover because it will be worth it for sure.

Tschüß,

Materials

• wood filler
• sand paper

Tools

• vice grip pliers
• pliers
• hammer
• pry bar
• flat head screwdriver or staple remover
• putty knife
• safety goggles or glasses
• gloves
• dust facemask for sanding
• utility knife

Instructions

1. Pull up the carpetWear your safety goggles and protective work gloves. Grab the corner of the carpet on the first upper thread with pliers or vice-grip pliers and pull. Removing the carpet will expose the carpet padding. Make sure you are firmly standing on the stairs so you don't fall backward. Some carpets come off easier than others.Work your way down the stairs and keep disposing of the carpet as you go. It's best to throw it out in sections. And be careful with the staples that are still sticking through the carpet.
2. Remove tack strips, fasteners, and paddingAfter that remove all the carpet padding which is attached with more staples. Use the flathead screwdriver, staple remover, and pliers for that. Removing the carpet pad from your stairs is a lot easier than the actual carpet because it is a lot lighter. Simply pull it away from the threads. It tears easily so it will most likely come apart in smaller chunks. Just have a trash bag handy to discard it right away.Carefully remove the tack strips, nails, and staples so you don't damage the wood any further. Use the pry bar (in some cases the flat-head screwdriver works well too) by shoving it under the tack strip and pushing it down so the tack strip lifts up. Throw the tack strips away right away since a lot of sharp metal parts stick out of them.Use the pliers to remove all the staples and nails from the stairs.
3. Patch HolesUse wood putty and a putty knife to fill the small holes that the staples and fasteners have left behind. Let the wood putty dry.
4. Sand down the dried wood puttyUse a hand sanding block or a palm sander with sandpaper to sand down the filled wood putty holes. Make sure to wear a face mask for the sanding. (I ran into more issues and had to sand more because our builder had painted the walls of our home before adding the carpet, so we had globs of paint and drywall compound stuck to our stairs which I had to sand as well since I wanted to refinish the stair. If you are just adding carpet again, you can just skip all the sanding. This part took quite a bit of time.)
5. Clean stairs with a broom and vacuumUse a hand broom to brush off all the debris from your stairs and then go over it again with a shop vacuum to make sure you get everything clean. I also like using tack clothes for the final sweep because their sticky surface really grips and lifts every tiny bit of dirt and dust.
6. Inspect your workCarefully run your hands over the stairs to see if you missed any staples or nails. Most likely you already found anything sticking out while sanding. Any missed staples and nails sticking out can cause injury to someone's feet and you have to be 100% sure that you didn't miss anything.

Notes

• check with your garbage company to see how much carpet and padding you are allowed to put on the curb for trash pickup if you have a lot to dispose of.

• carpeted stairs consist of a carpet pad, nosing, tack strips, tread, riser, and carpet