What the client wanted.
A period property near St Albans Cathedral was being refurbished by its owners and they wanted a pure-wool carpet for the staircase, two landings, and three upstairs bedrooms. The brief was "heirloom-quality — we'd rather do this once properly".
What made this job interesting.
The staircase had fifteen turning spindles, a half-landing, and an uneven original oak tread that needed to be respected rather than boxed over. The client also wanted to keep the carpet as close to the riser edge as possible without stair rods, for a cleaner look.
How we did it.
Subfloor preparation
We eased a handful of squeaks on the landing, pinned loose boards, and fitted a fresh 11mm crumb rubber underlay throughout — a generous spec but the client was buying a thirty-year carpet.
Stair fitting technique
Each tread and riser was fitted as a separate cap-and-band section, hand-stretched around the spindles rather than cut at speed. It's slower work but the finish is markedly tidier.
Landing seaming
We placed the single necessary seam under the line of the cloakroom door, where no-one will see it. The wool pile was brushed into the dominant sight line so the carpet reads as one piece.
Finish
No stair rods — a hand-stitched edge at each nosing. Doorways finished with a bronze Z-bar to meet the adjoining oak boards.
The finished floor.
A soft, dense wool carpet that looks and feels like it belongs to the house. The lack of stair rods gives the staircase a contemporary cleanliness without fighting the period detail, and the client's only regret is that they didn't do the downstairs rooms at the same time.
“Every tread feels solid, every join is invisible, and the whole thing feels like it was always part of the house.”
