The Essential Sizing Guide for Your New Stair Runner

So you’ve decided to invest in a stylish new stair runner for your home: an excellent choice! But it’s not quite as simple as just ordering it, laying it down, and enjoying the benefits. There’s a small step in-between that’s essential for a long-lasting (and great-looking) stair runner: sizing it up correctly. So below you’ll find the invaluable Stair Rods Direct guide to sizing up your new stair runner.

Step 1: Analysing your staircase

The first thing you’ll need to do when sizing up a stair runner is to be 100% sure how to logistically carry out the measurements. There are three parts to a staircase: the treads (the flat part you step on), the risers (the vertical part) and the nose (the part of the riser that hangs over). The point that a tread meets a riser is called the crotch. Yes, you read that correctly.

Step 2: Determining the length

Okay, so first things first, you’ll need to know how long your new stair runner will be. One method that works well is to use a long tape measure. Simply start from the top of the stairs, and pin it the tape measure to the stair at the point where the riser meets the tread. Be sure to extend the tape measure from where you want the stair runner to begin and end. An alternative to this method is to measure each tread and riser, then total up the recorded measurements – although this may be more time-consuming.

Step 3: Determining the width

The width of your stair runner isn’t quite as important as its length, and is in fact quite a subjective choice. Unlike the length measurement, there’s no requirement for a stair runner to cover a certain width of the staircase. Some people like to keep a lot of the original staircase surface showing, whereas others prefer more stair runner coverage. Here at Stair Rods Direct, you’ll find stair runners in a wide range of widths, so be sure to check out your options and compare them to your stairs using your trusty tape measure.

Feel like you’re ready to install your very own stair runner? No problem. The last step is to simply find the stair runner for you from our online stair runner shop, and get your tape measure at the ready! Have a question? Call the team today on 0845 838 8638.