That advice about using carpet tape on stairs cost me a redo

A guy named Mike at the supply house told me to skip the tack strips and just use double-sided carpet tape on my last stair job. I tried it on a set of 15 stairs in a house outside Portland. Within 3 weeks the customer called saying the carpet was lifting on the front edge of every step. I had to rip it all out and start over with proper tack strips, cost me an extra 8 hours labor. Has anyone else had a bad experience with tape-only installations on stairs?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan5451mo ago

Tape on stairs is a shortcut that never holds up long term, especially with any foot traffic. Tack strips are the only way to go for a job that lasts more than a few weeks.

hannaht291mo ago

Is a little tape on some stairs really worth getting this worked up over?