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First stretch job on stairs went bad, tackless strip pulled up 2 weeks in
Did my first set of stairs about 3 weeks ago on a rental turnover in Springfield, and it looked clean when I left. Got a call back last Monday because the customer said the top step felt loose, and sure enough the tackless strip came up when I grabbed the carpet edge. I think I set the strip too close to the nose and didn't back nail it into anything solid, since it was just underlayment there. Ripped it out and redid that step with a wider strip set back further and it seems solid now. Any of you have a rule for how far back the strip goes on stairs, or do you just go by feel on each one? I'd rather not learn this lesson twice on the next house.
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lopez.linda2d ago
Setting the strip back further helps, but the real fix is nailing it into the riser or the framing under the nose, not just the underlayment. Underlayment is luan or particle board a lot of the time, and a tack strip won't hold in that no matter where you put it. On stairs I always run screws or long nails down through the strip into whatever solid wood is under there, and I check that before I ever stretch. Two weeks is about right for a strip in soft board to let go.
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