News
A nice video of a very badly fitted stair runner on winding stairs
by Robert Barney
on
Apr 26, 2024
We had a message from a potential customer in Chelsea asking us if we could re-fix his stair runner on his winding steps in Chelsea. Generally, we don't do these sort of projects, the reasons for this will become apparent further in the post.
However, we were in Central London anyway and as the picture he send weren't very clear, we said we would pop in and take a look. No charge - except to us for parking in Central London.
I have attached the video of the stair runner, as it gets further in (if you hang about to watch it for that long) you can see that their fitter has fitted a straight stair runner to a winding staircase. It looks awful. The stripes don't line up and it looks ridiculous around the winders, it's baggy and it has been folded and tucked under.
A video of a badly fitted Roger Oates runner on winding stairs
The platform with the stripes going to wrong way is an epic disaster. It would never have looked good and it never will. It is what we call a 'bodge job' here in the UK.
I was sorry to have to inform the potential client but it seems I need not have been!
Here is what I wrote and I sent him the video.
Hello, Hughie went to your property yesterday. I have sent a video of his analysis on email. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there's no fixing that. It is a straight runner looks like an expensive Roger Oates one, and it should not have been fitted to winding stairs. That's why it doesn't fit.
It cannot be made to fit. Winding stairs are wider than straight stairs. A winding runner is templated and made to size.
This should never have been fitted. I would go back and speak to whomever you purchased the fitting service from
Best Robert
His response:
Thanks. Amazing. That has been total experience with UK. Can’t be done, go back to others etc. Impossible. We both on 2017. Put in in 2013. No idea who. I’m US we find a way to fix things. So are you seriously telling me no one on earth can go in and tighten down, retape etc the few places it has come untucked? Just impossible ?
Seems like he was a bit stressed so I cut him some slack;
Hello, seems like you are having a bad day.
Well, it's just maths (math). It's like trying to wrap a football with a sheet of paper - you can wrap it but it won't look pretty. It's what we in the UK call a 'bodge job'. It's a diabolical fit, the stripes don't line-up especially on the wider stairs, the platform is an epic failure with the stripes going across the step and the winding stairs are either butted up to the skirting or are feet and inches away from it. It's a nice runner but it is not designed to fit a winding staircase. In my opinion you should never have been fitted at all.
As I said it cannot be re-fitted correctly but if you want to us to pin it where it has come away from the steps as best we can then we could do this. The tape has been folded against the steps, there is no point replacing it, it won't fit anyway and no matter what you do with it, over time the runner will pop out again. I can't offer a guarantee on how it will look afterwards, all I can tell you is the carpet will be stuck to the stairs and won't be baggy anymore.
I will post a new video next week on why you won't get a good result from fitted a straight runner to winding stairs!
