Ordering stair runner by the yard

Broadloom carpet and many made-to-length runners are sold by the linear yard, so the yardage figure is the one your retailer will price. One linear yard is three feet or 36 inches of length off the roll.

Enter the staircase once and the calculator gives you inches, feet and yards side by side.

Your staircase

Optional starting measurements

Example measurements only, not building-code advice. Replace them with measurements from your own stairs.

Check a few steps before using one set of measurements for the whole flight.

Number of stairs

Count the tread-and-riser pairs the runner will cover. Exclude landings.

Tread depth (in)

Measure the runner path across the flat tread. Fractions like 10 1/2 work.

Riser height (in)

The vertical face between two treads.

Waste allowance

Custom%

10% is the starting allowance here, not a guarantee. Ask your fitter about patterns and turns.

Add a nosing / overhang allowance per step

Enter the extra runner path around the edge, including any underside wrap. Do not add it twice if it is already included in your measurements.

Your runner estimate

20 ft 3.1 in

Total runner required for 13 steps, including a 10% waste allowance.

Total runner length in each unit
Inches	243.1 in
Feet	20.26 ft
Feet & inches	20 ft 3.1 in
Yards	6.75 yd
Meters	6.17 m
Centimeters	617.47 cm

Length to order

21 ft

7 yd · 6.4 m · 252 in

This calculator provides an estimate based on the measurements and installation assumptions you enter. Complex, curved or winder staircases may require professional measurement.

One step, shown in profile

Side elevation of a staircase. The runner travels across each tread and down each riser, so every step consumes tread depth plus riser height of material.

Turning your staircase into yards

Total inches ÷ 36 = linear yards. A 14 step flight at 17.5 in per step needs 245 in, which is 6.8 yards. With 10% waste that becomes 7.5 yards, and most retailers will cut to 7.5 or 8 yards.

Half yards and cutting policy

Some suppliers cut to the half yard, others only to the whole yard, and a few insist on a minimum run of three or four yards. Ask before you order — rounding up half a yard costs less than being three inches short on the bottom step.

Linear yards versus square yards

A linear yard is 36 in of length at the full roll width. A square yard is an area. If your quote is per square yard, multiply linear yards by the roll width in yards: a 27 in runner is 0.75 yd wide, so 8 linear yards is 6 square yards.

Questions people ask

How many yards of runner for 13 stairs?: About 6.3 linear yards before waste with a 10 in tread and 7.5 in riser, or roughly 7 yards once you allow 10% for trimming and pattern repeat.
Is a linear yard the same as a square yard?: No. A linear yard is 36 in of length at whatever width the roll is. Square yards measure area and depend on the runner width as well as the length.

Related guides

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