Protecting Your Stairs When Moving

Moving from one house to another can leave one or both homes vulnerable to potential damage during the process – especially when you consider that you’ll be moving large and heavy items across floors and down a flight of stairs to get to the truck. If you have hardwood floors, you know how delicate they are and wouldn’t be happy if they sustained a gouge, chip or scratch due to careless movers or well-meaning friends who didn’t take the proper safety precautions.

Your floors and stairs are no doubt the most vulnerable to damage during a move and should be properly protected before any transporting of items begins.

There are two main ways to go about this. You can cover them with protective materials, or you can use the appropriate moving equipment and techniques to reduce the risk of damage. A blend of the two is usually best.

Tips For Protecting Your Wood Stairs

There are two concerns here: one is for your own safety and that of anyone helping you move. You don’t want to slip on your hardwood floors when carrying large loads. The other concern is for the stairs themselves, which need to be covered with the right protective materials such as pads with non-slip surfaces and backings.

Here are your options.

• Protective stair runners or floor runners: These protective coverings comprised of neoprene or carpeting can minimize the damage risk from scratches and dents. Look for ones that have adhesive backing so they don’t slide when you try to walk on them, as well as ones that feature anti-slip surfaces. If you can’t find self-adhesive runners, secure regular runners to the stairs with painter’s tape. Don’t use packing tape on hardwood floors and stairs so as to preserve the finish.
• Old blankets or rugs: Choose thick, soft, blankets and rugs to cushion the blow should an item fall. Secure them to the stairs with painter’s tape so they don’t bunch up and present a trip hazard.
• Paper products such as cardboard and building paper: Cardboard is not easy to attach to stairs but it does provide excellent protection from falls. Your better bet is building paper, which will conform to the stairs’ shape.
• Non-slip drop cloths: These can be made of canvas or plastic.
• Plastic film cover: While good for keeping dirt off stairs on moving day, such film covers won’t do much to guard against dents from falls.

If you’re wondering which is better to use on stairs: plastic film or padded coverings, the film is probably best for the safety of those going up and down the stairs. Blankets and pads can bunch up and they don’t have very good slip resistance.

On moving day, be sure to keep hallways and stairways clear and well lit to avoid confusion and missteps.

Contact All Flooring Install

If your hardwood stairs were unfortunately damaged during a move, or you would like to book an appointment for new installation, contact us in Richardson TX at 972-679-3172 for a free consultation.