How to Measure a Half Landing for a Stair Runner

Why a half landing is measured differently to a stepped flight

A half landing is the flat platform partway up a staircase where the flight turns, usually by 90 or 180 degrees, and unlike the stepped sections above and below it, a landing has no rise to account for, just a length and a width of flat floor. That makes it simpler to measure in one sense, it's just a rectangle, but trickier in another, because the runner has to turn a corner cleanly at the landing without the pattern or the pile direction looking wrong, and because how much of the landing gets carpeted versus left bare is a design choice as much as a measuring one.

Before measuring, decide whether the runner will simply cross the landing in a straight strip continuing the same width as the stairs, or whether it needs to turn a corner and change direction to follow an L-shaped or dog-leg staircase layout. A straight-through landing on a stairway that continues in the same direction is the simplest case; a turning landing where the stairs change direction by 90 or 180 degrees needs more careful measuring and, usually, a mitred or turned join in the runner.

How much runner do I need?

Take a US example: a straight run of 6 steps up to a half landing, 6 steps continuing up from it, each with a 10 in going, 7.5 in riser, 0.75 in nosing wrap (18.25 in per step), and a half landing measuring 3 ft by 3 ft (36 in by 36 in) that the runner crosses in a straight line at the same 27 in width used on the stairs. The two flights of 6 steps each come to 6 x 18.25 in = 109.5 in, or 9.125 ft, doubled for both flights to 18.25 ft. The landing itself adds 36 in, or 3 ft, of runner length crossing it. Add a 24 in finishing allowance and a 7% waste margin across the whole run, and the total comes to roughly 24.5 ft for the full staircase including the landing.

In UK metric terms, the same layout is two 6-step flights at 25 cm going, 19 cm riser, 1.9 cm nosing wrap (45.9 cm per step), each flight totalling 275.4 cm, doubled to 550.8 cm for both flights, plus a 90 cm by 90 cm landing crossed in a straight line adding 90 cm of length. Add a 60 cm finishing allowance and a 7% waste margin across the total, and you land at approximately 7.45 m for the whole run including the landing.

Measuring a turning half landing

If your half landing turns the staircase by 90 or 180 degrees rather than continuing straight through, measure the landing's full length and width as a flat rectangle first, independent of the stairs, then work out how the runner will be positioned within it. A common approach on a 90-degree turn is to run the carpet in an L-shape or with a mitred corner that follows the natural walking path across the landing, which usually uses less carpet than covering the entire landing floor edge to edge, and looks more deliberate than a runner that simply stops and restarts at odd angles.

• Measure the full landing footprint (length x width) even if you don't plan to carpet all of it.
• Decide on a straight-through, L-shaped or full-width landing treatment before measuring the runner path.
• Measure the walking path across the landing separately from the landing's total floor area.
• Check how the runner will turn at internal or external corners, since a turned corner can need extra length for a fold or a mitred seam.
• Confirm with your fitter whether the landing section will be cut as one piece with the flights or joined separately.

Joining the runner cleanly at the landing

The join between a stepped flight and a landing is one of the most visible seams on a staircase, since it sits at eye level as you climb and it's where foot traffic pivots direction, so it wears faster than a mid-flight seam would. A well-fitted join usually sits tight against the nosing of the top step rather than partway across the landing floor, keeping the transition crisp rather than showing a visible strip of bare landing floor between the stepped runner and the landing carpet. If you're pairing a stair runner with separate landing carpet rather than running the same product across both, measure the landing carpet requirement independently and check the two products' pile heights are close enough that the transition doesn't create a noticeable trip lip.

Once you've measured both flights and the landing section, whether it's a simple straight crossing or a turning L-shape, add all three figures together along with your waste margin to reach a single order length, and check that total against the stair runner calculator, which handles flights and landings as separate sections so you're not forcing an oddly shaped landing into a per-step formula that was never designed for it. If your landing also serves as a small hallway that leads into stair runners on a second flight further into the house, measure that continuation separately too, since it's easy to under-order when a single landing feeds two directions.

Whatever you decide, get the numbers first: the stair runner calculator doubles as a stair runner length calculator, adding nosing wrap, landings, winders, pattern repeat and waste so you order the right length the first time.