Why does nobody talk about how much carpet is wasted on stairs

I was on a 3 bedroom job in Dayton last week and the homeowner asked why I ordered 15 extra yards for a straight run of stairs. I tried to explain that stairs eat carpet like nothing else, but she just stared at me like I was upselling her. Here is the thing. Each step needs its own piece stretched tight over the nose, and if you try to save material by piecing it across treads, you get gaps at the riser within a year. I have pulled up stairs where a guy tried to run one continuous piece and the backing was shredded at every nosing. The waste factor on stairs runs 20 to 30 percent, easy. Meanwhile everyone online talks about seams and tack strip like stairs are an afterthought. Anybody here got a number they give customers up front so it does not turn into an argument halfway through the bid?

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kimreed9d ago

Stairs eat carpet like nothing else" is the truest thing on this forum, and it gets worse when the stairs turn or have winders because now every step is a custom cut with pile direction to match. I quote 25 percent waste on a straight run and 35 on anything with a turn, in writing, before they sign, so the extra yardage is their idea not mine.

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