Installing Carpet

Installing carpet is a big project and you will probably have to rent or borrow some of the tools, but with the right equipment, it's not that difficult a job. Carpet can be installed over almost any surface, although old carpeting should be taken up first.

What You'll Need

• Hammer
• Stapler
• Utility knife
• Chalk line
• Tape measure
• Seam roller
• Seam cutter
• Knee pads
• Knee kicker
• Rigid putty knife

Preparing the Surface
If you are replacing old carpet, it usually needs to be removed. The exception to this is low-pile carpet that's exceptionally clean. You can trim the edges of this carpet back about 4" from the walls on all sides and use it in place of a carpet pad for the new carpet. Check the bottoms of doors before you do this, as the extra thickness could keep them from closing.

To remove the old carpet, cut it into two-foot to three-foot wide strips to make it easier to remove in rolls. Start against a wall and pull upward. Once you get a couple feet of carpet loose, you should be able to roll the section up to the opposite wall. Be careful of the old tack strips, the little tacks are very sharp.

If the carpet was installed over concrete or tile, there's a good chance that construction adhesive was used to secure it. This can turn carpet installation into a real chore, as you'll need to scrape off any adhesive or clumps of carpet pad or backing that remain. To do this, you'll need three things: a long-handled floor scraper, patience and strong arms. When you get the carpet removed, check the pad. If it's in good shape and doesn't have any odor problems, leave it in place.

If you're replacing carpet on a wood floor, replacement carpet pad is cheap, so take up the old padding as well. Remove all old staples. Now check the underlying floor for loose seams and screw them down. The floor must be very clean, so vacuum and wipe it down. If there is water damage or pet staining, rolling the floor with a shellac sealer will block any odor or stains.

Take up the floor registers, if any, and set them aside. They'll get reinstalled after the carpet is laid.

If the tack strips are in good shape, they can be reused, although new ones are not difficult to nail into place. Use construction adhesive if the underlying floor is concrete or tile.

Take the doors in the room off the hinges and set them aside. Depending on what flooring you had previously, the doors may have to be planed so they open and close without hitting the new carpet.

Installing Carpet Pad
Install the carpet pad in strips, stapling or gluing it down. Trim excess away from the tack strips, and don't let the pad overlay them. Carefully butt the edges together, making sure the padding is smooth and wrinkle-free. Use duct tape to tape the seams together.

Laying Out New Carpet
Measure the room and cut the carpet about 6" larger. You'll trim excess away from the edges as you work. To make a cut, flip the carpet so that the backing side is facing up. Lay the carpet out flat and mark both edges of the roll where the cut should be. Use your chalk line to make a straight line between these marks.

If you have a small, square room, you may be able to install just one piece of carpet, avoiding seams completely. If you have a good measurement of the room, your carpet dealer may cut and glue the seams for you, but if the room is very large or irregularly shaped, this could mean transporting an impossibly large, heavy roll of carpet.

There are two rules when it comes to carpet seams: keep them as short as possible and keep them away from doors and high-traffic areas. If you have a rectangular room that's 12' x 8', for example, it's better to have an 8' seam. It's also best to have as few seams as possible, since this is where most carpet starts to fray and wear.

To create a seam, first lay the pieces of carpet out with the edges overlapping by a few inches. Make sure the pile is going the same direction on both pieces. To ensure a perfect seam, you need to cut through both pieces of carpet at the same time. While you can use a utility knife for this it is much easier to use a seam cutter, available at rental yards. Lay the seam tape under the carpet, positioning the pieces so the seam is invisible. Use the seam iron to glue it all down. This tool heats the glue in the seam tape, creating a tight bond between the pieces Follow this by going over each seam with a seam roller.

As you lay the carpet out, make straight cuts in each corner so it lays flat, being careful not to cut too far in. To help you remember where floor registers are, put a piece of masking tape on the wall to mark the spot. You'll cut those out later.

Attaching the Carpet
Knee pads are a huge help for this step. The knee kicker has a toothed pad on one end that grips the carpet. A swift blow from your knee to the padded end forces the carpet over and onto the tack strip.

Start with one corner. Position the knee kicker so it is slightly angled downwards and gripping the edge of the carpet about 2" from the wall. Kneeling on the carpet, swing your knee sharply into the kicker. Do both sides of the corner, then work along each wall toward the next corner. Make sure the carpet stays flat as you work. Finish the final two walls by working toward the unfastened corner, which will be the last part that gets finished.

As you work the unfinished carpet, edges will be butted up against the wall. Go around the edge, carefully trimming the excess away, leaving about 1/2" all the way around. Now go around a final time, using a putty knife to tuck the edges down against the baseboard. Once it is all tucked in, you can cut out holes for the floor registers. Let the depression be your guide and cut a small X in the center, then trim very carefully toward the edges, making sure you don't cut too far back.