Tips and Techniques to Laying Carpet

Installing carpet seems daunting to some people due to the amount of tools and effort that is involved but even including the cost of tool rentals, carpets require some specific tools most people don’t own, you will still be farther ahead financially if you do the installation yourself. The time frame for laying down carpet varies depending on the size of the room and the number of people who are helping you but you should expect to spend at least several hours on the task.  

Carpet Removal
Before you can begin laying down the new carpet you first must get rid of any old carpet that you have on the floor currently.  Take care when you are ripping up the old carpet as you may be able to reuse the carpet pad and the nail strips that are underneath if they are still in good condition.   Once you have pulled up and disposed of the old carpet you are going to need to vacuum the area to make sure that all of the small carpet particles are gone and you have a clean work surface.

Tools Required
The tools you will require the following tool to ensure a proper installation of carpet include a staple gun, scissors, utility knife, nail strips and carpet pad if the old ones were unusable, hammer, nails, and seam tape.  The special tools you will need to rent include a seaming iron, knee kicker, and a power stretcher tool.

Preparing the Floor
If you have decided to use your old nail strips and your old carpet pad you can skip down to the next section.  The first step to installing carpet is to lay down your nail strips if you did not end up using your old nail strips.  To do this properly you will need to cut the strips to fit each wall and nail them around the edges of the walls in the room you are going to carpet.  Next you will need to lay down the carpet padding by attaching it to the nail strips along the edges of the room and using staples every 5 to 7 inches to ensure that it stays flat.

Cutting the Carpet

When cutting the carpet for the room you are carpeting you should leave the carpet approximately 3 to 5 inches longer than the room to give you some extra to work with if complications arise.  Once you have cut the carpet you can use the seam cutter and the seamless tape to along the edges of the carpet to create a seamless look to your carpets.  After you have created the seamless look you should still have approximately one inch of excess carpet to work with.

Laying the Carpet
When you are laying down the carpet you will need to use the knee kicker to attach the carpet to the nail strips. When you have one corner firmly attached using the knee kicker you will need to use a power stretcher to stretch and flatten the carpet to the other side of the area. Now that you have your carpet spread you will need to work out any kinks in the carpet and cut away the excess carpet around the edges of the walls.

When you are installing any type of carpet you should follow any instructions from the manufacturer and any instructions on the tools.  You should always wear proper safety equipment when you are attempting any project.