How to install the carpet

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Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article parts. Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Article Summary. Part 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Vacuum and mop the floor clean. Now is a good time to make sure the floor under your carpet is clean. Vacuum or sweep up any debris in the area, and then go over it with a mop.

Let it dry at least an hour before continuing, as you don't want water under your carpet. Measure the length and width of your room. To buy enough padding and carpet, you need to know the square footage meterage of your room. Start by measuring your room on the longest side and writing the number down. Do the same going the other direction and write that number down.

Alternatively, force the room to be roughly rectangular and add a bit extra to your estimate. For example, if one wall has a small part that dips out, measure the 2 walls and then increase your estimate by 1 foot 0.

Multiply length times width to get the square footage. To get the area of a rectangle, you multiply the length 1 side by the width the other side. You do the same with your room measurements, and that gives you the square footage of the room. You're going to make mistakes when putting in the carpet.

Plus, you may have issues with getting cut pieces to fit in the areas you have left to cover after the main pieces are down. It's always better to have more than you need than to run back to the store because you ran out of padding or carpet.

Buy carpet and padding based on your area measurements. When buying these supplies, they'll be listed in square feet or meters. Therefore, all you need to do is compare the square footage or meterage you found with what's being offered in the store. Determine how much tack strip you'll need. If you're using existing tack strip, just measure what you removed because it was damaged. The tack strip will need to go around the whole border of the room.

When deciding on tack strips, opt for the widest you can find. Part 2. Nail the tack strips into place as needed. Place the tack strips about 0. Make sure the tacks are pointed toward the wall, not the center of the room. Use 2 nails for each strip, nailing it into the wood below.

Some tack strips come with the nails already in place, and you just hit them in. If not, drill holes where the nails go using a concrete bit of the same size and then pound aluminum nails in.

You'll also need tacking strips around things like floor vents. Lay out the padding on the floor. Roll out the padding, starting from one side of the room and moving to the other.

Slice it off with a box cutter when you get to the other wall, making sure you have enough on both ends. Cut it just on the inside of the tack strips. Roll out the next set of padding right next to the first. Staple the padding into place with a staple gun. Walk across the floor and press staples into place every 2 feet 0. Also, make sure to staple the padding along the inside edge of the tacking strip to hold it in place against the strip.

In that case, just lift up one side at a time to apply the glue in an even layer. Duct tape the seams together. After you've rolled and cut the whole floor, use a long piece of duct tape down each seam. You may need to use more than 1 strip, but the duct tape will help keep the seams together. Smooth it out with your hands to make sure it won't come up.

Part 3. Let the carpet sit for 24 hours in your home. It needs this time to adjust to the temperature and humidity in your home. That's because it may expand or shrink based on these conditions, so you want to make sure it's through with that process before you put it down. Cut the carpet to size if you don't have space to do it in the room. If your room is small, you may not have enough floor space to bring the carpet in and cut it.

Use the measurements you took earlier for the room to cut the carpet to size. Make sure to leave some extra on either end so you don't end up with a piece that's too short. Roll the carpet out. Start in one corner of the room. Leave 3 to 4 inches 7. Unroll the carpet roll, covering the floor and tack strips as you do. Line up carpet edges as needed to make seams and cover the whole floor. Place seaming tape underneath seams. When you come to a seam, lay seaming tape down on the floor.

They are attached to the subfloor around the perimeter of the room to provide the anchor point for the edges of the carpeting to be gripped. For novice DIYers, the temptation is to shove the carpet tack strips sometimes called " tackless strips" all the way against the wall or baseboard. You will need the extra space in order to tuck the edges of the carpet over the strips. The gap between the tack strips should be just a hair less than the thickness of the carpeting so that the tucked portion remains tightly wedged in place.

If you are replacing old carpet, leave the tack strips in place for reuse with the new carpet. You'll likely only need to replace any strips that have been damaged by the removal or show signs of other damage. This will save you time, money, and effort. You will experience more waste with patterned carpet than with non-patterned carpet, since cutting and seaming pieces requires you to match the pattern.

Most experts recommend adding 5 percent overage for waste on a non-patterned carpet, and you should add another 5 percent, for a total of 10 percent overage, for patterned carpeting. The larger the pattern, the more waste you will have. This is a standard rule of carpet installation: Do not lay the padding over the tackless strips. Keep the padding within the inner perimeter formed by the strips. Padding should touch the edge of the tackless strips but should not overlap them. It is also a good idea to make sure your padding is of very good quality.

Even cheap carpeting will perform much better if the underlying padding is of good quality, such as high-density memory foam. Obviously, if your carpet has a pattern, seaming two pieces requires careful attention to matching the pattern between adjoining pieces.

Keep carpet pile consistent from piece to piece. Even professional installation teams have been known to get this wrong. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.