How to Install New Carpet
- 1). Measure the room you intend to carpet. Create a floor plan using graph paper that shows the location of doors, windows and any other objects that intrude into the room or create an area of the floor you must work around. Calculate the area of coverage by multiplying the room length by the room width in feet and dividing the total by 9.
- 2). Take the plans to your carpet dealer and choose the carpet you wish to place. Have the dealer cut and seam the carpet and floor padding to fit your room area according to your drawn floor plan. Purchase tackless strips according to the particular carpet used and the correct installation nails for your subfloor type.
- 3). Clear the room of all furniture and remove any doors from their hinges that open into the room using a screwdriver.
- 4). Examine the floor surface for loose nails in wooden subfloors. Drive the nails completely into the floor so nail heads are slightly beneath the floor surface. Remove any sheet flooring or floor tiles if installed, using a floor scraper to pry the tiles and the adhesive beneath from the floor. Pry away any baseboard molding around the floor as well using a pry bar placed beneath the nails holding the molding in place so you can extend the carpeting to the edge of the floor.
- 5). Repair any cracks in the subfloor. Fill cracks in wooden subfloors with wood putty, scraping the top of the putty with a putty knife to level the patched crack with the surrounding floor surface. Fill cracks in concrete subfloors with joint compound, also scraping the top with the knife to level it out. Allow all patches time to dry completely, as suggested by the manufacturer, before continuing.
- 6). Attach the fastening strips around the perimeter of the floor. Nail the strip into place ¼ inch from the wall using a tack hammer, with the teeth of the strip toward the wall. The strips come with nails in place. Make sure the strips are all the same distance from the wall edge by using a ¼-inch wide strip of wood placed against the wall as a spacer for the strip edges. Cut the strips with a handsaw to fit them into corner areas. Use a door-edging strip to cross thresholds with the teeth pointing out of the room, and the rim of the strip aligned with the door’s edge. Nail strips in place in front of radiators, again with the teeth pointing out from the center of the room.
- 7). Unroll the carpet across the floor in the planned position according to your graphed floor plans to make sure the carpet fits. Roll it back up toward the far edge of the room to access the subfloor.
- 8). Unroll foam padding over the bare subfloor, waffle side up so it overlaps the fastening strips on the edge of the floor by 2 inches. Cut the padding to fit with scissors. Staple the padding along the edging of the padding into wooden subfloors with a staple gun, placing a staple every 6 inches. Attach the padding to concrete subfloors with the use of carpet padding adhesive, spreading the adhesive on the concrete using a brush.
- 9). Butt the strips of foam against one another as you cover the floor, rolling the carpet up ahead of the foam until you reach a point where you can no longer roll the carpet to expose the subfloor. At this point, unroll the carpet over the foam and then roll it from the opposite end to expose the last strip of subfloor so you can apply the last of the foam. Cut the edges of the foam overlapping the fasteners.
- 10
Completely unroll the carpet over the padding and position it so the edges overlap the fasteners. Cut the carpeting using a utility knife where necessary to go around corners or fit around any obstructions in the floor such as radiators or hearths. - 11
Use a knee kicker to attach the edge of the carpet to the fasteners. Place the square end of the kicker onto the edge of the carpet. Kneel onto the carpet, and hold the kicker tightly to the carpet, applying pressure to the square end. Knee the round end sharply to move the flat of the kicker, with the carpet attached, over the teeth of the fastener. The carpet will pull back toward the center, catching onto the outward facing teeth. Start with a corner of the carpet, and then attach the opposite corner, followed by a third corner. Work from attached corner to attached corner to attach the carpet in place, finally working toward the unattached corner, and attaching that with the kicker last. - 12
Trim the edges of the carpeting against the wall using a utility knife until only 3/8 inch of excess carpeting remains. Press the edges of the carpeting down into the 1/4 inch gap between the fasteners and the wall with the edge of the putty knife. Place the edge of the carpeting in the doorways beneath the rim of a door-finishing strip and then hammer the rim closed over the edge. - 13
Replace baseboard molding and doors to complete the carpet installation.