After years of regular use, even the most durable of carpets has its limit. Fraying ends, worn areas, damage, and stains are all great reasons to consider replacing a carpet. Or, perhaps it’s just time for a change, and you never liked the carpet that came with the house to begin with!
Professional carpet installation can be expensive depending on the size of space and amount of carpet which needs to be installed. While it may take patience and some work, you can install your own carpet for a fraction of the cost.
DIY Carpets
Carpet installation is straightforward, but the dimensions of the room and the size of the carpet can make this project challenging.
You want to order carpet that is at least 6 inches longer than the floor size. This way, you can properly cut the carpet to fit properly.
We recommend acclimatizing your carpet 24 – 48 hours in advance by bringing the carpet roll into the room where it will be installed. This will help the carpet adjust to the humidity and temperature of the room so that it will not shrink or expand after installation.
Tools You’ll Need:
- Work gloves
- Safety glasses
- Vacuum
- Utility knife or carpet scissors
- Tackless strips
- Duct tape
- Carpet trimmer
- Seam iron
- Knee kicker
- Carpet stretcher
- Stair tool
- Chalk line
- Carpet
- Carpet pad or underlay (if applicable)
Method:
- You will first want to remove the old carpet. Start by giving the carpet a good vacuuming so that a minimum of dust is thrown into the air when you take it out of the room.
- Pull up any moldings, and remove the door if desired to give more room for maneuverability.
- Cut the old carpet into strips (3 – 4 feet wide is recommended) to make them easy to remove.
- Start at one end of the room and roll the carpet pieces off any underlying tackless strips or adhesive, and discard.
- Clean the subfloor, and sweep or vacuum up any loose debris. If you need to mop the floor, plan on letting it dry for at least 24 hours. Use a floor dryer to speed up the process if desired.
- Cut your new tackless strips to the correct size and install them around the perimeter of the room, ½” from the wall. Do not lay them in front of doorways or thresholds.
- If using a carpet pad, roll it out onto the floor and cut to size. Lay the pad so that it just reaches the tackless strips, but does not cover them. Staple the pad along the border of the tackless strips, and use duct tape to seal the seams between the carpet pads.
- Measure your carpet, adding 6 inches on to the ends, and use a chalk line to mark where the carpet needs to be cut. Use a utility knife or carpet scissors to cut the carpet. Roll the carpet back up for easy transportation when done.
- Roll out the carpet onto the floor and trim the overlay using a carpet trimmer.
- If you need to install a second roll of carpet, follow the directions for the first piece. If possible, try to plan for the carpet seam to be a less noticeable place.
- Overlap the carpet pieces where they join, and use a seam cutter to cut through both pieces at the same time so that they will fit properly.
- Use seam tape to join the two carpet pieces on the floor beneath. Use a seam iron to activate the adhesive directly on the tape, not on the carpet. Seal the seam with a carpet roller or rolling pin.
- Attach the carpet using the knee kicker and/or carpet stretcher (depending on the size of the area). Both work in much the same way. For the knee kicker, place the toothed edge of the knee kicker about 3 inches away from the end of the carpet. Place your knee on the padded end and firmly push towards the wall. For the carpet stretcher, place the toothed edge about 6 inches from the far wall, and activate the machine. Both tools stretch the carpet over the tackless strips and secures it into place. Repeat this around the perimeter of the room.
- Tuck excess carpet into the gap between wall and floor using a stair tool. Trim any excess carpet using the wall trimmer. Tidy up any seams at doorways and thresholds.
- Reinstall any molding which was removed at the beginning.
- Congratulations! You are done!
Northside Tool Rental
Whether your carpet is old, unsightly, or you’re simply looking for a change, you can install DIY carpets, and we can help! Our carpet installation package gives you all the basics you need to install a carpet in any room. All you need to do is provide the carpet!