Lay Carpet in Your Home
Edited by abdoul sow, Adrian Penaflor, Graciela Franchesca Rosario, Eng and 4 others
The carpet is part of the interior decoration of your home. When properly placed, in pleasant tones and resilience, it beautifies your rooms. It is highly appreciated by households, as well as tiles and wood. Laying and cutting the carpet are easy to make work, but still require a lot of skill and precision.
The advantage of installing your own carpet is that you will save money, since the expenses of labor, installation, old carpet removal are eliminated. The only huge cost are the carpet and tools you need to buy or rent. And the time you do the job is also up to you. Rather than waiting for the schedule the carpet installer provides you. And the quality of job is also up to you. The disadvantages is that the carpet has no warranty if you cut the wrong size. And the tools may be hard to use.
At the time you purchase from a flooring retailer, you will either get a staff or professional carpet installers or they recommend an independent installer in your area. In most instances, the retailer handles all the information in arranging the installation.
The flooring retailer will assign a professional estimator to your home to measure the floors. The estimator will identify how much carpet you need to purchase, and in most instances, will identify the layout of the carpet for the room. The estimator will also determine where to put the seams, how to reduce carpet waste, and how to match the patterns.
From that day, a carpet installer will make a schedule. Flooring retailers have their own way of arranging and scheduling a professional installer, and you must ask for all the information they can give. The following guidelines will provide you a great idea of standard strategy.
- 1Usually it is the carpet installer who removes the furnishings of the room, but you must remove all fragile breakable items like lamps, vases, dishes, and collectibles before the installer arrives. You must detach wiring from VCRs, TVs, computers, and stereos. You must clear tabletops, desktops, and bookshelves.Who moves the furnishings?
- 2Blankets, spreads, and sheets must be removed from the bed before the installers arrive. All objects from the closet floors and from the tops of dressers must be cleared.How about the bedrooms?
- 3It could be essential to eradicate moldings and reattach them while installing. Because other moldings, specifically quarter round, are breakable and fragile. If it occurs, you will be responsible in replacing them. Nicks or scratches to baseboards may also be possible, and you will be the one responsible for the touch-ups. SoftBac, Shaw's revolutionary soft carpet backing, reduces damages to baseboards and walls during installation.How about moldings?
- 4Other doors may require trimming to accommodate thickness of your newly set carpet. Doors that don't close and open properly because of the new floor may be transferred to other places while installing the carpet. And it is up to you if you want the doors to be cut and re-hung.What if the doors no longer close?
- 5Removal of furniture is usually limited to those materials in which two men can handle it easily. Other retailers may charge an extra fee for cumbersome, large items, like the pool tables, pianos, oversized furniture, and aquariums. These items may vary by retailer. You must verify this to them before installing your carpet.Do they move the piano?
- 6Professional installers are generally not skilled in electric and plumbing work. They will transfer appliances from the room to a temporary location to place your flooring around or under them, but they don't reconnect or disconnect water, gas, or direct-wired appliances. Usually installers also don't disconnect computer systems.Will they move the water heater?
- 7Removal of current carpet on the day of installing is usually done by the installer. But you must ask them to verify. Padding away and hauling old carpet may require extra fee.Do you need to remove the old carpet?
- 8Installers provide the equipment, know-how, and the muscle. What you have to supply is the power. Carpet installers will need electric power for their tools, and they usually use areas like the patios, porches for them to store the equipment.Do you need to supply anything else?
- 9All floor coverings, even the carpet needs to be set over a structurally properly and soundly placed subfloor. Wood that has been destroyed by water, insects, or other factors must be repaired before the carpet is installed.What if the sub-flooring is destroyed?
Contents
Steps on How to Choose the Correct Carpet
- 1Take a large width for the covering has the fewest possible fittings.Choose a carpet depending on the size of the room.
- 2If the carpet is too large for the room, do not hesitate to make a pre-cut with a minimum margin of 5 cm.
- 3Moist soil is the first enemy of the carpet! If you find the moisture before installation, treat your soil with a water repellent.The surface to be coated must be clean and dry.
- 4If you find that the surface is not flat, unify it with a fine finish.The sharpness of the soil is important, so clean it with detergent.
- 5Cut the carpet according to the measure, then add 4O cm more to fix.Measure the extent of ground to cover.
- 6After you have finished cutting, lay the carpet on the floor, taking care to center it up and around the rest of the room.
- 7For a solid support and a good position, it is best to get a horse with one leg placed outside.
- 8Before anything, mark the part to be removed with the tip of a closed scissors.
- 9Cutting the carpet from a certain length, to the right angle, to be performed with the scissors.
- 10For the portion on the side of the door, lift the carpet and cut vertically along the frame with the cutter.
- 11Before cutting be sure to mark the unnecessary portion of the back of the carpet. This will save time and allow a clean cut.For the threshold, always use the chisel.
- 12If you are forced to have the connections, try to put them at the entrance of the room or in a crowded place.
- 13For delicate cuts, plan a cardboard template in the desired shape and trace the outline with a pencil.
- 14This prevents inflation and reduces wear.Fixing the carpet is very important.
Steps on How to Install the Carpet
- 1Measure the longest walls. Multiply the width and length, then divide by 9 for you to get its square yardage. Add 10 percent to allow for irregularities, errors, and pattern matching.Pick the location where you'd like to put the carpet.
- 2Clean the subfloor.Make the surface clean and smooth. Scrape any joint or paint and sweep, then vacuum the floor.
- 3Remove the doors.If possible unhook the doors from their places, so you can work easier without them. This will make it easier for you to cut the bottoms of doorjambs if required.
- 4Install the tackles strips.Cut the tackles strips to fit into a size with a heavy snips or strip cutter. Nail the strips 1/2 inch from the wall. Do not install tackles strips across the doorways or thresholds. The strips's tacks are sharp, it can poke through the carpet then hurt your feet. Tackles strips are in different thicknesses, widths, and heights. You must use the proper size. If you will install carpet over a concrete subfloor, use epoxy adhesive or masonry tacks to hold the tackles strips in place.
- 5Install the carpet pad.Set the carpet pad perpendicular to the direction you intend to place the carpet, then staple near the tackles strips using a staple hammer.
- 6Staple pad seams, alternating staples to not make it lay beside each other.Stretch the padding as a result it is butted together tightly.
- 7Sense through the padding to find the tackles strip, then use a utility knife to trim the padding on the interior edge of the strip so that all the tacks are exposed.Trim the pad.
- 8Notch the corners for trimming.Measure the longest point of the room, then add 3 inches to the measurement. Put the carpet outside as possible, then notch the back on both sides at a proper length. It will be easier to work with if manipulated outside. You need somebody to help you.
- 9Trim the carpet to measure the size.Roll the carpet with the back outward until the notched areas appears. Then trace a chalk line on the notch to the other notch. Use the back as guide cut the carpet along the chalk line, roll the carpet then bring it back inside the room.
- 10Trim the excess carpet.Roll out the carpet into the room. Make it straight as much as possible. Trim off excess carpet, and leave about 3 inches extra beside the walls. Set out the additional carpet required to fill the room.
- 11Glue the seams to fit together.Where the carpet edges joins, you will need to make a seam. The seamed edges of the carpet segments should be straight. Don't expect that a factory edge is perfectly straight. Put a seaming tape under the seam, set the adhesive side up. The seaming iron must be heated up to a temperature recommended by the tape manufacturer, then lay it directly on the tape for about 15-30 seconds. Slowly slide the iron unto the tape then press the seam into the melted glue on the iron. After joining the pieces together, put heavy materials on the seam to set it in place while the glue dries. Seams must be parallel to the main source of light in the room. The pile of both pieces must lean in the same direction.
- 12Fit the carpet into the floor. Butt one end against the wall. Use a carpet knife to cut the carpet on its edges to fit around the obstacles.Trim around the obstacles.
- 13Stick the first edge of the carpet.Using a knee kicker attach the carpet to the tackles strips at the end of the room. Put the face of the knee kicker on the carpet at around 3 inches away from the wall, then forcefully hit the padded end to stretch the carpet above the tackles strips.
- 14Cut the excess from the edges.Cut excess carpet using a wall trimmer. The tool rests on the wall and makes a straight cut at the correct spot. Press the cut edges below the baseboard trim using a stair tool.
- 15Stretch the carpet.Use a power stretcher to stick the strips on the other side of the room. For alcoves and corners where the power stretch can't reach, use a stair tool and knee kicker.
- 16Use a binder bar.Nail a binder bar to any parts where the carpet ends without abutting the wall for example the threshold. Stretch the carpet using a knee kicker to connect to the hooks of the binder bar and use a scrap of lumber or wooden block to close the binder bar unto the edge of the carpet.
- 17If all the carpet is properly placed, cut the vent openings. Stick a shoe molding around the room if you prefer.Finish cutting the carpet on its edges.
Tips
- In a case where the carpet extends into the alcove, fold it at its depth before you start to roll it. Then roll toward the folded section. As unrolling the carpet, begin with the end of the room closest to the alcove.
- Either on the morning of installation or night before, vacuum the old carpet to reduce the airborne particles and dust.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
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Categories : Home | Interior Decorating
Recent edits by: Rob, Alma, Lynn
