Do it Yourself Tips for Installing Wall to Wall Carpeting

Installing wall to wall carpeting is a challenging do it yourself project. Before you try to tackle a wall to wall carpet installation project, it would be wise to consider the pluses and minuses of simply hiring a competent professional flooring installer to tackle the project. In the long run you could end up saving both time and money by contracting someone who installs carpeting every day and knows all the little tricks to ensure a successful installation.

Installing wall to wall carpeting is physically demanding and will require specialized tools to get the job done. If your project includes more difficult tasks like installing carpet on steps, you may want to opt for a professional contractor. But if you feel up to the job, installing carpet is a task you can accomplish with the right tools and a good deal of preparation and patience.

Tools And Supplies You Will Need

You will need several specialized tools to install your carpet. You can rent these at your local tool rental store. I have listed the tools you will need for a common installation below.

1. Knee Kicker
2. Power Stretcher
3. Seaming Iron
4. Seam Cutter
5. Wall Trimmer
6. Strip Cutters
7. Seam Roller
8. Carpet Knife ( you may have to go to a hardware store to get one of these.)
9. Straightedge
10. Pad Tack Hammer
11. Stair Tool

In addition, you will also need some supplies and some common tools that you probably already have in your tool box. Make sure you have these handy before starting your project.

1. Knee Pads
2. Hammer
3. Chalk Line
4. Measuring Tape
5. Tack Strips

Preparation

Now that you have your supplies ready, it is time to prepare the job for carpet. If you are replacing old carpet, you will need to remove the old carpet and pad and clean the floor of all dirt and debris. You may want to cut the old carpet and padding into strips to make removal easier. Check the old tack strips that line the perimeter of the room. If they are still in good shape you can use them again. Replace any of the strips that are loose or damaged.

Installing Your New Carpeting

Once you have removed the old carpet and padding, cleaned the sub floors of all debris, and replaced any loose or deteriorated tack strips; you are ready to install your new wall to wall carpeting. The first step is to lay out and attach the carpet padding to the floor. You will want to lay the padding out in strips covering the entire floor. Next attach the pad to the floor with pad staples using the special pad tack hammer tool. Once you have the padding secured, seal the seams in the padding with duct tape. Next trim the padding along the walls to expose the tack strips. Once you clean up all the padding scraps you are ready for carpet..

Cut the roll of carpet to fit your room. Some rooms will be wider than the roll of carpet so you will need to add fill pieces to finish the room. It is a good idea to plan all of your carpet cuts before you begin. This way you can minimize the amount of seaming you will need to do to complete the job. A good tip is to lay your cuts out on graph paper and label the fill pieces for each room.

If the room you are working in needs to be seamed together, you will need to do the seam and allow it to cool before stretching in the room. To prepare the carpet for seaming, first cut the edges you will be seaming together using your straightedge. You will want to cut the adjoining edges with your carpet knife from the back of the carpet. Make sure the carpet is laying perfectly flat when cutting the edge. This way the two pieces will match up properly when you seam them together.

Once you have the carpet and fill piece properly situated, place your seaming tape underneath the entire seam. You will be using the seaming iron to melt the glue on the seaming tape in order to seam the two pieces together. Work slowly and make sure you fit the pieces together exactly. It is best to work with the seaming iron at a moderate temperature so that you do not have to rush. If you have a few scrap pieces of carpet and have never seamed carpet together, it is best to practice your seaming with these scrap pieces. Make certain that you seam the carpet together with the grain. This will ensure that the carpet does not distort when you seam it together. Also, there is now a seaming iron that lets you seam the carpet together with the seaming iron resting on top of the carpet. Ask the folks at the tool rental if they have a cool glide seaming iron.

Now that you have successfully seamed the carpet together and it has cooled, you are ready the stretch the carpet in. You will use the power stretcher to stretch the carpet in. The knee kicker is used to attach walls, but the power stretcher is the tool that stretches your carpet and prevents wrinkling. In a typical rectangular room with four walls, you will begin by first attaching a three foot section to the wall at one corner. Once this section is attached, trim the carpet and secure it to the tack strip. Tuck the small amount of remaining carpet behind the tack strip using a stair tool.

Stretch directly away from this starting point with your power stretcher. Most carpets need to be stretched about an inch and one half per twelve feet in length. This varies so be sure to check with the manufacturer. Stretch the carpet for about three feet on this opposite wall. Trim and attach this section just as you did at your starting place.

At this point you should have one wall that has been stretched across. Attach this wall with your knee kicker. Trim and tuck this wall. From this wall, stretch across to a three foot corner of an adjacent wall. Trim and tuck this section and attach the stretched across wall with your knee kicker. Trim and tuck this wall.

Now you have two adjacent walls stretched and finished. Using your power stretcher, stretch in the two remaining walls. Trim and tuck in these two walls and you will have completed one room.

You will continue with this basic procedure through out the house. Work from one room to another. Try to always stretch away from the room you have just completed. Treat any hallways as just another room. A good tip is to complete the hallways first and stretch away from them. By planning ahead and taking your time, an experienced do it yourself handy man can successfully install wall to wall carpeting. Make sure you have thought this project through and are confident in your abilities before you start. The supplies and tool rental will cost quite a bit. Installing wall to wall carpeting can be confusing if you have never installed any carpet before. If you have any doubt in your abilities to complete this project, it may be best to consider hiring an experience carpet installer to do the job.