New carpet can give a fresh look to an old room, but installation is expensive. Instead of settling for a lower-quality carpet, consider installing it yourself and applying the savings toward purchasing a better carpet. To install carpet, you'll need some special tools. Unless you plan to install carpet in several rooms, it will probably be cheaper for you to rent them. Materials:
Power stretcher (figure A)
Tackless strips (figure B)
Stair tool (figure C)
Stapler
Hammer
Awl
Strip cutter
Carpet knife
Razor knife
Top cutter
Measuring tape
Knee kicker
Seam tape
Seam iron
Work gloves
Safety glasses
- Measure the longest walls in your room. Multiply the length and width, and divide by 9 to determine the square yardage needed. Add 10 percent to allow for errors, irregularities and pattern matching.
- Nail tackless strips 1/2" from the wall. Cut the tackless strips to size with a strip cutter or heavy snips. Don't install tackless strips in thresholds or doorways.
Tackless strips come in a variety of widths, thicknesses and heights. Make sure to purchase the correct size. If you're nailing into a concrete subfloor, use masonry nails. - Lay out the carpet pad, and staple it near the tackless strips. Leave a 1/4" gap between the edges of the padding and the strip. Staple the seam of the pad, alternating the staples so that they aren't beside one another.
- Dry-fit the carpet, butting one end against a wall. Use a carpet knife to trim the carpet to fit around obstacles.
When installing carpet with pile (long fibers), lay the carpet so that the pile leans toward the main entrance. - If you're using more than one piece of carpet, join the seams with seaming tape and a seaming iron. Lay the seaming tape with the adhesive side up, slide it under the seam, and center it along the seam line. Heat the seaming iron to the temperature recommended by the tape manufacturer, and rest it directly on the tape for 30 seconds. Then slowly slide the iron along the tape, and press the seam into the melted glue behind the iron (figure D).
Seams should run parallel to the main light source of the room. Seams that run perpendicular to light rays are more noticeable. When seaming two pieces of carpet, make sure the pile of both pieces leans in the same direction. - Stretch the carpet into position, using the power stretcher (figure E). For areas where the power stretcher doesn't work, such as curved walls or tight corners, use the knee kicker and stair tool.
- Trim excess carpet (figure F), and press the edges underneath the baseboard trim.
- When all carpet is in place, attach shoe molding around the room.
RESOURCES :
Berber carpet
Images Floor Coverings
Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: 404-876-6201
Fax: 404-876-5618
| 
)
)
)
)
)
)
