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Carpet installation can be done yourself if you work carefully and understand the care required with measuring the flooring.
It's a job for the handyperson who has some basic skills working with tools such as carpet knives, tape measure, chalk lines, knee kicker, carpet stretcher and tackless strips (which actually have rows of tacks in them).
It can be hard on the back and knees, but it can save you hundreds of dollars when changing carpet in a room.
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Carpet Installation 101
It's best for the novice do-it-yourselfer to avoid laying carpet in a room which requires seams. Carpet seams usually require seam tape, seaming irons, and seam rollers which can be difficult to master if you're just starting out. It's best to just stick to laying carpet in rooms that is one seamless piece.
Of course, you will have already shopped at carpet stores, compared carpet costs, and selected the carpet and carpet padding you want. You will also have had the large roll of carpeting delivered or you may have brought it home yourself in a truck or SUV.
Before you begin your carpet installation, remove all furnishings from the room and remove the old carpet and padding as well as the tackless strips along the wall edges. Removing the old carpeting requires removal of all molding strips around the edges of the room. You'll reserve the molding for reinstallation after the carpet installation is completed. Clean the floor and be sure it's dry before continuing.
Install brand new tackless strips on the floor around all edges of the room except in front of doors or openings to other rooms. The strips should have about 1/2 inch space between the wall and the tacks extending from the strips should face the wall. Butt the strips into corners securely against the adjoining strip.
The next step in your carpet installation is to put the carpet padding down so that it overlaps the tackless strips. If you use padding strips, be sure they abutt but do not overlap at any point. Staple padding strips along the inside edges of the tackless strips and trim away any excess. Seal any padding seams with duct tape to ensure the padding does not slip or bunch up resulting in lumpy carpeting.
Now the big job begins: the carpet installation. Measure the room along the longest wall and add six inches to that number. With the carpet laying upside down on a clean or covered surface such as the garage floor, mark the back of the carpet along both edges with this measurement. Use a chalk line to join the two marked lines to ensure a straight line on each end. Use a utility knife or carpet knife and straight edge to cut through the carpet along your marks. You can perform this task with the carpet in the room by folding back the edges if you prefer.
Before installation begins, rent a knee kicker from the local hardware store. This tool has teeth that grip the carpeting on one edge and a padded butt on the other which allows you to force the carpet to stretch over the tackless strip. You will also need to rent a carpet stretcher which is much like a knee kicker but larger and is used to stretch the floor covering to avoid lumps in the completed project.
Use the knee kicker to place the end with teeth about three inches from the wall along one edge of the carpet. Use your knee to "kick" the padded end of the tool so that the carpet stretches over the tackless strip, allowing the tacks to grab the carpet firmly.
Next, put the carpet stretcher against a wall where carpeting has already been attached with the knee kicker, placing one end of the stretcher approximately six inches from the wall. The stretcher's teeth will grab the carpet and you activate the stretcher lever so that it will stretch the floor covering over the tackless strip installed along the opposite wall. Work around the room stretching the flooring and attaching it to the tackless strips. Trim the carpet carefully so that it's perfectly against the wall, tucking it into the gap between the wall and tackless strips.
At doorways, trim the carpeting, making the edge centered under the door and cover with a door edge strip. If you have floor vents, cut openings for these and replace the vents. Reinstall the molding along the base of the walls.
Now, you have completed your installation. Well, you've almost finished. You still have to return all the furniture to the room, but first, sit down and take a well-deserved break and enjoy looking at your successful carpet installation while enjoying a nice cool drink.
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