Looking to install a carpet on your own, this is the way to do it

1. Estimating how much carpet and padding is needed

First, accurately measure all the spaces in the home that will be carpeted to come up with the square footage of each room in the house. This includes closets and hallways. Remember you’ll be buying bulk rolls of carpet. The last thing you want to do is come up short or order too much. Measure twice!

2. Remove the existing carpeting and padding

This is a big job, one that is going to take time, and that requires a systematic approach. You’re going to need to detach the carpet from tack strips, folding, and cutting sections of carpet that are not too large to handle. Once this is done, you’ll have to repeat the same process to remove the padding. Be aware that there may be glue and/or staples that are going to need to be removed from the subflooring.

Area Rug Gripper Pad, 2.5x9, Made in USA

3. Give your floors a thorough cleaning

After vacuuming and sweeping up all the dust and debris, you’re going to need to address any areas where there is excess material that has built up. These will need to be sanded level with the floor. Any stains to the subflooring need to be dealt with, as will areas where odor has been a problem. Remember that you may need to temporarily remove doors to complete this step.

4. Install or replace new tackless strips

It may be that you can use some of the existing tackless strips, but, in many instances, you’ll need to install new ones. This is a must if for carpet installation in a home that has never previously had carpeted flooring. Properly locating and nailing these strips requires some expertise so do diligent research in advance.

Tack Strip, 7/8 Inx4 ft, Wood/Concrete, Pk3 

5. Install the carpet padding

Carpet padding needs to be installed to an exact fit with no overlap. You’ll have to staple it to the tackless strips and then stretch and remove any excess using carpet knife, as well as tape all sections that join another section. Again, make sure you know what you’re doing because the padding is the foundation of your carpeting. If this step is not done right the carpet installation itself will be faulty.

Carpet Wall Trimmer & Carpet Cutting Blade

6. Install the carpeting

As you layout, the carpet on top of the padding leaves some excess and be sure all the carpet piles are aligned in the same direction. You’re going to need to know how to use your knee kicker to attach the carpeting to the tackless strips, and you’ll need to use a utility knife to trim excess carpet prior to tucking the edges between the strips and the walls.

7. Post-installation cleaning

This is the easiest step of all as you are, basically, just vacuuming. The only possibly hard part is that you’re going to need to trim any excess threads in the carpeting.

The Final Analysis

Now you know how to install carpet. As you can see this is one DIY project that requires not only a bit of hard work but also must be performed with precision and expertise for each of the seven steps in order for the installation to look good. If you, or your partner or friends, have some experience in this type of work and you believe you can do it yourselves, be sure to watch videos and read up on the topic prior to jumping in.