Carpet Installation Procedure

Room Preparation

• 1

  Remove the furniture from the room. Vacuum the carpet to remove debris and dirt from the carpet.

• 2

  Cut the old carpet into strips with a sharp utility knife. Each strip should be 18 to 24 inches wide.

• 3

  Pull up the old carpet and place it outside. Remove the old padding by pulling it up slowly. Place it outside as well.

• 4

  Remove the old tack strips, using a pry bar and hammer. Hammer the pry bar under the tack strip and pull up the remove the tack strips. Throw them away in a trash can.

• 5

  Sweep the floor with a broom to get rid of all debris on the subfloor.

Carpet Installation

• 6

  Install the new tack strips around the edges of the room. Measure, mark and cut the tack strips to the appropriate length, using a tape measure, pencil and saw. Hammer the nails in the strips into the subfloor with a hammer.

• 7

  Roll out the carpet padding onto the subfloor. Cut the padding with a utility knife so the edge is tight against the tack strips. Use double-sided adhesive tape to secure the padding onto the subfloor.

• 8

  Lay the carpet onto the floor. Use a knee kicker to attach the carpet onto the tack strips along one wall. Place the power stretcher onto the carpet and stretch the carpet across the room. Use your hand to press down on the carpet to ensure the carpet properly attaches.

• 9

  Repeat the carpet-laying procedure on the last two walls in the room. For example, if you started with the north and south walls, complete the process for the east and west walls.

• 10

  Cut the excess carpet from around the edges of the room with a utility knife. Use a carpet tool to tuck the carpet edges under the baseboard. Replace the furniture in the room.