How to Lay a Carpet on a Concrete Basement Floor

Wear gloves and safety goggles when installing carpet in the basement. As you work, dust and dirt may get swept into the air.

Remove all furniture or large debris that is on the concrete floor. Use a push broom to sweep away dirt and loose particles from the floor.

Mop the concrete basement floor with a mild bleach solution. Fill a mop bucket with warm water and add 1 cap of bleach and 3 to 4 drops of dish detergent. Dampen a mop with the diluted bleach solution and wipe the entire concrete surface to kill any bacteria or mold that might be growing.

Empty the contents of the mop bucket and rinse the bucket and mop with clean water. Fill the mop bucket with clean water and rinse the floor with the mop. Allow the concrete to dry for at least 48 hours. Drying time may be longer depending on weather conditions.

Fill a pump sprayer with water and wet the surface of the concrete basement. Apply a coat of sodium silicate sealer to the concrete as directed on the package label. Allow the sealer to dry up to 24 hours.

Cover the concrete basement with moisture barrier plastic sheeting. Tape the seams of the barrier together with duct tape.

Place 1/2-inch plywood boards on top of the moisture barrier sheeting, covering the entire basement flooring. Secure the plywood to the concrete subfloor with concrete screws. Use a power drill to screw the concrete screws, spaced 2 feet apart, around the four plywood edges. If cuts are needed to fit the plywood boards to cover the basement concrete, use a circular saw.

Secure tackless strips on top of the plywood and along every wall within the basement, using a hammer.

Roll antimicrobial carpet padding over the plywood floor. Ensure you cover the entire flooring area of the basement, leaving the tackless strips uncovered. Cut the antimicrobial carpet padding to fit with a carpet knife. Butt the padding seams together and use duct tape to prevent them from moving apart.

Lift the edges of the carpet padding up and apply a bead of construction adhesive underneath. This glue will secure the padding to the underlying plywood, preventing it from shifting with foot traffic.

Measure the flooring area of the basement with a tape measure. Use these measurements to cut your carpet to size. Add 2 extra inches onto the length and width of the carpet to prepare for imperfect measuring or cuts that are not perfectly straight.

Place the carpet on top of the padding and secure the carpet edges to the tackless strips. Continue laying the carpet and securing it over the tackless strips until the entire basement is finished.

Cut the excess carpet edges with the carpet knife. If the basement has shoe or base molding, tuck the excess carpet edges underneath.