How to Install Carpet in a Basement on Concrete

Sweep all dust, debris or dirt from the concrete floor with a stiff broom. Turn on a shop vacuum and use the floor attachment to vacuum the entire surface of the concrete floor. This second cleaning will ensure that no dirt or small particles remain on the concrete.

Apply concrete sealer on the dry concrete basement floor with a paint roller attached to a long handle. Refer to the concrete sealer instructions on quantity ratio and drying time, which is usually at least 24 hours.

Place a polyethylene waterproof sheet over the entire surface of the concrete floor. Tape all seams together with duct tape.

Measure the concrete basement floor with a measuring tape, and use these measurements to select the number of plywood boards needed. Cut plywood boards to size with a circular saw.

Set 1/2-inch plywood boards on top of the polyethylene plastic sheeting. Make sure the entire surface of the concrete floor has plywood covering it.

Screw concrete screws into the plywood, going through the concrete, with a screwdriver. Space the concrete screws 1 foot apart on all sides of each piece of plywood board.

Place carpet tack strips against the edges of the basement walls. Hammer 8d nails into the tack strips, spaced 4 inches apart. Make sure you hammer 8d nails into each end and middle section of the tack strips.

Cover the entire surface of the basement floor with carpet padding. The carpet padding will lie right on top of the plywood boards. Use a utility knife to cut away all the excess carpet padding. Apply a line of carpet glue under the edges and seams of the carpet padding.

Take the basement measurements you obtained earlier from the plywood boards, and use these to measure your carpet. Place the carpet over the entire basement floor, working in smaller, easier-to-manage sections. Leave an extra inch on all the edges of the carpet. Tuck this extra inch under the baseboards to grip onto the tack strips.

Stretch the carpet by using the knee kick stretcher in every corner of the room. As the carpet stretches with the knee kick, tuck in any excess carpet underneath the baseboards.