How to Lay Carpet on Cement

Measure your room. Take this measurement with you when buying your carpet and padding and present it to the salesperson. If you are purchasing without help, then make sure you have at least an extra foot for each end of your carpet.

Buy quality carpet and padding. It is important to purchase carpet that will be able to withstand the wear and tear of your particular space. It is also important to buy quality padding which may increase the life expectancy of your carpet.

Be sure that your cement floor is dry. If the cement floor is in your basement or the ground floor of your house, the cement may be a haven for water due to its porous nature. To test it out, you can securely tape a piece of plastic wrap on a section of your flooring. Wait a day or so and check to see if there is any water that has accumulated. If so, you should seal your floor with a cement sealer or seek professional help.

Clean the surface. Scrape up any old residue and sweep. Clean your floor with trisodium phosphate (TSP). Be sure the room is well ventilated. Let your floor dry for a couple days after this step.

Find any ductwork underneath your floor, if any. If you are planning on nailing in your tack strip, and you know there is ductwork along your floors, you need to check to see where they are located. After you clean your surface with the above step, turn up the heat and see which areas dry first. This will indicate the locations of the ductwork. Mark the areas with chalk and avoid nailing into those spots.

Install tack strips along the perimeter of the room. There are tack strips (also called tackless strips) specially designed for cement that comes with cement nails already attached. With others, you will need to buy masonry nails. You will need to hammer a nail every 8 to 12 inches. If you are unable to hammer in the nails, you can glue the tack strips onto the floor using "Liquid Nails" or another brand of glue available in a tube for cement purposes. You can cut the strips with shears to fit. When installing, the pointed pins should face the walls and there should be space between the wall and the strip, which is simply 2/3 of the thickness of the carpet you purchased. Do not place tack strips along the doorways.

Install the padding. Cut the padding with shears so that it covers the entire room, even the tack strip. It may take several pieces to accomplish this task. Use cement glue instead of staples. All seams should butt up next to each other and not overlap and the "waffle" side should be facing up. Use duct tape to cover the seams. Use a utility knife to cut the pad along inside of the tack strip so that the pad is not covering the strip.

Measure the carpet out and cut. You need to cut your carpet 4 to 6 inches longer on both sides. Use a chalk line to make a straight line. Cut with a carpet or utility knife. Repeat if you need a second piece.

Lay out the carpet and seam any pieces together. Lay your carpet out in your room so that the extra inches are up against the walls and if you have two pieces, lay them about two inches on top of one another. Be sure the grain of the carpet is going the same way. On this overlap, cut both pieces of carpet at the same time with the knife so that the seam will be an exact fit. You can also lay one piece on top of the other and use that as a guide to cut the second piece. Place carpet seaming tape with the adhesive side up under the two pieces. Then use a seam iron and heat the tape and when it melts, immediately press the carpet down. When finished, use a rolling pin to secure.

Use a knee kicker and power stretcher to install the carpet. Start with one corner and dig the knee kicker's teeth into the carpet with your knee until the carpet is hooked onto the tack strip. Then use the power stretcher to stretch the carpet all the way to an opposite wall. To do this, put the base of the power stretcher by the corner that was just hooked and put the teeth of the other end inches from the other wall Press down on the handle or lever to stretch the carpet. Lock into place when it is fully stretched and then use the knee kicker to secure the carpet tightly onto the tack strip starting from the hooked corner. Next, keep the power stretcher base at the original corner but face it toward the other opposite wall. Place the other end on that other opposite wall. Follow the same procedure around the room until the job is done.

Finish off the edges. Cut the excess carpet by the walls with a carpet trimmer or utility knife. Use a stair tool and hammer to tuck the carpet behind the tack strip and under the baseboard if any. For doorways, use a gripper edge to install a wood or metal strip under the center of the door when closed. If desired, install a toe kick molding.