Can You Install Carpet Over Decorative Concrete Floors?

Atmospheric Considerations

• For 48 hours before, during and after the carpet installation, the temperature of the designated room must fall between 65 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit and have humidity levels between 10 and 65 percent. The concrete has to be a minimum of 65 degrees Fahrenheit for the same periods.

Floor Preparation

• To ensure the carpet adhesive properly bonds with the concrete, make sure the floor surface is perfectly smooth and free of cracks and holes. To properly interact with the adhesive, floor-patching materials have to be fortified with latex or polymers. If the concrete is particularly porous or dusty, or the patching covers large areas of the floor, coat it with a thin, adhesive-compatible primer. Improperly prepared floors will not hold the carpet to the floor and will cause the carpet to wear unevenly and wrinkle.

Testing

• Before carpeting can be installed over concrete, present a report on the concrete’s moisture and alkalinity to the installer. These test kits, available at carpet stores and home improvement centers, measure the moisture emission rates and pH alkalinity properties. These tests take three days to complete and should be incorporated into the carpet installation time line. Flooring contractors and carpet professionals can recommend solutions to concrete floor moisture and alkaline problems.

Tack Strips and Padding

• After the concrete has passed the moisture and alkaline tests, install tack strips around the perimeter of the room. These thin wooden strips have tiny concrete nails to attach them to the floor and metal teeth on the top to grab the edges of the carpet and hold it in place. After the tack strips are installed, roll out the carpet pad right up to the interior edges of the tack strips. If necessary, connect pad pieces with wide adhesive tape.

Finishing Touches

• Lay the carpet over the padding, extending the edges about an inch past the tack strips. Secure it and eliminate all seams with carpet tape and an iron. Check all corners for tautness with a knee kicker and make necessary adjustments. Trim the excess from the edges and adjust each corner again with a carpet stretcher. To ensure the best fit, make one final pass around the room with the knee kicker to correct any loose corners.