How to Install Carpet on Top of Vinyl Floors

Clean the vinyl floor. Sweep away all dirt, dust and debris in preparation for laying the carpet. Be sure to get around the base of the walls and corners.

Measure the length and the width of the room. Multiply the two numbers to get the square yardage of the room. Add the two numbers and multiply by 2 for the perimeter measurement.

Remove the baseboards. Carefully pull any existing baseboards from the wall, using the claw of a hammer. Work slowly so you don't break the pieces. Store the baseboards in another room.

Lay tack strips around the perimeter of the room, excluding the doorways. Place the strips against the wall. If there's a wood subfloor under the vinyl, use carpet nails every 6 to 8 inches. If you have a concrete subfloor, use carpet glue to attach the strips.

Put down carpet padding. Cut the padding to the room size, and roll it across the floor. Attach the padding with carpet nails or glue it to the tack pads.

Lay the carpet. Secure the carpet at one end by nailing or gluing it to the padding over the tack strips. Roll out the carpet. Use a knee kicker to stretch the carpet tight across the floor, and secure it in place with carpet nails to the surrounding tack strips, then reinstall the baseboards.