How to Install Baby Health Carpet

Prepare the floor. Clean the floor area and allow it to dry. Lay tackless strips, 1/2 inch away from the wall, around the perimeter of the floor. Don't lay strips in the doorway. Position the tacks to face the wall with the strips laying against each other at the corners.

Lay the underlay. Place the underlay strips so they overlay your tackless strips. Press the strips against each other, but do not overlap them. Secure the underlay to the inside edge of the tackless strips with a staple gun. Cut away any extra underlay along the tackless strips with the seam cutter and secure it down with duct tape.

Install pieces of carpet. Cut a piece of natural fiber carpet 4 to 6 inches longer than the floor area so that it overlaps the edge of the floor. (You will trim it later to fit the floor.) Measure the longest part of the room and add 6 inches. Use chalk or a pencil to mark the measurements on the back edges of the width of the carpet and make a chalk line to join these two marks.

Cut the carpet. Fold the piece of carpet over onto itself, on the white chalk line, on top of a scrap board to protect the underlay from being cut. Use your utility knife and a straight edge to cut the carpet in half from the back side.

Cut a second piece (optional). If your first piece did not cover the floor, cut a second piece by repeating step 3 to measure, mark and trim. Allow 4 to 6 inches to overlap the edge of the floor as in step 3, and allow 4 to 6 inches to overlap the first piece of carpeting (an additional 4 to 6 inches for length and width).

Cut through the overlapped pieces of carpet with a seam cutter, where the pieces meet, for an exact fit. Place a piece of seaming tape, adhesive side up, in the center of the floor underneath where the two pieces join together. Use the seaming iron to activate the adhesive by placing it directly on the adhesive. Press the edges of the carpet pieces together and use a seam roller to seal the seam.

Attach one edge of your carpet to the floor using a knee kicker. Place the tooth end 3 inches from your wall. Press your knee down with force into the end of the kicker with knee pads. This causes the carpet to stretch over the tackless strip so that it catches onto the tacks that holds it in place. Repeat this step along the perimeter of the room until the entire carpet is secure on the floor.

Trim any excess carpet near the walls with your wall trimmer. Use the stair tool to tuck loose carpet down into gaps between the tackless strips and the wall. Cut away excess carpet at the doorway until it is centered under the closed door. Trim the carpet edge with the seam cutter or utility knife so it fits under the door edge strip. Push the carpet edge under the strip and use your hammer and a wooden block to pound the strip down over the edge of the carpet.

Make openings for any floor vents by cutting around the vents with your utility knife.

Vacuum the carpet to remove dust and other debris.