How to Replace the Carpet Along the Baseboard

Begin prying the baseboard off the wall on one end and work your way down the baseboard's length. Place a 6-inch putty knife between the baseboard and the drywall to protect the drywall from damage. Insert a pry bar between the baseboard and putty knife. Use a hammer to hit the back of the finish nails to remove them from the board. Set the baseboard aside.

Lay a framing square on the carpet. Cut along the framing square's edge with a utility knife. Move the framing square to form a 90-degree angle with the cut you just made and cut along the framing square again. Continue until you have cut a square or rectangle around the damaged carpet. Do not cut through the carpet pad.

Lift the damaged carpet off the floor and peel it off the tack strip. Lay out a piece of carpet, face down, on a flat surface. Place the damaged carpet on top of the new carpet. Use the damaged carpet as a template to cut out a piece of new carpet to fit in its space.

Cut two to three strips of double-sided carpet tape to the same width as the exposed carpet pad. Lay the strips on the carpet pad and peel off the paper backing.

Press the new piece of carpet firmly onto the tape. Use a carpet tool to press the carpet's edge between the tack strip and the drywall. Run the carpet tool over the carpet's edge to hook it onto the tack strip.

Set the baseboard back against the wall, with the bottom edge touching the new carpet. Secure the baseboard in place with finishing nails from a pneumatic nail gun.