Carpet is a budget friendly choice for floor covering. It also keeps your feet warm when you roll out of bed on a chilly morning, and cleans up nicely with a vacuum cleaner. If you currently have carpet that’s seen better days, or if you’re in the market for carpet for a new space, here’s what you can expect during carpet installation.

Step 1: Out with the old and in with the new

The first step during carpet installation is to remove everything in the room so that you can remove all of the old carpet. This can be a yucky job since a lot of dirt and debris can collect underneath the carpet. It’s necessary to pull all carpet, padding, and tack strips out of the space to prepare it for new carpet.  

Step 2: Laying tack strips

The next step for laying carpet is to affix tack strips along the entire perimeter of the room. Make sure the points of the tacks on the strip face the wall, and that be sure to stop the strips on either side of door thresholds. You can adhere these strips to the floor using nails, adhesive, or masonry tacks if you’re installing the strips over concrete.  

Step 3: Lay the padding

All carpet is laid with padding underneath and there are many types of padding available on the market today. Unroll the padding and lay it out so where its edges meet the edges of the tack strips. Use a staple gun or similar tool to keep the padding in place. You should also use seem table to cover the joints of the carpet padding.   

Finally: The new carpet

Next you need to unroll the roll of new carpet into the space. You want to be sure you save a few inches of carpet on all edges when you’re trimming it to fit the space. Use a knee kicker and a hook to fasten the carpet. Press down on the edges to ensure that the tack strip underneath grabs the carpet.