How hard is it to install carpet??

[RU482]

My wife wants to get new carpet for our house and she thinks to save money that I should install it. WTF?!?, like I would have a clue...anyway...she's telling me that you can get carpet with the pad attached and just tape it down w/double sided tape or glue or something. Is this a good idea? I always thought carpet had to be stretched and taked down.

Were planning on putting the house on the market this spring..so I guess it's a valid request, but there are 5 rooms and a hallway(connecting 4 of those rooms).

Sooo, has anyone installed carpet? How hard could it be?

 

[NutBucket]

I dunno. My dad and I refinished a wood floor with great results but I left the carpet to professionals.

 

[stebesplace]

Its not as hard as some find. A good quality stainmaster, wall to wall, with easily removed floorboards is all you need. The hard part is getting your seems corerct.

-Steve

 

[amdskip]

You could always rent a carpet stretcher and do it yourself.

http://doityourself.com/carpet/howtoinstallcarpet.htm

 

[iwearnosox]

I just stop buying razors and it grows in by itself.

 

[chiwawa626]

Streching and Seaming is tough stuff, shouldnt do it yourself if you want long lasting quality...

 

[IGBT]

It's kind of like getting into a fight..You have to use a carpet kicker to make it fit right..and it's a real workout...:frown:

 

[Soybomb]

Originally posted by: IGBT
It's kind of like getting into a fight..You have to use a carpet kicker to make it fit right..and it's a real workout...:frown:

Heh yeah I've watched it being laid before and it looks like alot or work!

 

[chiwawa626]

Also cutting carpet isnt the easyest thing (estimating size and stretch). My family is in the hotel/motel business, ive seen carpet installation like a 100 times, even for the pro's that do it, it is hard work.

 

[KK]

Are you on a slab or do you have wood sub-flooring? We had new carpet put in last august, we didn't do it. We watched how he did it. There is definitly an art to it. One is cutting the carpet to provide the least amount of seeming you got to do, and another is actually doing the seem itself. You should have you wife try and lay it down and tape it down. First off, I have never seen any carpet with the padding already attached, not saying there is not such a thing, I have yet to see it. Another, is the notion of taping it down, what the hell is she smoking. That's why there are tack strips that run the perimeter of the carpet. Carpet laid down right will last longer and look better. I would probably not try to lay carpet down after watching this guy do ours. He also did our laminates, I would attempt to lay that if I ever needed to instead of paying someone.

KK

 

[rgwalt]

I would do my best to convince your wife to get someone to install the carpet.

Ryan

 

[Sealy]

We just had new carpet put in our house, and he just finished yesterday! We actually thought about doing it ourselves...but I'm so glad we did'nt!

You need specially tools to do it properly, a kicker thing that you nail with your knee, a tucker knife, a special glue and iron to properly seam the carpet...leave it to the proffessionals! You'll be glad you spent the money! IMOH!

 

[Tominator]

Originally posted by: Sealy
We just had new carpet put in our house, and he just finished yesterday! We actually thought about doing it ourselves...but I'm so glad we did'nt!

You need specially tools to do it properly, a kicker thing that you nail with your knee, a tucker knife, a special glue and iron to properly seam the carpet...leave it to the proffessionals! You'll be glad you spent the money! IMOH!

There isn't much I won't tackle in regards to home improvement. Laying carpet is one thing that must be done right or you will be sorry and best done by a contractor.

 

[Mday]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
Streching and Seaming is tough stuff, shouldnt do it yourself if you want long lasting quality...

i concur.

 

[LakAttack]

I did one room that was small enough to use one piece of carpet on (no seams) and it was a big pain in the a$$. I also watched some guys do the rest of my house, and I would have to agree, if you want it to look good, hire someone.

 

[rh71]

I helped do the carpet here in my home office which is about 11x15. What a pain in the @$$ that was. We took the old carpet out and left the padding and the tack strips on the perimeter. After that, it was a matter of getting the carpet in all the corners from a roll. NOT easy. After fitting as much as we could under the baseboard heaters and on top of the tacks in the right position, there were irregular areas to cut away and size... from an "installed" position, it wasn't easy to cut properly.

If it's a large room or many rooms, hire help.

 

[Muadib]

Listen to the crowd dude! I did my bedroom in my old place, and after that nightmare, I hired a pro to do the rest of the house.

 

[agnitrate]

My mom works as a secretary for a carpet business. They have installed carpet for us. It's NOT easy. It takes some skill and experience to make it look nice and if you mess it up, it's a real pain to fix. If you decide to try it yourself, definitely read up on it.

-silver

 

[BooneRebel]

There are some commercial-grade carpets that you can buy that are peel&stick squares. Basically it is carpet with a rubber backing. You peel off a protective coat from the backing to expose the adhesive and then lay it down. I've never seen any in a house, though, and it's probably just as expensive (if not more so) than 'standard' roll carpet. You *might* be able to buy the carpet and padding yourself and then hire someone to do the installation for you, but I'm not sure if it would be worth it. Doing it yourself you will need to rent a carpet stretcher and kicker, and the installation is quite a bit of work.