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How to Lay Carpet
If you have just purchased, or are thinking of purchasing some new carpet, you may want to learn how to lay carpet yourself to avoid paying for a professional carpet fitter.
With common questions being “how long does it take to lay carpet” and “how to lay carpet on stairs”, it can be a good idea to follow a simple step-by-step guide to help you along the way.
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What tools do I need to lay carpet?
As the saying goes, “a workman is only as good as his tools”. If you want to learn how to install carpet, you first need to know what tools you will need to do the job properly.
All of the below can easily be found in all the well-known DIY stores, as well as several items being on offer in your local supermarket.
Recommended tools for laying carpet include:
- A pencil
- Knee Pads
- Tape Measure
- Masking Tape
- Hammer or nail gun
- Pipe & cable detector
- Gloves
- Carpet tape
- Hack saw
- Craft or Stanley knife
- Carpet stretcher
- Carpet tucker
- Drill
- Vacuum cleaner
How to lay carpet in 4 simple steps
Step One: Fitting carpet gripper
Assuming that you have already ripped up your old carpet or other type of flooring, you are now ready to learn how to install carpet in your home, starting with fitting the carpet grippers.
- Start by checking for wires or pipes with a pipe and cable detector and mark their positions on the floor. These areas may need the carpet gripper secured with an adhesive rather than a hammer.
- Cut the gripper to the correct size and fasten the lengths together.
- Always leave a gap of around 7mm between the gripper and the skirting board.
- Secure any lengths that need sticking down.
- Remove all the nails and apply some gripper adhesive.
Step Two: Fitting the underlay
High-quality underlay is vital if you want your carpets to last and keep your home warm. Fortunately, this process is fairly straightforward. See our carpet underlay guide for more information on this process.
Step Three: How to lay carpet
You may need a hand with this stage as carpet can be bulky and heavy to move around.
Start by:
- Laying your carpet loosely in position.
- Smooth it into the corners of the room using your foot.
- Cut the carpet to the correct size using a sharp knife, leaving around 50mm extra at each edge. It is important that you make clean cuts when cutting your carpet to ensure a smooth finish.
- Cut a line in the excess carpet above the corners and then trim the overlapping pieces of carpet (these should look like a triangle).
- Use a carpet tucker to make a folded line against the skirting board.
- Hold the carpet flat and cut along the edge with a sharp knife (try and leave around 5mm spare).
- Using a carpet stretcher, hook the carpet onto the gripper on either side of the corner.
- Push any excess carpet down between the skirting with the carpet tucker.
- Plan the seam in areas where there is little foot traffic.
- Overlap the two pieces of carpet by around 5-7cm.
- Make sure you match up patterned carpet.
- Mark the top trim line – this should be around 3cm.
- Trim the top piece using a sharp knife.
- Trim the bottom piece.
- The two pieces of carpet should now fit perfectly together.
Step Four: How to join carpet
Top tips:
How to lay carpet around door frames - make vertical cuts down the edge of the carpet and then trim down.
How to lay carpet around a radiator pipe - make a straight cut from the edge of the carpet to the pipe, press firmly down, and then trim.
How to lay carpet on stairs - start with the bottom step and work your way up.
Common mistakes that people make when learning how to install carpets in their home
- Not having the proper tools.
- Not measuring their house layout before starting to lay their new carpet.
- Not checking to see if their new carpet matches their home before buying – check out our carpet buyers guide for information on the different styles and colours of carpets available.
- Not cleaning their home before laying new carpet.
Laying carpet can be tricky and puts people off doing it themselves - but so long as you do your research about your specific carpet beforehand and follow a simple step by step guide, it can actually be quite a simple task!