Replacing carpet in your home is generally preceded by one of two observations. Maybe you’ve decided you want a change in your home decor, and installing new carpet to go along with the new furniture you’re buying is on the top of your list. Or, you’ve begun to notice certain telltale signs that have convinced you that your carpet has got to go, or you’ve used an
affordable moving company to relocate and it’s time to upgrade your carpets.
It’s not that you haven’t been diligent in keeping your carpets clean and well maintained. Even so, over time carpet needs to be replaced. There are about a half dozen common conditions that are indicative of the need to replace old or worn out carpet.
- Excessive wear and tear
- Unsightly odors
- Stains that won’t come out
- Problems with carpet padding
If you’ve noticed even one of these conditions present in your existing carpeting, you’re probably a good candidate for
carpet replacement.
Installing Carpet: DIY or Call an Expert?
Now that you’ve made a determination to replace your carpet, do you attempt to do the job yourself or call in a professional carpet installer? This is a critical decision and one that should not be made lightly. In order to help you make the correct choice, let’s take a look at the process required to replace carpeting in your home. Depending on how comfortable you are with this process and its implementation is going to go a long way in guiding you in your decision.
Determining How Carpet Is to Be Replaced in Your Home
The first consideration is cost. Whether you plan on installing the carpet yourself or hiring a professional, the cost of the carpet and padding is going to be a separate line item above and beyond the cost of installation. If you plan on doing the installation yourself you’re going to need to purchase some needed materials in addition to the actual carpeting and padding. Here are some must-have items to help you do the job.
- Staple gun
- Carpet scissors
- Utility knife
- Tack strips
In addition, you’re going to want to have on gloves, a hammer, a knee kicker and dust masks.
The 7 Steps for Installing Carpeting the Right Way
Next, you need to make sure that you can perform each one of these steps if you’re intent on doing the job yourself.
1. Estimating how much carpet and padding is needed
First, accurately measure all the spaces in the home that will be carpeted to come up with the square footage of each room in the house. This includes closets and hallways. Remember you’ll be buying bulk rolls of carpet. The last thing you want to do is come up short or order too much. Measure twice!
2. Remove the existing carpeting and padding
This is a big job, one that is going to take time and that requires a systematic approach. You’re going to need to detach the carpet from tack strips, folding and cutting sections of carpet that are not too large to handle. Once this is done, you’ll have to repeat the same process to remove the padding. Be aware that there may be glue and/or staples that are going to need to be removed from the subflooring.
3. Give your floors a thorough cleaning
After vacuuming and sweeping up all the dust and debris, you’re going to need to address any areas where there is excess material that has built up. These will need to be sanded level with the floor. Any stains to the subflooring need to be dealt with, as will areas where odor has been a problem. Remember that you may need to temporarily remove doors to complete this step.
4. Install or replace new tackless strips
It may be that you can use some of the existing tackless strips, but, in many instances, you’ll need to install new ones. This is a must if for carpet installation in a home that has never previously had carpeted flooring. Properly locating and nailing these strips requires some expertise so do diligent research in advance.
5. Install the carpet padding
Carpet padding needs to be installed to an exact fit with no overlap. You’ll have to staple it to the tackless strips and then stretch and remove any excess, as well as tape all sections that join another section. Again, make sure you know what you’re doing because the padding is the foundation of your carpeting. If this step is not done right the carpet installation itself will be faulty.
6. Install the carpeting
As you lay out the carpet on top of the padding leave some excess and be sure all the carpet piles are aligned in the same direction. You’re going to need to know how to use your knee kicker to attach the carpeting to the tackless strips, and you’ll need to use a utility knife to trim excess carpet prior to tucking the edges between the strips and the walls.
7. Post-installation cleaning
This is the easiest step of all as you are, basically, just vacuuming. The only possibly hard part is that you’re going to need to trim any excess threads in the carpeting.
The Final Analysis
Now you know how to install carpet. As you can see this is one DIY project that requires not only a bit of hard work but also must be performed with precision and expertise for each of the seven steps in order for the installation to look good. If you, or your partner or friends, have some experience in this type of work and you believe you can do it yourselves, be sure to watch videos and read up on the topic prior to jumping in.
However, if reading through this process has made you realize that you would be better off leaving this job in the hands of a professional, consider Carpet To Go. Their professionalism and expertise is well established throughout the Bellevue area.
Contact them today for a free estimate for carpet replacement in your home.
