DIYinstall

Carpets with high quality attached cushion (such as KangaBACK and KangaHYDE) are easy to install yourself. The attached cushion makes carpet rolls incredibly lightweight and easy to handle. With a few simple, inexpensive tools and double-faced tape you can complete a beautiful, quality installation in no time.

Tools You'll Need

The tools you will need are: a utility knife with extra blades, a pry bar, a putty knife, a metal measuring tape, a hammer and scissors. If you have to make a seam, you will need a string chalk line, a straight edge or a cushion back Carpet Cutter. Carpet seam sealer adhesive is also required for seams and may be purchased at any carpet supply shop, or at home improvement or do-it-yourself stores which sell carpet.

If you wish to install your new carpet yourself, measure the room for which it is intended before you buy the carpet. Be sure to measure to the center of doorways and to the back of closets.

It's a good idea to measure the room again, then pre-cut the carpet 4" to 6" larger than the room size.

Prepare the room. If possible, remove all furniture from this room. This will allow you to maneuver the carpet into the room and place it without obstructions. If the room has shoe molding remove the shoe mold using a pry bar and hammer. (Shoe mold, sometimes referred to as 1/4 round, is the small strip of wood at the intersection of the baseboard and floor. Do not remove baseboards). Take extra care not to break the fragile pieces. Remove the doors by taking the pins out of the hinges. The bottom of the doors may have to be trimmed to allow them to swing freely over the new carpet when installed.
Put double-faced carpet tape around the perimeter of the room and place 12" x 12" crosses on four-foot intervals in the middle of the room. Leave the protective cover on the tape for now.
Position the carpet in the room, centering it. Let the 2" to 3" surplus run up the walls equally. If one wall has no thresholds or projections it is all right to butt the carpet up to the wall and trim the other three sides.
Fold one half of the carpet back over itself, peel the protective cover off the tape and replace the carpet, smoothing out the carpet from the center of the room toward the walls. Repeat for the other half of the room.
On the sides which must be trimmed, use a stiff putty knife to crease the carpet at a 90 degree angle at the joint of the floor and the wall. Trim off the surplus carpet, making sure you have a sharp blade in your utility knife. Be sure to hold the knife almost parallel to the floor and cut in the crease. Walk along this edge to fasten it to the tape.
Installation with Multi-Purpose Adhesives Any good multi-purpose adhesive may be used with carpets. After positioning the carpet in the room (see step #3) fold one half of the carpet back over itself, apply the adhesive (following manufacturers instructions) to the floor. After proper "tack time" lay the carpet into the adhesive and then do the other half of the room. Trim the carpet as mentioned in step #5.	Installation with Staples Staples can be used instead of tape. Use heavy duty staples a minimum of 1/2" long. Do not use more staples than are necessary to hold the carpet down securely. On hardwood it may be necessary to tap the staple with a small hammer to drive it in fully. Do this immediately after shooting each staple.
Making Seams On all seams, you will need to position the second piece of carpet so that it runs in the same direction as the first. This is very important. When you have determined how the two pieces of carpet will lie in the room, you will want to start by getting the straightest edge possible on the piece you will cut first. If using the cushion back Carpet Cutter you may make your cuts from the face side of the carpet. Follow proper seaming procedures supplied with the Carpet Cutter. If using a utility knife, fold the carpet over and, using a chalk line, mark where you wish to cut on the back of the carpet. Using the straight edge, trim the carpet as straight as you can, cutting through the back of the carpet. Position both pieces of carpet properly in the room. Make sure that the edge of the trimmed piece is where you want your seam, and that you have enough carpet on either side to reach the walls and doorways. With the uncut piece of carpet on the floor, place the edge of the trimmed piece on top overlapping at least 2". Use the trimmed edge of the cut piece as a guide to cut the other piece.	Once both sides are properly trimmed, fold back one piece of carpet at the seam. Using the edge of the remaining piece, mark a line on the floor using the trimmed edge as a guide.
Fold back both sides and place one strip of 3" TAPE centering the line or two strips of double-faced tape parallel to the line, one on each side of the line. Remove the protective paper from the tape, keeping the carpet folded back.
Apply a bead of seam sealer along the edge of the cushion. A plastic bottle with a long thin neck works best. Apply seam adhesive to one edge only. Complete the seam by butting both sections of the carpet together while the adhesive is still wet, allowing the carpet and cushion to make contact with the tape and seam sealer at the same time. Be sure to keep carpet fiber up and away from the seam sealer. (Professional installers may use hot melt seaming tape on cushion. The seaming iron will not harm or melt the cushion.)

Finishing Your Installation

Smears of adhesive on the carpet surface can be cleaned with a non-flammable solvent and clean cloth if cleaning is done while adhesive is still wet.

If the edge of the carpeting at a doorway must be butted up against carpeting in the next room or hall, follow the same procedure for seaming described above. If there is sufficient carpet, most installers prefer to butt the two pieces in the section directly under the door when the door is closed, making a neater looking installation from both sides. If needed, you may also wish to use metal binding strips found at any hardware store or home center.

*KangaBACK®, KangaHYDE®, KangaTOOLS® and KangaTAPE® are registered trademarks of Textile Rubber & Chemical Company