Laying carpet on concrete can generally be a relatively long process, taking a couple of days to make sure everything is perfect. However, once you know what to do, it can make it much simpler to carry out.
You can go through the following steps to figure out how to lay carpet on concrete.
How to Lay Carpet on Concrete
You need to follow the process mentioned below to successfully lay a carpet on concrete.
1. Measure the Room
You will first need to make the necessary measurements of your entire room so that you can ensure that the carpet you buy or own is compatible enough with the room. You will also need a carpet that can not only match the size of the room but also has a material that goes well with concrete.
Make sure you measure the corners and edges of the room as accurately as possible and note them down somewhere. It can also help to get rid of some extra attachments so that you can make this process easier.
2. Prepare the Room
You will then need to prepare the rest of the room to make it ready for the carpet laying process. If there is any furniture in the room, make sure you remove them and place them elsewhere for the time being. You should also remove any other objects such as lamps or plants to ensure that the room is completely empty.
You should also ensure that the humidity levels in the room are not too high as these could otherwise lead to the build-up of mold that can be damaging for your new carpet.
If there are any boards on the bottom of the walls, remove them for easier installation. You should also take care of any possible gaps while making the concrete floor as even as possible.
3. Prepare the Carpet
The next step is to prepare your carpet properly so that you can easily roll it out when you need to install it.
One of the steps involved here is to clean up the carpet thoroughly so that it can be fresh and ready to install when the time arises. Leave it out under the sun or give it enough space and air so that any possible germs or bacteria present on it can die and remove themselves from the carpet.
This is also a good idea so that you can minimize any fumes that may arise while you are laying it out.
4. Install Tack Strips
You can use tack strips that can help hold your carpet in place. You should cut them to the appropriate size and lay them out along the borders of the room near your walls. These should all be in the direction of your walls and must form a square shape in your room.
Make sure that each tack strip along each wall meets the other well enough. You should leave a small space between these strips and the wall as well.
Further, it is important to use them over the frames of the doors as well. Nail them all firmly in place using nails.
5. Lay the Padding
Next, you will need to lay out the padding of the carpet across the room. This padding is important to provide a softer surface while also making the carpet much more durable.
These paddings might either be of a single length or might be available in strips. Depending on which one you opt for, you will need to use some duct tape to hold their ends in place.
These should further fit your room perfectly, but should not extend beyond the tack strips. If they do, you can cut off those bits and secure the ends to the strips.
6. Lay and Cut Excess Carpet
At this point, you can bring in the carpet and roll it out over the floor. Make sure you lay it out carefully so that you can make it fit the measurements of the room accurately.
This will allow you to confirm the size of the carpet and how well it matches your room. If there are any extra bits, cut them out using a strong enough blade. Make sure you do this accurately and in straight lines.
It is also important to carry out this step without getting any scratches on your walls, padding or tack strips. A good idea would be to mark the length and then cut it out.
7. Stretch the Carpet
Once you cut the carpet to its accurate size, you can finally stretch it out across the room, ensuring that the seams are all aligned properly and that all the corners accurately meet the corners of the wall.
You will then require a knee kicker to make the corners as perfect as possible. Hold the knee kicker in place and start off with one part of the carpet.
Push the knee kicker with your knees so that it can stretch out the corners well. You can move from the center to the ends and repeat the process with each border.
8. Secure the Carpet
Finally, secure the carpet in place by cutting off any remaining extra parts. Tuck the ends of the carpet behind the tack strips that you had installed earlier. If required, you can also make use of a flat but wide blade to help you out.
Once this is done, you can install the other parts of the room that you had removed such as the baseboards, doors, trims and more. Make sure you work around the carpet during this process.
These extra parts should ideally cover up all the gaps between your carpet and the floor or walls. In case they do not, you might need to use some extra strips or transition pieces to do this for you.
This will then conclude the process for you. You can leave the carpet to rest for a while before reinstalling your furniture in the room.
How to Install Carpet on Concrete Floor with Glue
If you want to install your carpet on a concrete floor using glue, you will first need to ensure that the floor is completely even and at a perfect level. Then, you can lay out the carpet and cut off any extra parts.
Pick a wall to start from and unroll a small part of the carpet such that one entire border rests perfectly against the wall without any gaps.
On the remaining portion of the floor, apply sufficient amounts of compatible glue or adhesive and start rolling the carpet out over the glue.
Make sure that you do not let any bubbles form over the glue and that you fit all parts accurately. Once this is done, you can glue up the starting bit.
Read also:
How to Remove Carpet Glue from Concrete Floors in 5 Easy Ways
How to Install Carpet Tiles without Glue
Even if you do not have glue, you can install carpet tiles on your concrete floor. You can opt for carpet tiles that you simply need to peel off from their package and stick onto the floor.
Some carpet tiles also have cushioned backs with foam that you can easily stretch out and secure on the floor.
Final Remarks
Now that you have seen the entire method in detail, you can go ahead and try it out on your own. Make sure you are patient throughout it while also maintaining accuracy.
