If you are like many, the New Year has brought you a new list of “To-Do” items. If installing carpet is one of those “To-Do’s” here is a list of instructions on how to do it! At Action Rental & Sales Equipment Division, we have the tools you need to turn your next “To-Do” item into a “Done” item!

Step 1: Determine the area of your room by measuring the longest walls in your room. Multiply the length and width, and divide by 9 to determine the square yardage. A helpful hint is to add 10 percent to allow for errors, irregularities and pattern matching.

Step 2: Make sure the surface to be carpeted is smooth and clean. Ensure any paint or joint compound has been scraped up. Finally sweep and vacuum the floor completely.

Step 3: If possible, remove any doors from the room so you will not have to work around them.

Step 4: Install the Tackless Strips by cutting the strips to size with a strip cutter or heavy snips. Next, nail the strips 1/2″ from the wall. Make sure you don’t install tackless strips across thresholds or doorways; the tacks on the strips are sharp and could poke through the carpet and hurt your feet. Tackless strips are available a variety of widths, thicknesses and heights.

Step 5: Lay out the carpet pad perpendicular to the direction you plan to install the carpet and staple it near the tackless strips with a staple hammer.

Step 6: Staple the seam of the pad, alternating staples so that they don’t end up beside one another. Make sure to stretch the padding so that the pieces are butted tightly together.

Step 7: Feel through the padding to locate the tackless strip. Then, use a utility knife to cut away the padding along the interior edge of the strip so that all the tacks are exposed.

Step 8: Notch corners for trimming by measuring the room at its longest point, and add 3″ to the measurement. Helpful Hint – Take the carpet outside if possible, and notch the back on both sides at the appropriate length.

Step 9: Roll the carpet with the back facing outward until the notched areas show. Next, make a chalk line that goes from notch to notch. Cut the back of the carpet along the chalk line, roll up the carpet, and take it back inside.

Step 10: Roll out the carpet into the room. Try to keep it as straight as possible and then cut away excess carpet. Make sure to leave about 3″ extra next to the walls.

Step 11: Where carpet edges join, you will need to create a seam. The seamed edges of both carpet segments must be straight. Helpful Hint – Make sure to check the edges. Don’t assume that a factory edge is straight.

Step 12: Place a piece of seaming tape under the seam, adhesive side up. Heat the seaming iron to the temperature recommended by the tape manufacturer, and rest it directly on the tape for 15 to 30 seconds. Next, slowly slide the iron along the tape, and press the seam into the melted glue behind the iron. After the pieces are joined, place heavy objects on the seam to hold it in steady as the glue dries. Seams need to run parallel to the room’s main light source. Helpful Hint – Make sure the pile of both pieces leans in the same direction.

Step 13: Make sure the carpet fits around obstacles. Use a carpet knife to trim if necessary.

Step 14: Attach the carpet to the tackless strips at one end of the room, using a knee kicker. Make sure to place the face of the knee kicker against the carpet about 3″ away from the wall, and then forcefully hit the padded end to stretch the carpet over the tackless strips.

Step 15: Trim excess carpet near the walls with a wall trimmer, which rests against the wall and provides a straight cut at the correct spot. Use a stair tool to press the cut edges underneath the baseboard trim.

Step 16: Attach the strips on the other side of the room using a power stretcher. For corners and alcoves where the power stretcher might not be able to reach, use the knee kicker and stair tool.

Step 17: Any areas where the carpet ends without abutting a wall, such as a threshold, you will need to nail a binder bar there. Stretch the carpet using the knee kicker tool in order to connect to the hooks in the binder bar. Next, use a wooden block or scrap piece of lumber to close the binder bar onto the edge of the carpet.

Step 18: When all the carpet is in place to your liking, cutout the vent openings.

For help with this and any other DIY project, come see the experts at Action Rental & Sales in Kingsport, Tennessee. We have the tools and expertise to help you finish your “To-Do” List. Stop by our showroom at 1861 N Eastman Road, visit our website or call us at 423-246-5181 for a complete listing of products and pricing.