Idiot guide to laying a carpet?

shegirl

I've always laid my own carpets and can honestly say,even being female,that it need not be that hard!! Get googling for tips and watch videos on youtube to give yourself some confidence.It'll take longer than if a professional done it,obviously,and the perfect look takes practice but you can do it :-) Just be careful with the cutting and try not to take little bits out accidently!!

Tips I would give are:

hold the stanley knife at a 45 degree angle when cutting in,if you need to trim with the carpet close in position (if you have big bits to cut off obviously fold back and trim,then trim an excess at the angel while in position) and use a screwdriver (or handle of stanley knife to do a harmless score along the edge where you need to cut -do it firmly to ensure it's straight,that will help with cutting it straight.

Lay the carpet out and allow any creases to drop before fitting.You can also buy a kicker for about £15 to help stretch it and remove creases while fitting if you want to use one.

Using a screwdriver to do a tiny 'tuck' around the edge of the room when finished gives it the best finish as opposed to seeing trimmed carpet against the skirting (also helps if you happen to find a little gap under the skirting anywhere!!)

Good luck

polejunkie

shegirl wrote: »

I've always laid my own carpets and can honestly say,even being female,that it need not be that hard!! Get googling for tips and watch videos on youtube to give yourself some confidence.It'll take longer than if a professional done it,obviously,and the perfect look takes practice but you can do it :-) Just be careful with the cutting and try not to take little bits out accidently!!

Tips I would give are:

hold the stanley knife at a 45 degree angle when cutting in,if you need to trim with the carpet close in position (if you have big bits to cut off obviously fold back and trim,then trim an excess at the angel while in position) and use a screwdriver (or handle of stanley knife to do a harmless score along the edge where you need to cut -do it firmly to ensure it's straight,that will help with cutting it straight.

Lay the carpet out and allow any creases to drop before fitting.You can also buy a kicker for about £15 to help stretch it and remove creases while fitting if you want to use one.

Using a screwdriver to do a tiny 'tuck' around the edge of the room when finished gives it the best finish as opposed to seeing trimmed carpet against the skirting (also helps if you happen to find a little gap under the skirting anywhere!!)

Good luck

Thank you this is exactly what I needed, I cannot watch youtube or videos on my phone so needed a step by step guide.

ormus

there are some jobs when paying a pro is the best answer.
plastering and carpet laying come to mind.
if you cannot afford it right now, then wait and save the money.

id like a bugatti veyron, but cannot afford it. im saving like mad.

maninthestreet

polejunkie wrote: »

Thank you this is exactly what I needed, I cannot watch youtube or videos on my phone so needed a step by step guide.

Does saying 'a picture is worth a thousand words' mean anything to you?

Alter_ego

You may be able to get a fitter to do a cheaper job if you do the prep, fit the gripper, lay the underlay.pull any old nails etc The previous advice to get a fitter is good if you need to ask about it.

shegirl

No worries :-) Many people do things themselves that they could pay professionals to do-painting and decorating,fence building,gardening,cleaning,laying carpets,tiling etc etc it's easier and quicker to pay someone and you're guaranteed a great job but not everyone can or wants to pay so do it themselves,yep it takes longer and you have to figure it out and learn but it doesn't mean you can't do it! Practice makes perfect though so it doesn't always look as good which is why you don't rush and make sure you know what you're doing first.

Just noticed you need to do stairs too - be careful here.If you can, pay someone for the stairs because they are by far the hardest to fit and if not done properly can be dangerous.So think that through carefully.My first attempt at stairs wasn't too great but I learned from it and do much better with them now (but hate doing them LOL)

polejunkie

shegirl wrote: »

No worries :-) Many people do things themselves that they could pay professionals to do-painting and decorating,fence building,gardening,cleaning,laying carpets,tiling etc etc it's easier and quicker to pay someone and you're guaranteed a great job but not everyone can or wants to pay so do it themselves,yep it takes longer and you have to figure it out and learn but it doesn't mean you can't do it! Practice makes perfect though so it doesn't always look as good which is why you don't rush and make sure you know what you're doing first.

Just noticed you need to do stairs too - be careful here.If you can, pay someone for the stairs because they are by far the hardest to fit and if not done properly can be dangerous.So think that through carefully.My first attempt at stairs wasn't too great but I learned from it and do much better with them now (but hate doing them LOL)

The carpet for my boys room and the lounge are getting delivered tomorrow, stairs are just being left for now. Luckily I can live without a carpet in my bedroom and my dd's room is small enough to scrub the floorboards and throw a rug down. All the floorboards seem to be really good condition which makes me think they might not have used carpets.

The house is basically a shell and trying to bring it up to scratch and paying for 2 places has really dented our finances.

I have a plan B if this fails, code name dad.

broonbear

i've got a spare couple of hours on Sunday afternoon so if you stay near Glasgow i'll pop round and fit them for you and you an square me up when you get on your feet

Strangled

Alter_ego wrote: »

You may be able to get a fitter to do a cheaper job if you do the prep, fit the gripper, lay the underlay.pull any old nails etc The previous advice to get a fitter is good if you need to ask about it.

No, a decent fitter would'nt touch it ...... preparation is the most important part of fitting

hayleythedaisy

We laid our own, due to costs.
I would say if you can get felt backed carpet - you don't need underlay and use spray adhesive - you don't need grippers. Some people have turned their nose up at the idea of not having underlay but I can honestly say it looks and feels fine.
Measure the room and get the carpet to a reasonable size if needs be. Then lay it down and stretch it to the edges. Cut very slowly, and very carefully. Use spray on the floor boards and smooth carpet onto it. (We always use the homebase own spray).
I agree with not doing the stairs though. We found a carpet warehouse with self employed fitters and it was £120 inc carpet and fitting.