Installing Carpet by JD Barlow

We’ve all been there, the house looks good except for that one room. It’s the room where the carpet has been stained, damaged or is just plain ugly and the cost to replace it is just too much. What can we do?

Simple, buy a remnant from your local carpet store. What’s a remnant? It is a partial roll of carpet that is left over from a previous installation job where either too much was ordered or the customer upgraded / changed their mind after placing their deposit.

Such leftover / remnant carpet can be very cost effective, if you are willing to sort through the ugly and unappealing carpet that most stores have in their warehouse. The basic cost of remnant carpet will be from $3 - $ 6 dollars per yard, which is anywhere from 70% -80% off the retail price of special ordering or buying the shop’s stock carpet. A yard of carpet is measured at nine square feet. In order to calculate how much carpet you need, measure the length and width of your room, round up to the nearest foot and then multiply the two measurements. This will give you the basic square footage you need, but in order to break it down into yards, simply divide by 9.

Thus a room that is 12 x 12 will measure out to be 144 square feet or 16 yards and a price of $ 48 - $ 96, depending upon the type or style of carpet you select. That’s much cheaper that the normal retail price of anywhere from $ 10 for a low-end carpet to $30 for a higher end selection. No matter what type of remnant you pick, you should not have to spend more than $100 for something you like, just make sure that the piece you select will meet the dimensions of the room plus a little, (6-7 inches), as you don’t want to do any seaming.

One additional thing to be aware of, the shop should be able to cut larger pieces of remnant to the size you need, so don’t get stuck with paying for extra yardage that you don’t need.

Tools needed: Carpet knife, Knee kicker, Stair tool, Wall trimmer, and Power stretcher

Note: Knee kickers, Wall trimmers and Power stretchers are available at any rental shop at a rate of $40-$60 per day. Buy the Carpet knife and Stair tool, as it is just cheaper in the long run. Installation should take about 2-3 hours overall.

The first step to carpeting your room is to remove the old carpet. For this, you will need to empty the room of all furniture. Yes, you can install carpet with some furniture in the room, but it is a complication you just don’t need. After the room is empty, begin cutting the old carpet into three-foot widths using a carpet knife. . This will make the disposal process so much easier to handle. In fact, many carpet shops have an onsite dumpster, so when buying your remnant, ask if you can dispose of your old carpet in their dumpster. Generally, most shops won’t mind you using their dumpster if you have bought something from them, otherwise off to the local dump. Also, examine your pad and tack strip for damage or stains, and repair and replace as needed.

Next, you will need to spread your carpet from wall to wall. Ideally, you will have 3-6 inches of carpet running up each wall, as this will give you a firm base for the carpet stretcher to hold onto as you stretch it from wall to wall.

Using your stair tool, press the carpet on one wall firmly onto the tack strip. Once you have pressed the carpet onto the tack strip pull out your power stretcher and place the foot, (the part without pins), against the middle of the wall where you previously pressed the carpet. Using the handle on the head of the stretcher, pull the slack out of the carpet. You should be able to move the carpet about 3-6 inches. Yes, that much, and any less, in a few months, you may find wrinkles in the carpet.

Once the carpet is stretched, use the stair tool to press down on the carpet between the tack strip and the wall. Slowly release the power stretcher, and repeat the process along the wall until you have stretched the entire side. Using a power stretcher does take a little practice, but is a very doable task if you have a bit of patience.

Repeating the previous steps, press the carpet on the next wall and power stretch the remaining side working from the middle out, until you have completed the room.

Now to trim and tuck the carpet you have just stretched. Using your carpet knife cut a slot in the carpet excess at the middle point of the wall. This is where the wall trimmer will be used to cut a neat edge along the wall so that you will have a professional look when you are done. While firmly pressing the wall trimmer against the wall and onto the floor, cut the carpet along the wall until it reaches either a corner or doorway. Repeat the process in the other direction and against each of the remaining walls. Use the carpet knife to trim the last few inches of excess carpet and press the edges of the carpet under the baseboard using the stair tool.

Lastly, in each doorway, use the carpet knife to trim off the excess carpet and tuck it under the edge of the adjoining flooring. If by chance, the adjoining flooring is carpet, see the hub page regarding seaming carpet.

A few additional comments of note.

First, if your room has a closet attached, you can either add the additional footage to the carpet remnant you bought and use a knee kicker to install it, or as I have done, tile the closet.

Enjoy!