First of
all may we start by saying that we always recommend that you get a professional
carpet fitter to install your carpets as this will result in a better result in
our opinion to the finished article.
However
if you feel like tackling this part by yourself then here is a brief guide to
fitting a carpet.
Firstly
make sure that you have the correct tools to hand along with all the products
you will need.
What you
will need
- Hammer
- Stanley/Utility knife
- Measuring Tape
- Knee Kicker
- Carpet Spray Glue
- Gripper Rods
- Door Plate
- Underlay
Now to
get started
Once you
have removed everything from the room, IE furniture, old carpets and underlays
you will then need to give your floor a quick Hoover to get rid of
any dust from the floor.
Once this
has been done you will then need to attach around the perimeter of the room the
gripper rods. These need to be fixed with the hammer and make sure that the
spikes are facing into the wall.
These
need to be place approx ½” from the wall. The only place you will not put the
gripper rods is in the doorway entrance where you will instead put a door
plate.
Now, onto
the underlay. Roll out the underlay on the floor in lengths making sure you
don’t overlap them as this will show up when you lay your carpet. Then cut and
trim to the inside of the gripper rods. You can then at this point spray down
the edges with some spray glue to keep it in place.
Now to
probably the most difficult part of the carpet fitting, the actual carpet
laying itself!
Why?
Well at
this point onwards if you make any mistakes they will show up and tend not to
be able to be covered.
First
though get one side of your carpet and put it into place along one side of the
room with an overlap of about 10cm, which can be trimmed in later on. Once you
have done this move the rest of your carpet into place so you have an overlap
on every side.
Then
start in one corner of the room and tuck/push your carpet into the crease
between wall and floor. As you are doing this the carpet will start to be
gripped by the gripper rods that you had fitted earlier.
When you
have done this you can then start to trim the carpet by putting your knife into
the crease made and cutting. (please note we recommend not doing more that
about 6” at any one time).
When you
have done this along one side of the room you then need to to stretch the
carpet over to the other side of the room. You will do this with your Knee
Kicker by placing it onto the carpet about 12” away from the opposite side of
the room and giving it a "kick” with your knee. (Hence the title Knee Kicker).
Then go through the same process as before of tucking and cutting of the
carpet.
Now do
the same with the other two sides of the carpet. Finally you will have the
doorway left. Where you have placed the doorplate which should be within the
doorframe, you will need to trim of any excess carpet and tuck it into the
doorplate.
Now all
you have to do is stand up, if your knees will allow you to, and admire your
handy work. Oh and yes bring back in all the furniture.