How to Install Carpet With Cushion
Rubber-backed carpet or carpet with cushion is lightweight and easy to work with. It allows installation in fewer steps than standard carpeting, a separate carpet pad and tack strips to hold it in place. Carpet with cushion installs much quicker than standard carpet and has the same appearance, so it makes a good DIY project for homeowners with little carpeting experience. This type of carpet installation can rely on an adhesive to hold it in place, staples, or double-sided tape. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Putty knife
- Screwdriver
- Broom
- Measuring tape
- Utility knife
- Double-sided tape
- Carpet seam sealer adhesive
- Low VOC multi-purpose adhesive
- Hammer
Instructions
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1
Remove all furniture and objects from the room as well as old carpet for a replacement project. Remove floor trim by prying it up with a putty knife if it is the quarter round style so that the walls meet the floor at a 45-degree angle. Remove door thresholds by unscrewing if the carpet will butt up to that room. Sweep the floor so that it will be clean and the adhesive will work properly.
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Measure the room and compare to the carpet size. Cut the carpet with a utility knife at least 4 inches wider and longer than the room size. If you must seam two pieces of carpet together, it is best to do so at this time so there is one large piece of carpet to work with.
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3
Seam pieces of carpet together by laying the largest piece in the room with the excess 2 inches overlapping at the walls. Lay the smaller piece next to it and cut so that it butts up against the first piece, and will have a 2-inch overlap at the walls. Turn the carpet over and tape the bottoms of the seam together by forming X shapes with double-sided tape across each piece to hold in place. Apply carpet seam sealer adhesive to the seam on the cushioned side and let dry according to the package instructions. Repeat this process for each seam.
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4
Place carpet into the room after making all seams and cut to the correct size. Pull back 1/2 of the carpet and apply low-VOC multi-purpose adhesive to the floor. Follow package instructions for the appropriate tack time for the adhesive to become sticky. Fold that half of the carpet over and smooth out so that it lies flat on the floor. Fold over the second half of the carpet and repeat the adhesive procedure.
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5
Replace trim with a hammer and door thresholds with a screwdriver if they were removed for installation of the cushion-backed carpet.
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Tips & Warnings
When measuring carpet, leave allowances before cutting for thresholds so that the carpet reaches the center of each threshold. If a closet will be carpeted in one piece with the room so that no threshold is needed, make allowances in measurements to include the closet in measurements.
When making carpet seams, make sure that the two pieces run in the same direction for an unnoticeable seam. If you are not sure which way the carpet runs, turn the second piece until it matches the first and the nap looks identical.
If this is a new installation, you may need to trim the bottoms of any doors that open into the room to allow for the additional height.
Alternate installations of carpet with cushion backing can include stapling or using double-stick tape for the adhesive to the floor. However, a floor adhesive will hold the carpet in place for a longer period without it buckling or moving.
