Beginners guide to laying carpet?

[bricol]

Have a couple of carpet stories. I knew a lad years ago from Thornaby who was in great demand laying indoor carpet for international standard bowls tournaments, apparently it is a bit of an exacting job and he was known nationally as one of the very best.

Even more divergence - when I used to race radio control cars as a teenager, the club used to use the carpets the indoor bowling club used . . . after a little while, the bowling club finally worked out why their bowls used to follow paths that weren't quite what they intended . . . the model cars caused the carpet to "lay" in the direction of motion, around corners etc . . . so the bowls followed the carpet . . .

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Watched a fitter do the stairs...it's not a job I'd want to do...young man's game that is.

As above the fitter said it's critical to identify the direction of the grain and run it correctly on the stairs (I can't remember if it runs u or down).

I don't think the fitter was that expensive...£350 for a large semi...50 SQM.

 

[dobbslc]

Not a job I'd ever attempt with bad back and knees! Even if I had a good back and knees I would still pay someone to do this sort of work.
We're having the stairs and landing carpeted in a couple of weeks which reminds me I have to finish three door architraves and the skirting...

 

[Wozzaaah]

Don’t buy a knee kicker, I have a Clarke one you’re welcome to borrow if you’re happy to cover the postage both ways.

 

[mike os]

If it's canvass backed it's just too much like hard work ...

 

[winchman]

Friend I haven't seen for many years was a very good carpet fitter, he carpeted one of the bathroom walls and the white bit up the stairs as he said it was easier for him than wall papering or painting.
I once uttered what I have just paid £300 for that and you want me to cut it up! Cant weld a bit on if its too short

 

[angellonewolf]

I do my own if its not a huge room or very expensive carpet. I get a reasonable finish and would.give most of the advice above.

I bought this recently. https://www.screwfix.com/p/roberts-knee-kicker-430-530mm/61045

It definitely got a better lay than without.

Go steady on the cuts. Just too much can usually be tucked under the skirting. Too much too much and yiu just cant get it flat. Too little and its antough job to rectify.

I usually try to identify a factory edge and fit that on the longest straightest edge to make one side easy. Get the carpet roughly in place and then start hooking over the gripper rods.

you found a stright edge in a house

yea sorry missed this bit fit the long side first go opsite in the middle fit and work left then right a long the same wall you now have 2 walls left pick left or right start in the middle give a kick tuck middle go to last side do same go back to last wall tuck middle left and right go back last wall go left and right now fit in the door last thing to do

or depending on how the room looks

fit long wall starting in the middle do left and right tuck ,start in one of the corners that you just fitted go up all the way up the wall kicking and tucking with a slight diagonal up the will go back to first wall to the corner you did not fit and do the same up that wall slight diaginal as you work up the wall you now have 3 sides done start in the middle of the last wall then tuck left then right then fit door entrance lastly

 

[angellonewolf]

it's hard to describe this should be easyer for 2nd option

This only depends on if the last wall has lots of doorways or chimney or alcoves

 

[angellonewolf]

How do i know what a good one is? I mean, theres one on ebay for £250...

if you can see foam it carp dont bother

 

[angellonewolf]

1st is screwfix Tapper
2nd tack hammer fir underlay only used round edges for holding the underlay in place while you fit

I had a lidl one before and don't know much difference apart from the lidl doest Fire all the time and then you have to take apart and remove the staple to free it

3rd my kicker Roberts make don't know if its the best now but Roberts do or did have a good name in carpet fitting tools 4th pic is the knee pad notice rubber pad with foam inside

Very nice to use as had a just a foam one and your knee hurts not long after using them

 

[angellonewolf]

roberts carpet stretcher | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for roberts carpet stretcher at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

keep an eye on this one

 

[DAPPH]

Am surprised that, with the advent of cordless everything, knee kickers are still the thing. Seems like a laborious slog. Though a seasoned fitter probably makes it look easy.

You don't belt you knee into the kicker pad , push just use enough pushing pressure to stretch the 30 inches of carpet from your toe to the skirting board . Posh kickers have a dial to push the tines out or deeper into the carpet if it is a shag or deep pile carpet .
For a real big room you'd use a long shafted cantilever stretcher that could stretch out over 7 foot in distance , also good for a new carpet that has trodden in , stretched and wrinkled

 

[DAPPH]

View attachment 419847View attachment 419848View attachment 419850
View attachment 419849

1st is screwfix Tapper
2nd tack hammer fir underlay only used round edges for holding the underlay in place while you fit

I had a lidl one before and don't know much difference apart from the lidl doest Fire all the time and then you have to take apart and remove the staple to free it

3rd my kicker Roberts make don't know if its the best now but Roberts do or did have a good name in carpet fitting tools 4th pic is the knee pad notice rubber pad with foam inside

Very nice to use as had a just a foam one and your knee hurts not long after using them

For stairs use a rod that can be locked in a tube with a thumb screw or is a tight fit in the larger tube to get the width right ,. Some of the older caravan awning stretcher bars have a fantastic stretcher that can be cut to a lot smaller size for this purpose .
With the carpet turned upside down .mark & cut a straight edge along the warp using a Stanley normal blade along a proper straight edge & with 3 mm Marker pen and mark off from that at the measured width , good for stairs with a turn in them.
My measuring device was a half inch tube that fitted in a copper water pipe , that had a thumb screw set in a solder brass boss , the ends had big counter sunk penny washers fixed to the tube ends using rubber Rawlnut , counter sink the penny washer by belting a ball bearing on the washer into a large nut . , the counter sinking is so you get a true tread width measurement so no stretching needed .

Beware when using several pieces of carpet to try and get the " Nap " ( how the carpet fibres lay ) in the same direction .

In a hallway it helps if the nap is running to the front or main door so any thin rubber internal door mat does not creep away from the threshold like wot mine does ( Fitted by a self declared "Professional " time served Carpet Rite fitter ).
My Robertson kicker was made of die cast aluminium with dial in /out stainless steel pins and cost over £70 back in 1982

 

[julianf]

Ive just paid for this -

The spines are a bit stuffed, but better than a lot of examples. Im assuming / hoping that they will be ok -

£20 delivered.

Im hoping ill be able to "bodge" the rest of the tooling with stuff that i have around the garage, rather than buy specific bits?

 

[Nomad]

I always start at the top :
Paint the ceiling unless it was done very recently (any paint splashes will land on the floor/carpet and will be getting covered by the new carpet.
Paint the walls (including any splashes / drips from the ceiling)
Paint the skirting boards.

I can fit carpets but found a local chap who can supply & fit for what it would cost me to buy carpet in the store to fit myself, he now does all my carpets & lino.
It's always worth trying jobs yourself as a learning experience, it costs nothing but your time

Once the carpet is roughly in place fold it where need to be cut then lift the edge and cut from the back using a new blade.

Watching pro's do work at mine they used a hooked blade in a stanley knife.

 

[dieselsamurai]

This is what I used to do my whole house , runs along the skirting and cuts to the right length fully adjustable

 

[julianf]

I think I said before but the reason I want to diy is so as I can just do a bit at a time.

Our house is too packed with "stuff" to make it simple for a commercial fitter to just come in.

It's just easier (assuming I can) for me to do it bit by bit.

I'll try a small bit and, if it doesn't work out, I'll need to rethink.

 

[DAPPH]

Ive just paid for this -

View attachment 425146


The spines are a bit stuffed, but better than a lot of examples. Im assuming / hoping that they will be ok -

View attachment 425147


£20 delivered.

Im hoping ill be able to "bodge" the rest of the tooling with stuff that i have around the garage, rather than buy specific bits?

drill a bit of steel bar with a hole to slide over a pin so you can use the drilled bar to slip over a bent pin to gently realign

I always start at the top :
Paint the ceiling unless it was done very recently (any paint splashes will land on the floor/carpet and will be getting covered by the new carpet.
Paint the walls (including any splashes / drips from the ceiling)
Paint the skirting boards.

I can fit carpets but found a local chap who can supply & fit for what it would cost me to buy carpet in the store to fit myself, he now does all my carpets & lino.
It's always worth trying jobs yourself as a learning experience, it costs nothing but your time

Once the carpet is roughly in place fold it where need to be cut then lift the edge and cut from the back using a new blade.

Watching pro's do work at mine they used a hooked blade in a stanley knife.

Tell me , do you do the edges first using a four or five inch brush and roller into them or like some folk , roller first then cut in with a three or four inch brush ?

 

[angellonewolf]

Ive just paid for this -

View attachment 425146


The spines are a bit stuffed, but better than a lot of examples. Im assuming / hoping that they will be ok -

View attachment 425147


£20 delivered.

Im hoping ill be able to "bodge" the rest of the tooling with stuff that i have around the garage, rather than buy specific bits?

im sure thats the same as mine

 

[Nomad]

drill a bit of steel bar with a hole to slide over a pin so you can use the drilled bar to slip over a bent pin to gently realign

Tell me , do you do the edges first using a four or five inch brush and roller into them or like some folk , roller first then cut in with a three or four inch brush ?

I've no fixed way to paint but often cut in with a brush (2 - 4 inch depending how tight the access is) then roller the rest. Do the roller after the brush and any brush marks get smoothed over

I've tried expensive & cheap brushes, best value paint I found was Wilcos but don't know where they sourced it so don't know who sells the same stuff now