How To Fit a Carpet

After choosing the perfect carpet, deciding what best fits your ideal décor and working out what weave works well for your needs… you need to decide whether to get carpet fitters in or try and fit it yourself. But where do you start and what do you need to make sure your carpet looks great and fits snugly into your room? 

Here we detail what’s possible, what you need to do in a step-by-step manner, and how easy it is to manage it by yourself in our in-depth guide.

Can You Fit a Carpet Yourself?

The initial question for many is whether it is even possible to fit your carpet or do you need specialised, professional-level knowledge. 

For the best possible fit and finish, we’d always recommend getting your carpet professionally fitted but that doesn’t mean that it’s not achievable for most people without a little bit of planning and preparation. You will need some specific tools to make sure you are capable of carpet fitting that will include:

Knee protection	Tape measure	Pencil
Masking tape	Hammer or nail gun	19mm & 10mm nails
3mm hardboard sheets	Pipe and cable detector	Protective gloves
Saw	Carpet tape	A sharp craft knife
Carpet stretcher	Carpet tucker	Drill
Vacuum cleaner

Once you’ve got all the right gear you should be ready to start your carpet fitting journey.

Is It Easy to Fit a Carpet by Yourself?

Fitting carpet is labour-intensive and can involve fiddly adjustments to make sure it is evenly laid. However, the process of fitting a carpet is straightforward, and the more you do so, the more it will become easier. As such, if you’re refitting a whole house, perhaps start with a smaller less used space to start your carpet fitting journey and work your way up to bigger and more noticeable areas.

For example, maybe begin with a bedroom carpet or another area where you are not likely to spend too much time, or others are likely to see and use it often. Then progress to more regularly used rooms, like fitting carpets for the living room, as something to do once you’ve had that initial experience.

How Do You Fit a Carpet Step by Step?

Carpet fitting takes several steps before the actual laying of the carpet to make sure your space is ready. You need to measure, make sure the existing carpeting has been removed properly, and then prepare the flooring before fitting.

How To Measure for Carpet

Create A Diagram of Your Space

Measurements for the room you’re fitting must be correct. You don’t need anything too detailed but a simple diagram of the room, with the correct measurements labelled, is vital to making sure everything is right the first time, without costly recutting or worse, having to buy even more carpet. 

Consider The Shape of Your Space

Regardless of the shape of the room, you always need to measure the longest and the widest points of the space, even if it is an irregular shape. This is because carpets come in set widths of 4m and 5m, so protrusions and recesses don’t matter too much, as long as you have enough to cover them (although you will have to some cutting).

If your room has perfectly aligned walls (square or rectangular), you can easily calculate the area of the floor space by multiplying the length of the room by the width. This wouldn’t work for irregularly shaped rooms because of these set roll sizes, however, you can break them down into separate, easier-to-measure, rectangular areas and then add up the total to get the full area of the room.

You would still need to measure the longest and widest point for any area you want to cover in one piece. It is advisable to always measure using a tape as opposed to a laser measurer that will not measure into doorways.

Check All Measurements

Make sure all your measurements are right and that you’ve included door frames and room trims.  Then add an extra 5% for wastage or margin of error so that you have enough carpet. Check twice and cut once!

How To Remove Carpet

Before fitting new carpets, you need to remove what’s already there and make sure the subfloor you are laying onto is properly prepared. This means making sure there’s no unevenness, dirt, dust or any leftover flooring from a previous fitting.

Pulling up old carpet may be easier than you first think. Find a corner of the carpeting and start to pull at it by hand, if this is too rough on your hands, try doing so with gloves or a pair of pliers. Make sure to be aware of carpet grippers though as they can be sharp.

How To Prepare Your Subfloor

Making sure the subfloor is clean and free of debris is going to be your first port of call for preparation for laying a floor. When working on a subfloor you’re going to want to always wear knee protection as you will be kneeling, and moving about on solid ground for prolonged periods. Once you’ve lifted the existing carpet, you’ll know exactly what sort of subfloor you’re dealing with. 

If you have concrete, ensure there are no cracks or holes, and if there are, fill them with floor patching compound.  Level that out and wait to dry before laying any carpet, this will mean it will lay flat and look its best. If you have floorboards, then you’ll want to check for damage or unevenness.

If there are a large amount of them that are in poor condition, it may be easier to pull them up and replace them. If the floorboards are in relatively good condition, the best way to level them is with hardboard sheets. These will help with insulation as well, as they will cover any gaps between the boards. However, these hardboards need to be conditioned first.

Spray water on the textured side of the boards and stack them back-to-back in the room where they will be installed. Let them sit for at least 48 hours. As they dry, they will retract, reducing the risk of expansion after fitting.

Make sure no loose nails are sticking up from the floorboards and then start to fit the hardboards with the 19mm nails. These nails will reduce the likelihood of piercing pipes or electrics so it’s best to avoid using anything longer. Lay the hardboard sheets textured side up.

Space the nails about 25cm apart around the edges of the board and around 22cm apart in the centre. Start from one corner of the room and push the boards together, nailing the edges where they meet. The last one in a row will need to be cut to size but keep any offcuts to fit into further rows.

Do You Need Carpet Grippers?

Once you’ve sorted your subfloor, you’ll then want to focus on your underlay. However, fitting carpet grippers around the edge of the flooring before you do anything else is recommended. Carpet grippers are a great way of getting an even and smooth finish on your carpets. If you lay a carpet without grippers, it won’t retain its shape and is likely to end up looking ruffled and worn much quicker.   

Grippers should be installed around the perimeter of your room, avoiding door thresholds. Measure the space between the door frames and cut to size using a saw. For wooden floors, use 10mm nails or screws. Make sure you’ve identified where hidden pipes and wires may be and position the gripper rods two-thirds of the carpet thickness away from the skirting boards, with the pins pointing towards the wall.

If there are pipes or wiring underneath, use gripper adhesive tape instead. If the floor is concrete, apply adhesive and allow it to dry. Follow the previous instructions but place a bead of adhesive under the gripper rods.

What Goes Under a Carpet When Installing?

Before fitting carpets, you’ll want to put the underlay down. Typically made of foam or felt (all Online Carpets underlays are made from PU foam), this is the material that goes under your carpet that provides insulation, and comfort underfoot and helps reduce noise. There are different underlay thicknesses for different levels of usage, be it domestic or contract.

Hessian Backed (Action Backed) carpets require an underlay, Felt Backed carpets do not. However, underlay will improve the feel and lifespan of any carpet so it’s always advisable to have it.  

How To Fit Underlay

The better the quality of your underlay, the better it will be for your carpet, offering greater durability and a better fit. As such, getting underlay down before putting a carpet in place is important. However, this part of carpet fitting is relatively simple as it requires laying the underlay loosely in place, making sure the backing is at the bottom, with the branding side facing up.

Use a sharp craft knife to cut the underlay to size, making sure it comes up to the grippers you’ve fitted. Don’t fit it over the grippers but within the limits of them as these will be used to hold the actual carpet in place. Make sure the edges of the underlay are touching together, but not overlapping, and affix them together with tape. Ensure that all is level.

How Do You Fit a Carpet?

Now that your subfloor is prepared and your underlay in place you can finally get around to laying your carpet.  

1. Start by laying the carpet loosely in place. If you stand in the corner of the room with one foot underneath the carpet, you can smooth the carpet into place by using the other. Leave an excess amount of carpet around the edges to allow for footing. This should be between 5cm and 7.5cm. 
2. Cut the excess carpet vertically, over the corners, and make sure to trim any overlapping parts.
3. Now start fitting the carpet along the longest wall. Work backwards, creating a firm crease at the skirting board line. You want a taut, smooth finish so you may want to use a carpet tucker here to get the desired effect.
4. With a sharp craft knife, cut about 5cm along the edge of the carpet surface making sure the carpet always remains flat.
5. Use a carpet stretcher to stretch the carpet over the pre-placed grippers. Do so by placing the carpet stretcher around 2.5cm from the skirting with the teeth facing down. Then push the padded end with your knee (whilst wearing protection) so that the carpet grips the grippers.
6. Push any excess carpet down between the skirting and the carpet grippers. Repeat this along adjacent walls before working your way to the wall on the opposite side of the room.
7. Trim the carpet vertically in several places for any irregular or odd shapes (such as door frames or fireplaces) and then trim it to fit around the space. For pipes, cut the carpet edge to where the centre of the pipe is and then press the carpet around it. Then trim the base at a 45-degree angle, making sure the carpet lies flat. 
8. When fitting carpet across doorways, cut it to align with the flooring in the adjoining room. Finally, fit a door bar to secure the carpet edge underneath. 

Is It Cheaper to Fit Your Own Carpet?

For someone with know-how, and perhaps a little experience, it could well work out cheaper at a cheaper carpet fitting cost to fit your own as you save on the cost of labour. However, if you’re just starting out in fitting carpets, you may well find that the cost of materials, and the time it takes you to fit the carpet yourself is more than it would have been to hire professional carpet fitters. That being said, we all have to start somewhere, and it is a good skill to learn as a homeowner.

How Long Does It Take for a New Carpet to Settle?

There is a commonly held belief that carpets need some time to settle and shouldn’t be walked on for a while. However, this isn’t necessarily the case with modern carpeting. Encouraging foot traffic on a new carpet is a good idea, and newly laid carpet often sheds a small number of fibres after fitting so vacuuming immediately can help prevent matting and unsightly tufts.

It’s often recommended that you wait 24 hours after fitting to put furniture on the carpet to minimise the likelihood of dents and indentations. When it comes to bedroom carpet, it is a good idea not to sleep in a room with freshly laid carpet for around a week. Make sure the room is ventilated to allow any chemicals within the carpeting to dissipate 

Summary

When it comes to home décor, you often want it to perfectly match your ideal aesthetic, laying carpet is not an easy or rapid undertaking but it is possible to do without professional carpet fitters. However, taking the time to consider if you have the time, tools, patience, and materials available to you could save you a lot in carpet fitting cost and grief.

Understand whether you will utilise your newly learned skill more than once and if it’s worth taking the time to learn it rather than getting a professional to fit it correctly on first asking. You can find more measuring and fitting guides from Online Carpets, which you can download as a PDF here.