To install carpet yourself,
you need the right tools.

Tools & Tips

No matter what the job, things go more smoothly with the right tools. Carpet laying is no exception. You probably have some of the basic tools: a utility knife, tape measure, hacksaw, straightedge, chalk line, and awl.

If you plan to stretch the carpeting, you'll need to rent several other items. (With integral-pad carpeting, you can get by without all the rented gear.) Strip cutters make quick work of cutting tackless strip, which fits around the perimeter of a room. A staple hammer fastens padding to wood floors. (Use pad adhesive if the floor is concrete.) Join pieces of carpeting using seam tape and a seaming iron. A knee kicker and a power stretcher help you pull the carpeting taut. A carpet trimmer cuts neatly along walls.

Before you start, unroll the carpet and padding goods in a separate room to make sure that you have the amount of carpet you ordered and that the carpet is free of defects.

Prepare the room by removing all furniture and baseboard shoe moldings. Plane down all high spots in the floor and fill wide cracks or dips with floor leveling compound. For badly worn floors, you should install underlayment.