"The carpet is one of the most luxurious choices of flooring. The softness, and the resilience of carpet invite you to sit down, or stretch out on it. Let K&K Floors stretch those carpets for you."

The color, appearance, and texture of a carpet are probably your most immediate concerns. Other factors should be considered as well. The chart below compares different carpet materials and will help you choose the best type for your needs. The highest-quality carpet is not necessarily the best choice, since you may not want to have the same carpet forever.

Except for cushion-backed carpet or very thin goods, carpet conceals defects and irregularities beneath it quite well. The thicker the carpet or pad, the more successful the effect will be. Carpet installations usually require a little floor preparation: The subfloor surface must be dry, free of debris, and as smooth as possible.

To replace an existing carpet, remove all metal edgins. Then pry one corner of the carpet loose from the tackless strip and pull up the entire piece. Reuse the pad and tackless strip if they are in good condition.

To lay carpet over a wood floor or resilient flooring, sweep it clean and nail down any loose boards or tiles. Path cracks or holes larger than 1/4 inch with a quick-drying filler or nail down a particle-board underlayment.

When installing carpet on top of concrete, make sure the floor is dry and that there are no moisture problems. Floors with radiant-heat pipes deserve special consideration if you are installing conventional (not cushion-backed) carpet. Because the tackless strip has to be nailed into the concrete, you risk puncturing the pipes. To locate the pipes, moisten the concrete around the perimeter of the room wherever you intend to install pieces of tackless strip. Then trun up the heat. Mark the areas that dry first; these are spots to avoid when nailing.

1. Installing Tackless Strip.
   
   Cut pieces of tackless strip to length with a saw or shears. Starting in corner, nail the strip around the perimeter of the room. Each piece should have at least two nails. The pins should point toward the wall. Leave a gap between the strip and the wall that equals two thirds of the thickness of the carpet.
   Use masonry nails to nail tackless strip to concrete floors. Where sections do not hold well, add a second row of strip in front of the first. If there is resilient tile glued to the concrete, you should remove it where you are nailing the strip.



2. Installing the pad
   
   Cut a piece of the pad long enough to cover one end of th room. Place the long edge and one of the ends up against the tackless strip. Lap the other end over the stirp. Staple the pad every 6 to 12 inches all the way around the edge. Continue cutting and stapling the pad until the entire floor is covered. Butt the edges; don't overlap them. To trim any excess pad overlapping the tackless strip, run a utility knife along the strip. Allow a slight space between the pad and the strip to keep the pad from riding up on the pins when the carpet is installed. Cover seams with duct tape.



3. Rough-Fitting Carpet Pieces.
   
   Making sure the cutting surface is clean, cut each piece of carpet off the roll. Make rough cuts 4 to 6 inches longer than finished dimensions to allow for trimming later on. Plan all custs so that the pile will lean in the same direction on all pieces.
   To make a cut, snap a chalk line along the back of the carpet and cut from that side with a sharp utility knife. Only carpet with loop pile in straight rows should be cut from the face side.
   Unroll the pieces so that the pile faces in the proper direction. The excess along each side should curl up the walls slightly. At corners and obstructions, make vertical slits through the excess portion to allow the carpet to lie flat. Slits should reach almost to the floor. Overlap pieces that will be seamed together by an inch or so.



4. Cutting the Seam Edges
   
   A good seam requires that the edges of both pieces are perfectly straight. Cut new edges on both pieces with a chalk line, straightedge, and sharp knife. Make sure an edge is square before cutting it, by folding the carpet back and measuring from the crease to the chalk line at both ends.



5. Cutting Seam Edges of Loop Pile.
   
   Dress the edges of loop pile by cutting from the face with a row cutter. Use the top piece to guide the cutting of the bottom piece.



6. Positioning the Seaming Tape.
   
   Cut a length of hot-melt seaming tape to the exact length of the seam. Center it under the seam, adhesive side up. Square the two pieces of carpet so that they butt against each other.






7. Melting the Adhesive.
   
   Heat the tape with a seaming iron by gliding the iron slowly from one end of the seam to the other. As the iron passes over the melted adhesive, quickly pinch the carpet pieces together over it. Place heavy objects on each section of bonded seam as you push the iron forward.





8. Stretching Carpet Into Place.
   
   Start at one corner and dig the head of the knee kicker into the carpet about an inch from the wall. Lean on the handle and swiftly kick the cushion with your knee. As you proceed, kick by kick, hold the secured carpet onto the strip so that it won't unhook.
   See the diagram for kicking and stretching patterns. For short distances, such as across hallways or small bedrooms, it is possible to use just a knee kicker. In larger rooms, use a power strecher with extension tubes that make it possible to stretch carpet across a room of any size.
   set the head of the power stretcher 6 inches from the wall and adjust the extension tubes so that the foot rests against the opposite wall. Press down on the lever to stretch the carpet toward the wall in front. The lever should lock with a gentle and each push. With the handle locked and the carpet stretched, fasten the section of carpet held by the head onto the tackless strip. Release the head, move the power stretcher 18 inches, and repeat the operation.
   Move the foot of stretcher along the opposite wall as you proceed. Protect baseboards or a weak wall with a piece of padded 2 by 4 placed between the wall and the foot. The 2 by 4 should be long enough to span 3 or 4 studs.



9. Trimming Carpet to Fit.
   
   Trim the excess carpet around the edges with a wall trimmer. Adjust the trimmer to the thickness of the carpet. Starting at the lapped end, slice downward at an angle until the trimmer is flat against the floor. Then hold the trimmer against both the wall and the floor, and plow along the edge of the carpet. When you approach the end, carefully trim the last few inches with a utility knife.



10. Tucking in the Edges.
    
    Tuck the trimmed carpet edge into the gap between the tackless strip and the baseboard. Push a broad screwdriver or stair tool into the narrow section of carpet that crosses the gap, rather than down onto the edge of the carpet itself. Otherwise, the carpet will bulge and lift off the strip pins.





11. Finishing Door Openings.
    
    At doorways, trim the edge of the carpet so that it centers under the closed door. Finish this edge with a metal strip suitable for the type of subflooring.
    If the subfloor is concrete, nail a special gripper edge across the doorway before the carpet is installed. The teeth bite into the carpet, and the curved metal flange is hammered down over the edge to bind the carpet and hold it in place.
    If the subfloor is a nailable surface, the easiest way to finish it is to nail a metal strip over the joint between the carpet and the adjacent floor covering. Before installing the strip, tack the carpet to the floor. Or, you can finish the edge of a carpet with a binding strip that is concealed by the carpet. It gives the finished carpet a folded edge.
    When using a metal strip that will show, be sure to protect it when hammering it into position by placing a piece of scrap wood between the strip and the hammer.

* For professional installation and price, please call us at (703)449 - 7900, or email   us.
* We will answer any questions that you may have.

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