Laying Tacked Carpet

Cut the tackless strips to fit the perimeter of the room. Tackless strips are made for concrete or wood and vinyl and come with the proper nails in place. At doorways, wrap the strips around the door frame but do not extend them across the opening. Position and nail the strips with the points facing the wall. Keep a space equal to about two-thirds the thickness of the carpet between the walls and the strips, using a piece of carpet as a guide.

Padding comes in 4-1/2-foot or 6-foot-wide rolls. Unroll the padding so the seams, if any, will be at right angles to those in the carpet. Tape neighboring pieces together with 2-to 3-inch masking tape or as directed by the manufacturer. Staple along the pad every 10 to 12 inches in each direction. (A hammer stapler makes quick work of the job.) Work toward the tack strips, smoothing the pad and stapling as you go. Staple the pad against the edge of the tack strip. Run a carpet knife against the strip to trim the pad.

Measure the room. Snap chalklines across the back of the carpet to outline a piece that’s 6 inches longer and wider than the room. Put a piece of scrap wood under the carpet with the layout lines facing up. Use a straightedge to guide a carpet knife along each line. Change blades frequently.

Center the carpet in the room with the backing against the floor. Make relief cuts at the corners so the carpet lies flat. Cut from the top using a carpet knife.

At the long wall near a corner of the room, put the toothed end of a knee kicker in the carpet about one to three inches (1-3") from the wall. Push the padded end, then push down with a carpet tucker, as shown above, to anchor the carpet on the tack strips. Using the carpet tucker, tuck the carpet between the tack strip and wall. Push, hook, anchor, and tuck carpet along about three feet (3') of the wall.

Repeat on the short wall of the same corner. Push the carpet over the tack strips with the knee kicker, and anchor and tuck the carpet with the carpet tucker. Anchor and tuck the carpet along about three feet (3') of the wall.

Put the foot of the power stretcher against a 2×4 or 2×6 laid against the short wall of the starting corner. The 2×4 protects the wall from damage and should be about 48 inches long and padded with a piece of scrap carpet. Run the stretcher at about a 15-degree angle toward the opposite corner. Set the head of the stretcher about 6 inches from the wall. Push on the handle to stretch the carpet about 1 to 1-1/2 percent. (This translates to between 1-1/4 and 1-3/4 inches over a 10-foot span and is the amount of stretch you want each time you power-stretch.) Hook, anchor, and tuck the carpet along about three feet (3') of both of the corner’s walls.

With the knee kicker, push the carpet against the long wall between the two installed corners. Anchor and tuck with the carpet tucker.

Put the foot of the stretcher against the 2×4 and the long wall of the starting corner. Run the stretcher at about a 15-degree angle to the corner, as shown. Stretch, anchor, and tuck the carpet along about 3 feet of both walls that form the corner.

Power-stretch from the long wall of the starting corner to the opposite long wall, running the stretcher at about a 15-degree angle. Hook, anchor and tuck the carpet over the tack strips near the head of the stretcher. Moving the stretcher along the wall, stretch, hook, anchor and tuck the carpet section by section.

Power-stretch from the short wall of the starting corner, running the stretcher straight across the room. Attach the carpet to the tack strips, tuck it between the strips and the wall, then work your way across the wall with the knee kicker as shown in Step 13.

Attach the carpet along the last wall. Push it into place with the kicker; anchor and tuck it with the carpet tucker.

Set a wall trimmer to the thickness of the carpet and guide it along the wall to trim the edges of the carpet. Tuck the cut edges into the space between the strips and the wall using a plastic broad knife.