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How to install your own wall-to-wall carpet?

If money's tight when the new carpet bug bites you, you can save a whopping amount of cash by installing it yourself. You don't have to be the host of a do-it-yourself show to pull it off either. It's a lot easier than you might think.

Your first step is to get accurate room measurements. Don't just write the dimensions down on the back of your hand and head off for the carpet store, take the time to create a scale drawing that depicts the floor plan as well as the location of all of the furniture, doors, and transition areas where rooms meet when there are no doors. It's important to take these steps so you can purchase the minimum amount of carpet neccessary but still have enough to get the job done. Having a good drawing will let your carpet salesperson determine where the seams should go in case you need to use more than one piece of carpet. Most wall-to-wall comes in 12 and 15 foot widths. You should add three inches to all measurements to allow for custom fitting later.

Rent a carpet "kicker", a carpet "stretcher", and a carpet tape iron (if you'll be making seams)on the day that your carpet is due to arrive. Be sure to pick up enough carpet hot glue tape if you're making seams.

While you are waiting for your selected carpet and pad to be delivered you should begin preparing the room. Start by removing all of the furniture, then tear up the old carpet and padding.

Next walk across the entire floor area to determine if any of the underflooring squeaks or gives slightly under your weight. Nail the offending areas down securely to the subflooring. If you have a basement, go down to it and observe the flooring, which will be over your head, while someone else walks across it. You may have to place small wedges of wood between the subfloor and the joists if the wood cannot be nailed tightly is some areas.

Now it's time to check your existing tack strips. If the nails are worn, or broken then you'll have to replace the strips. Just measure the total linear footage of the existing strip and buy that same amount. They come in 4' lengths. Pry up the old stripping and nail down the new ones in the same place. If you only have a few damaged sections then you can just replace those.

Next lay the padding out on the floor and cut it to fit the dimensions of the room. If you need more than once piece just butt the edges together and seal them with duct tape. Use a sharp utility knife to trip the edges so that they just touch the edge of the tack strips.

Once you are done it's time to lay the carpet. Roll it out into the room and make any adjustments that are needed to allow it to lay evenly on the floor. There should be no humps or air pockets. Walk on it to smooth it out if needed. Now use the kicker to attach one end of the carpet to the tack strip in any corner of the room and work your way out across the entire edge. Then brace the power stretcher against that wall and stretch the carpet towards the opposite wall. Use the kicker to attach the stretched carpet to the tack strip on the opposite end as the one that you just finished attaching. Don't worry if the carpet overlaps the edges of the tack strip. You'll trim that to fit later in the process.

If you need to make any seams, simply overlap the two pieces of carpet and cut through the top piece down all the way through the bottom piece. Then lay a length of seaming tape so that it's positioned halfway on each side of the seam. Hold up the edge of one side of the carpet and run seaming iron under the other edge and over the tape. As you are moving the iron have your helper press the carpet edges firmly onto the sticky tape. Keep in mind that cut-pile carpeting is always cut from the back side of the carpet while loop-pile is always cut form the front.

Finally use a sharp utility knife to trim the carpet that's hanging over the edges of the tack strips so that it just meets the wall. Then use a putty knife to push the edge of the carpet into the gap between the tack strip and the wall. Your last step is to admire your brand new carpet. You're all done!