Carpet installation, where the pad decides the outcome

What is carpet installation?

Carpet installation means fitting tack strip around the room perimeter, laying and taping pad, then stretching carpet over the strip and trimming it in. In a typical home it is a one-day job per floor. Two decisions made before installation day govern how it ages: the density of the pad, and whether the installer power-stretches the carpet or simply kicks it into place.

Signs you need carpet installation

• The existing carpet has visible traffic lanes that shampooing no longer lifts
• You can see ripples or waves across the floor - the carpet has come loose from its stretch
• The pad has flattened underfoot and the floor feels hard where it used to feel soft
• Odour persists after professional cleaning, which usually means it is in the pad, not the carpet
• Seams have opened or frayed, particularly in a hallway or doorway
• You want warmth and sound absorption in bedrooms or a media room that hard flooring cannot give
• You are preparing a rental or a sale and carpet is the fastest visible improvement per dollar

Seeing something not on this list? Browse flooring problems by symptom →

How carpet installation actually works

1. 1

   Measuring and seam planning

   Carpet comes in fixed-width rolls, so the measure is really a plan for where seams will fall and which way the pile will run. Pile direction must be consistent through the whole job or adjoining areas read as different colours.

   Watch forA measure that produces a seam across a doorway or down the middle of the main sightline. Seam placement is a choice, and a good measurer moves them into low-traffic, low-light positions before quoting.

2. 2

   Removal, disposal and subfloor check

   Old carpet, pad, staples and tack strip come up. The exposed subfloor is checked for squeaks, protruding fasteners, and any moisture or pet damage that has soaked through.

   Watch forNobody looking at the subfloor while it is exposed. This is the only day in the next decade you can screw down a squeak for free. Ask for it.

3. 3

   Tack strip and pad

   Fresh tack strip is fastened around the perimeter at a set distance from the wall, and pad is laid, butted, taped at the seams and stapled or glued down. Pad seams are deliberately offset from carpet seams.

   Watch forThe cheapest pad in the range, quoted by thickness alone. Density is what resists compression; a thick, low-density pad feels luxurious in the showroom and is flat within a couple of years, taking the carpet backing with it.

4. 4

   Seaming

   Carpet edges are trimmed straight, seam tape is laid underneath and heat-activated with an iron, and the two edges are pressed together while the adhesive is live.

   Watch forSeams that are visible as a ridge or a line of different colour. A well-made seam in the right place is close to invisible; one made in a hurry never improves and is the first thing to fail.

5. 5

   Power stretching

   A power stretcher braces against one wall and pulls the carpet tight across the room before it is hooked onto the tack strip on the far side. This tension is what stops the carpet loosening under traffic.

   Watch forOnly a knee kicker in the van. Knee kickers position and finish; they cannot generate the tension a room needs. Carpet set without power stretching develops ripples, and re-stretching later is a paid call-out for a defect that was installed.

6. 6

   Trimming, tucking and transitions

   Excess is trimmed along the wall and tucked into the gully between tack strip and baseboard. At doorways and where carpet meets hard flooring, a transition or binder bar is fitted.

   Watch forLoose or gapping edges at the wall, and transitions that are proud enough to catch a toe. Both are finishing-quality issues you can see on the day, so walk the perimeter before the crew leaves.

What does carpet installation cost?

Carpet is usually the least expensive floor per square foot installed, and pad grade is the biggest controllable variable in the quote. Furniture moving, old carpet disposal and stair work are commonly separate line items rather than included. See the Cost Guide.

See the full carpet installation cost guide - by material, size and region →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →