+- Woodnet Forums (https://www.forums.woodnet.net)
+-- Thread: How hard is carpet laying? (/showthread.php?tid=7333367)
Pages:
1
2
How hard is carpet laying? - PedroOhare - 09-19-2017
The only carpet in my house is on the stairs between the 1st and 2nd floor. There is a half flight to a landing and then another half flight to the 2nd floor. The carpet is pretty ugly and I want to change it. Is this something reasonable to do? There are a few odd corners where the carpet has to wrap (i.e. the landing has a half step that the carpet coming down would have to be wide enough to cover) but it is mostly pretty straight forward.
Is this something I want to tackle? Some of the Borgs offer free installation, but I think it is usually if you buy three rooms. And it would be difficult/expensive to get a pro in to do this one small job.
Thoughts?
Pedro
RE: How hard is carpet laying? - Mr_Mike - 09-19-2017
Write the check. I'd not want to cut my teeth on stairs.
RE: How hard is carpet laying? - Herb G - 09-19-2017
Laying carpet is a royal PITA. I used to do it.
One summer after high school was enough to convince me it was not my preferred way to make a living.
Write a check & be done with it.
RE: How hard is carpet laying? - JTTHECLOCKMAN - 09-19-2017
Agree write the check. Some things are best left to the pros because they have all the tools and make sure they are responsible for any damage or poor results before writing the check.
RE: How hard is carpet laying? - crokett™ - 09-19-2017
It's easy to lay carpet. It's difficult to have it look good and be stretched properly. Carpet is one of the few things I write a check for. I'd not want to try and install it on stairs. There's a lot of tucking in, etc that is difficult to do well to make it look good.
RE: How hard is carpet laying? - Phil Thien - 09-19-2017
I found a pro on Angie's List in my area that quoted over the phone his minimum charge of $100. That was a bargain. Nice guy, too.
RE: How hard is carpet laying? - CLETUS - 09-19-2017
(09-19-2017, 01:03 PM)crokett™ Wrote: Carpet is one of the few things I write a check for.
This means a lot, coming from you!
RE: How hard is carpet laying? - Cooler - 09-19-2017
I had carpet put in in one room of my old apartment.
The crew showed up at about 9:00 a.m. and they were done by 11:00 a.m. with all the furniture moved out and moved in.
It causes such a small disruption that I would be reluctant to tackle it myself.
RE: How hard is carpet laying? - K. L. McReynolds - 09-19-2017
I first learned to install carpet(pavers are laid---carpet is installed) when the seams were hand sewn together. Now, seams are glued together--a much easier job.
DIY carpet installation is, with the availability of You Tube videos, pretty simply. The catch is renting/buying the necessary tools. Basic tools are a carpet knife(utility knife can substitute), knee kicker, power stretcher(a dangerous and destructive tool when used improperly), seam iron and seaming tool. A pneumatic stapler is usually used to install pad, with a hammer for tack strip. I use sheet metal shears to cut tack strip.
DIYer's can buy the knife and the seaming tool, the others are better rented.
Supplies are tack strip, seam tape, underlayment, pad, staples, and carpet.
Where DIYer's make mistakes is in laying out the seams and then seaming the carpet. Carpet has a grain and some carpets have a pattern. Trying to save material by turning pieces at a 90° or 180° orientation causes the grain to show in the wrong directions and looks bad. And the pattern is off. You can see that grain by running a hand across the carpet in one direction(usually the long way) and then the other direction on half the first area. Generally, seams are best placed on the perimeter of traffic areas and not in the traffic areas. Seams are also better in parallel with traffic flows.
Door ways can be done by leaving an inch of extra material and folding it under, then stapling it down for a nice joint at a higher tile floor(eliminates the transition strip).
A rectangular or square room is simple, cutting and fitting gets more difficult when there are places to cut around.
All in all, carpet installation is rather quick when experienced folks do it. The cost of materials is only a little higher when supplied by the installers(taking the time/travel/cost you would spend) and the tool rental time to pick up, use, and return would be less than the installers labor, but in many cases, you would only save $100 or so.
RE: How hard is carpet laying? - EdL - 09-19-2017
IMHO, carpet laying is like mudding drywall.
Looks easy, until you do it yourself.
Ed