How To Fit Carpet

Here at Tapi, we could talk all day long about carpets and how amazing they are – it is the perfect fit for every home, from modern to contemporary, and we talk so much more about the amazing benefits of carpet in our ‘what is carpet' guide. But by the looks of things, you’re here because you’ve already bought a carpet, or at least are considering it, and need some more info on how to fit your carpet yourself.

We always recommend that you get one of our recommended fitting partners to lay your carpet for you when you buy from Tapi, but if you’re keen to give this a hand yourself, then here are some of our top tips, a step-by-step guide to laying carpet and dealing with carpet grippers. And, if you find yourself left with excess carpet, have a read of our handy guide on how to upcycle your offcuts!

How to lay a carpet

First things first, you need to get the measurements of the room that you’ll be laying carpet in – check out our guide to measuring a room for an in-depth guide to ensure that you’ve got all corners covered. You can also find some helpful information on how to measure your stairs if you plan to extend your carpet onto your staircase and to the upper levels of your home.

Once you have your measurements, you’ll know exactly how much carpet you need, and you’ll be able to plan exactly how you want to tackle laying the carpet.

What you’ll need

Gloves
Carpet grippers
Hammer
19mm nails
Carpet underlay
Carpet
Carpet tucker
Carpet stretcher
Stanley knife

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Steps for carpet fitting

Prepare your subfloor – ensure that your subfloor is clean, dry, and level. If your subfloor is in good condition, you won’t have to worry as much about your carpet getting wet or tearing.
Before you even bring your carpet into the room, you need to get down your carpet grippers. We’ll talk more about how to properly fit carpet grippers below if you want to skip to this part.
Next lay your underlay, ensuring that none of it overlaps or crosses over the carpet grippers. Use the Stanley knife to cut off any excess underlay. The thickness of your underlay will depend on what type of carpet you are buying and what level of tog you have opted for.
Unroll your carpet and lay it in place roughly where you’d like it to sit. You may need to cut down your carpet to size with the Stanley knife but ensure that you leave at least 50mm extra around the edges.
Start along the longest wall furthest from the door and work your way back towards the door. Use your carpet tucker to create a firm crease against the skirting board, which will push up any excess carpet that you can then cut off, making sure you leave about 5mm of excess.
Keeping your carpet stretcher at a 25mm distance from the skirting board, put the teeth downwards into the carpet and push the stretcher towards the wall with your knee. This will hook the carpet onto the grippers below, and then use the carpet tucker to tuck the 5mm excess carpet in between the skirting and the gripper.
Repeat this process along the length of the wall, remembering to trim the excess carpet to 5mm and stretching and fixing the carpet as you go.
For difficult areas like corners or radiator pipes, make straight cuts from the wall to the obstruction and trim the carpet around it, always remembering to leave the small excess of 5mm near walls where your grippers are located.

And there you have it! By repeating this process around the room, you’ll have your sheet of measured carpet down before you know it.

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How to fit carpet grippers

Getting to grips with carpet grippers might seem daunting with all those pointy edges, but it’s a simple process that becomes easier the more grippers you lay (and when you wear a good pair of gloves!). Carpet grippers tend to come in large strips, which you can trip with a hacksaw or circular saw to fit the corners and shape of your room.

Ensure that you mark any areas where pipes or wires run underneath the subfloor, as you won’t want any of the nails from the carpet grippers piercing these! For these areas, you’ll need to use carpet gripper glue instead of the nails, so marking them out on the floor means you can easily find them again.

How far should carpet grippers be from skirting boards?

First of all, start by placing your carpet grippers 7mm distance from all skirting boards, or about three-quarters of the width of your carpet. One edge of the grippers should be angled, and this is the side that should face the skirting board, as your excess carpet will tuck underneath this angle. Hammer or glue the carpet grippers onto the subfloor, ensuring you don’t damage the skirting board in the process.

Removing fitted carpet grippers

If you’re wondering how to remove carpet grippers, either when you’re removing the carpet or moving them around, you’ll need to use pincers or the prong end of a hammerhead to pull up the nails. If you’ve glued down the grippers, you’ll need to be prepared to replace them as they may snap when you pry them up from the subfloor.

If you follow our steps carefully, laying a carpet should be an easy-peasy job! Check out our Ideas Hub for more helpful flooring advice, including how to lay commercial carpet, how to pull up a carpet, and other kinds of flooring. Alternatively, find the carpet of your dreams from our amazing range of carpets if you’re left feeling inspired to try this process yourself!

Post author

Jeremy Garrish Buyer Jeremy has 35 years of carpet industry knowledge

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Published: 26-08-2022