Carpet Installation

When you are building a house, it is very typical for the carpet installation to come after all of the paint has been touched up and all the other major construction items are also completed, your house is then ready for carpet installation.

Typically when building a house, the material for this work is going to be supplied by the contractor and it will consist of the carpet pad, tack strip, and carpet needed for the installation.

During the carpet installation process, the flooring contractor is going to scrape and sweep the floors of all construction residue such as drywall mud and paint; he will then nail down the tack strips, install the carpet pad, cut the carpet down to size and then install it by stretching it over the tack strip and trimming the edges. The carpet installation contractor should also be responsible for taking the waste scraps with him upon completion of the carpet installation.

Carpet Installation Checklist

• The carpet should be stretched tight wall to wall.
• Make sure that after the carpet installation is complete, all edges are properly secured to the tack strip.
• Confirm that the carpet company has installed the correct carpet selection
• Confirm that the carpet installation has not caused damage to walls or baseboards.
• Confirm that any doors that have been removed for carpet installation have been reinstalled and the hinge pins have been reset properly.
• Confirm that there are no lumps in the carpet
• Make sure that all carpet seams are secured and are not visible
• Make sure that the tacks have been hammered down at all seams.
• Excessive tack strips, scrap pad and carpet have been removed. Any large pieces remaining should be placed in the attic for future replacements resulting from unexpected damages.
• Door bumpers not damaged, and reinstalled if removed for carpet installation.
• Make sure the carpet or flooring contractor has not left excessive trash at the job site.
• It is important to set expectations with your flooring contractor and have a clear understanding that any possible defects that exist in the stairs or sub-flooring have been brought to your attention prior to the installation of the carpet.
• Confirm that the proper thickness and pound of carpet padding has been installed.
• You should also confirm that the carpet installation contractor has minimized the use of seams. At most only 1 seam should be permitted per area (zero seams is preferred).