For your convenience we have enclosed a simple fitting guide. If you are not confident, however, we would advise you to seek the help of a professional carpet fitter.

LAYING FOAM-BACKED CARPET

Carpet with a foam underlay attached is easy to lay. Not only do carpet and underlay go down in one operation, but foam-backed carpet does not have to be stretched. Another advantage is that foam-backed carpet is held to the floor with double-sided carpet tape eliminating the need to install gripper-rods around the room.

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED

1. Sharp Trimming Knife
2. Clear Bolster Chisel or Wooden Kitchen Spatula

MATERIALS

1. Enough carpet to cover the room
2. Double-sided carpet tape
3. Interliner underlay
4. Door strips

HELPFUL HINTS

Completely empty the room if possible. Make sure the floor is clean, dry and free from dust with no protruding screws or nail heads. When cutting the carpet to fit exactly against the skirting board, there is a danger that a gap will be created between the carpet and the wall. For maximum accuracy hold the knife at an angle, with the point of the blade against the skirting and the handle leaning away from the wall.

WHAT TO DO!

1. When using an interliner, such as Pad Felt or Interweave put it down first - it must fall short of the walls by the width of the carpet tape so that it will stick to the floor and not the interliner.
2. Place the carpet loosely in position with the pile running towards the door. The surface should feel smooth when you run your hand towards the door. If you feel resistance you are going against the pile.
3. If the carpet has a pattern, adjust it so that it looks straight when seen from the door.
4. Trim off the excess all round the room so the carpet is the size of the floor plus a trimming allowance of at least 1 inch (25mm) on each wall. The surplus is cut away later to give an exact fit.
5. Fold back the carpet round the edge of the room so that the space all round the wall is clear for laying the tape.
6. Fix the tape round the perimeter of the room.
7. Fold back the carpet
8. Peel off the tape's backing paper and press the carpet firmly in place all round the room.
9. Push it well into the join between floor and skirting board with a clean Bolster Chisel or a Wooden Kitchen Spatula so you can see where the knife blade should go.
10. When the carpet is fixed all round, trim off the surplus with a knife.
11. Finally, go all round the room making quite sure that the carpet is still adhered firmly to the tape and press back into place wherever necessary.

LAYING A CARPET WITH SEPARATE UNDERLAY

Carpet with a separate underlay is much more difficult to lay than foam-backed carpet. If it is to lie flat and wear well, it must be stretched during the laying. Achieving the right tension is the trickiest part of the job. Stretch the carpet too much and you risk tearing it, not enough and it will not lie flat and will ruck up when furniture is pushed over it. A bumpy carpet may not look too bad, but will become worn on the high spots.

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED:-

1. Hammer
2. Tape Measure
3. Hacksaw
4. Trimming Knife
5. Carpet Stretcher (from Hire Shop)
6. Clear Bolster Chisel or Wooded Kitchen Spatula

MATERIALS

1. Carpet Gripper strips
2. Door strips
3. Underlay
4. Tacks
5. Carpet

PREPARING THE FLOOR

Fixing The Gripperrods

1. Measure the perimeter of the room to work out how many strips of gripper you will need. The strips are sold in 5' (1.52m) lengths.
2. Put down the gripper with pins pointing towards the wall. Leave a space slightly less than the thickness of the carpet between the gripper and the wall. This is for the trimmed carpet to be tucked into later.
3. Nail them to the floor avoiding hitting the gripper pins.
4. When you reach a corner of a room cut the strip to length using a saw. Butt the next piece up to it and continue; there is no need to mitre.
5. In curved areas such as bay windows, cut gripper into short pieces to follow the curve.
6. At a doorway fit a metal strip midway under the door.

PUTTING DOWN THE UNDERLAY

1. When fitting carpets on top of floor boards, always lay an interliner before fitting the rubber backed carpet. This helps stop soiling coming through the joints in the boards, and onto the carpet.
2. To fit the rubber underlay, first unroll a short length of underlay in a corner of the room, rubber side down, so that the end and the side lie against the gripper strip.
3. Fix the edge of the underlay to the floor with a staple gun with hammer and tracks. On a concrete floor use double-sided carpet tape.
4. Roll out the underlay along the edge of the room smoothing as you go and fixing along both edges. Make sure it is perfectly flat on the floor.
5. At the end of the room trim the underlay against the gripper strip with a trimming knife.
   Repeat this across the room until it is completely covered.
6. To again prevent dust passing through to the carpet, tape the joints of the underlay together using carpet tape.

LAYING THE CARPET

1. In a large room - or on the lawn if it's a dry day - cut the carpet to the size of the room to be covered. Add a trimming allowance of 6 inches (150mm) on all sides. Keep any waste at this point, you may need it later. The pile of the carpet where possible must run towards the door.
2. Put the carpet in place on the floor of the room where it is to be laid. If it has a pattern adjust it so that the pattern looks straight and does not run off when seen from the doorway.
3. Make release cuts to allow the carpet to lie flat in any alcoves. Cut the carpet at the right angle to the back of the alcove and take care not to cut it too far. Leave some excess for trimming around the alcove.
4. Trim off excess all round the room working along of about ½" (10mm) along two adjacent walls and an allowance of about 11/2" (38mm) along the other two.
5. Start the fitting in the corner of the room working along one wall. Run your fingers along the top of the carpet so that it engages on the gripper pins farthest from the wall.
6. Do the same along the adjacent wall.
7. Run the head of your hammer, flat, along the top of the carpet pushing it onto the other row of pins and forcing the excess carpet into the space between the gripper strip and the skirting board.
8. When the first two edges have been fixed, kneel on the carpet with your back to one of the complete walls. Push the teeth of the carpet stretcher into the carpet ahead of you and 'kick' the padded end with your knee to force the carpet forwards. Move forward and repeat once or twice until you are close to the opposite wall.
9. Stretch the carpet again and hook it onto the gripping pins with your hand. It will immediately contract and be firmly fixed into place. The tension is correct when the carpet is firm and even all across the room.
10. Repeat this process three or four more times across the room until the carpet is fixed all along one wall then turn and do the same with the loose wall.
11. When hooking is complete excess carpet will be left lapping up the walls. Trim off to about ½" (10mm)
12. Push the remainder onto the space between the gripper and skirting using a clean Bolster Chisel or a Wooden Kitchen Spatula. Take care not to scratch the paintwork when you are using a bolster.
13. Repeat this around the room.
14. Finally, sit back and admire your handiwork.

If in doubt, always consult a professional carpet fitter.