Installing a Carpet Underlay

A Guide to Installing a Carpet Underlay – Primelay Flooring Tips

Carpets have a way of improving the atmosphere of a room, but installing a carpet underlay improves the comfort. Follows our DIY  guide below with 4 simple steps to installing carpet underlay. Tools for installing a carpet underlay  To get the job done right, you will need a specific set of tools. If you don’t have all the tools listed, you should still prepare as many of following as you can, to successfully place a “stretch fitted” carpet installation.

• Tape Measure – a good quality, domestic metal tape measure will do.
• Strong utility knife and spare blades– for cutting the carpet and underlay.
• Knee Kicker (Carpet Stretcher) – for stretching the carpet over the gripper.
• Knee Pads – optional – depends on how strong your knees are!
• Carpet Tucker – for creasing and tucking the carpet behind the gripper.
• Gripper Shears – for cutting the gripper to the correct length.
• Staple Hammer – for stapling the underlay to timber floors.
• Hammer – for hammering the gripper nails into the floor.

To speed up the process of installing a carpet underlay, you can get our Carpet Fitting Kit. You can make use of the Carpet Tucker, Utility Knife, and Carpet Stretcher, which allows you to do things faster.

2. Floor Preparation

Before you can get started, you need to do a series of checks on the area where you’re going to place the carpet underlay. First off, be sure that the surface is clean. You can use a vacuum cleaner if there’s too much dust, and be sure to pick off any nails or small objects sticking out from the surface. If you can, temporarily remove the doors from their frames, this can speed up your work, but don’t force it if the circumstances won’t allow you to do so. After that, you need to nail your carpet gripper in the edges of the room.

You should leave at least three-quarters of the total thickness of the carpet you’re going to use.  Tucking the carpet into this gap is crucial if you’re going to lay underlay successfully. Always remember not to place the grippers in front of your doorway; they are angled, and they should be facing the wall. To ensure that it’s in the right direction, you can read the gripper’s printing. The printing should face against the wall. Gluing your gripper might be necessary if your subfloor is hard. In doing this, be precise in placing the gripper, to ensure the underlay is even. Once in place and ready to hold the carpets, you can proceed to carpet underlayment.

3. Laying Carpet Underlay

It may look simple, but be sure not to do things hastily. Placing your carpet and underlay in the wrong way would result in a skewed looking carpet. First, follow the direction of the floorboards and match the angles of the underlay as you lay them. The underlay should be able to overlap the grippers you installed earlier. When you’re using a PU foam underlay, the coloured film ( PE Film ) should face down to the subfloor, for other underlays like waffle rubber underlay or crumb rubber underlay the rubber side should face down, and the backing should face the carpet.

When you’re installing a rubber underlayment, the rubber should be facing down and the backing facing the carpet. You need to place the underlay in strips and avoid overlapping. Once they’re in place, proceed in stapling them inside the edges of the grippers.

Finishing touches

Trim off any excess underlay sticking out along the inside of the gripper. Then, seal the seam using underlay tape, keeping the underlay in place and hide lines while you place the carpet.

4. Laying the Carpet

Carpets are not cheap, which is why you need to hire a professional if you’re not sure how to install it right. Professional carpet fitters are skilled on how to correctly install carpets. The first piece you’ll need is the one that overlaps the floor’s edge. It should overlap about 10cm. Do not worry if it doesn’t look good because you can trim this off once the carpet is placed correctly. In cutting the first section, you need to measure the longest point of the room. After you got the measurement, add 10cm. Then, fold the carpet over itself.

You will then have to cut through the backside of the carpet. You can use the straight edge or the utility knife, whichever is efficient for you. To prevent accidentally cutting the underlying carpet, you should use a piece of scrap board.

Repeat the process for the entire room

From placing them in the right direction to adding the 10cm measurements, you need to follow the same process. You can try to lay out the pieces in a way that the appears hidden from plain sight or high traffic areas. Still, it might not be possible for all cases. To do this, overlap the two pieces of the carpets. Then cut through the overlapped part and make sure that both their ends meet perfectly. Place a seaming tape in the underlay where the carpets meet. After that, use a carpet seaming iron on the tape it will cause the adhesive to activate and stick. Lay both the edges and use a roller to finalize your work. Get a quote – Durafort 6.5m rubber carpet underlay has been successfully used for leading carpet installations in premium hotels worldwide.