How to Lay Carpet on a Concrete Floor

If you are finished building a basement or a room inside your garage you can warm up the floor and make it look better by laying carpet on it. Basements and other areas that have concrete can attract moisture so a basement or overly wet area may not be good or carpet. But a concrete floor basement or concrete floor room can benefit from having a carpeted floor.

Some of the things you will need to install carpet on a concrete floor.

∗ Plywood
∗ Sealant for concrete
∗ Screwdriver (electric ones will work better)
∗ Padding for the carpet
∗ Tackless strips
∗ The carpet
∗ Waterproof sheets
∗ Concrete screws

Here are some steps to take when installing carpet on a concrete floor.

∗ The first thing you have to do is treat the concrete floor. Use either waterproof paint or sealant so moisture does not cause the concrete to crack.

∗ Lay some waterproof sheets onto the concrete. You can use a polyethylene sheet that is durable and will keep the moisture from seeping into the concrete floor. Pick a dimpled sheet to make a small air space that will be a buffer to the moisture. If there are any seams in the sheet place tape over them.

∗ Place a half-inch slab of plywood over the waterproof sheet.

∗ Now attach the plywood to the concrete floor using the concrete screws. Take your screwdriver and use about 15 screws for each 4 foot by 8 foot piece of plywood.

∗ On top of the plywood place the carpeting pad. The thickness of the pad is up to you. If it is a room that will be lived in should be thicker but if it is only a room for storage the padding can be thin. Thicker pads should also be used if the area will not get a lot of moisture. Conversely thinner pads should be used if the area will see a lot of moisture.

∗ Take the tackless strips and nail them down along the edges of the room.

∗ Take measurements of the room and cut the carpet so that it will fit into the room.

∗ Put the carpet down on top of the carpet padding making sure that the carpet securely is attached to the tackless strips.

TIPS

∗ It is better to cut extra carpet than not enough. If you cut too much carpet you can still lay it down but using an exacto knife cut off the excess carpet until it fits perfectly into the room.

∗ The type of carpet you use will depend on what you will be using the room for. If the room will be lived in you can buy thicker and better quality carpet. But if it will only be used for storage or something else you can use less expensive, thinner, carpet.

Author: Jason Green