Carpeting is easy if the room width is less than the usual 3.66m of a roll of carpet. Buy a kit that has a knee kicker, utility knife and tucking tool, $59, from Bunnings (www.bunnings.com.au).

Also buy carpet gripper strip, double-sided carpet tape, kneepads and gloves. Pull up the old carpet and cut it into metre-wide strips for disposal, repaint skirting boards, nail down any loose boards then vacuum.

STEP 1

Install the gripper
Cut strips of carpet gripper to fit along each wall, leaving a 12mm gap between the strip and the wall, securing the strip to the floor with the pre-fitted nails.
TIP Lay gripper strips with the angled teeth pointing towards the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

Position the underlay
Cut the underlay to fit between the gripper, positioning it to butt-join rather than overlap and covering seams with tape. Staple it to the floorboards every 150mm.
TIP For a concrete floor secure with a latex-based adhesive.

 

 

 

 

 

Cut the carpet
Take the room dimensions and add an extra 150mm to the edges, roll out the carpet and use a utility knife to cut it to the final measurement.
TIP For plush or twist pile carpet cut from underneath but for loop pile cut from the top.

 

 

 

 

 

Attach to the gripper
Starting with the longest wall anchor the carpet to the gripper with a knee kicker, pushing the teeth into the carpet and kicking the cushioned end to secure.
TIP Use a hammer or mallet to tap the carpet onto the teeth.

 

 

 

 

 

Finish the edges
Trim the excess carpet, leaving 15mm to push between the skirting and gripper using the tucking tool.
TIP In the doorway fit a cover strip for a neat finish.