carpet laying - direction to go...

[Dave]

Next week I (hope) to lay a (more or less) fitted carpet in a bedroom. The room has a semi-circular bay window, two plain walls, and the other has a chimney breast in the middle of it. Which direction is best to start laying the carpet from. I guess start from plain wall opposite bay and work toward bay? How exactly I'm going to cut an accurate curve to fit the bay I shall of course leave until the very last moment :-) thanks (ps Yes I know I should get real carpet fitters it - but I'd like to try and diy this one).

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Your best getting the carpet fitters in. My local carpet shop throws in the fitting free,provided its not cheap carpet.

You will struggle to cut/workout how best to cut the bay window area doing it the way you have said.

I'd work from the bay window first.

[Chris Bacon]

In the middle.

I hope it's cheap carpet! There are lots of carpet laying hints on various sites.

Well done. Please report back on your efforts!

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Why? surely if you start from the middle(chimney breast area) and get it cut perfect around the chimney you might end up making a balls of the bay window area and are stumped for pulling the carpet up to the bay window to rectify the cockup there.

Whereas if you work around the bay window first(It being more tricky) at least you have some carpet to draw back into the bay window area to try again.

>

[EricP]

As said, you should get a fitted carpet laid properly, for safety reasons if nothing else.

If you wish to proceed yourself, nail the carpet grippers all around the walls about 2.5 to 3cms from the skirting. This allows you to cut the carpet oversize and fold the excess down in the space behind the grippers.

The carpet must be stretched over all the grippers from one wall and then the opposite wall and then the sides, by opposites so you lay the carpet roughly square on the floor.

You then use the "kicker" to adjust the tension of the carpet so it is evenly tensioned and not twisted. That's the skilled bit.

If using nail type grippers, remember bare feet may tread on them under the carpet, if put in the wrong place.

Around chimney breasts you may not be able to nail grippers down and either not bother or use some alternative method of fixing them down.

HTH

Best of luck.

[Chris Bacon]

It's what is done!

I meant from the middle of the room - you can say the same thing about c*ck-ups all the way around - if you get the bay right, then you can balls up the chimney breast, as well as the other way around. It helps if you're not laying patterned carpet, too - if you are, continuity can be an issue (for a very good job, anyway), so you might have to make sure things match at the threshold strip rather than start elsewhere!

It works all ways - you just must *not* make that c*ck-up!

A little while ago, I did a job involving the removal of perimiter quadrant, replacing it with small skirting. Over a 9' x 16' room, I had to "find" about 1" (25mm) of carpet, each way (the quadrant was "thicker" than the skirting). *What* a swine. You might think that 9' (or even 16'!) of felt-backed carpet would stretch by that, mightn't you! Just 1%, *please*! Nope. Only nearly, and not *at*

*all* easily!

[Chris Bacon]

AAMOI, what sort of carpet are you laying, and is it to have an underlay?

[Dave]

Ha - that's a useful tip. My previous (modest attempts), I ended up pushing the excess underneath the gap in the skirting board (can hear the laughter from here :-) )

[EricP]

No laughter. Been there etc.

To expand on this bit: When you put the carpet down, cut it oversize so the edges go right up the skirting board. When you have gripped it down, leave it overnight to settle and then go round and cut it to the wall + 3cms all round. This makes it very easy to cut without unfortunate errors. When cut, fold under and tuck away.

You thus have a bit of spare to allow for alterations and mild shrinkage later. You can even take it up in dire need and stand a chance of relaying it.

[Plum]

I would be interested to know a bit more about the procedure involved in "fold under and tuck away".

Is it that you take the carpet (which is now cut to be three centimetres oversize), up to the skirting board, fold that three centimetres back on itself so the carpet pile is in contact with the floorboards, and that the three centimetre turnback fits into the gap that you left between the skirting and carpet grippers?

[mrcheerful]

yes

[meow2222]

Either theres a lot I dont know about laying carpets, which may be so, or the above is all wrong. The advice I got from an experienced carpeter was that most carpets do not require a carpet stretcher, and for us hamateurs theyre best avoided. I took his advice and have had no problems at all. And the gripparod was put very close to the wall, nowt like an inch away.

Presumably you could cut lots of slots in the gripparod to curve it round the bay.

NT

[EricP]

Exactly that. Saves binding edges, leaves spare carpet to adjust etc.

BUT 99% of the job is using the kicker to tension the whole carpet. If you fail that bit, the rest is academic.

[EricP]

No, you aren't doing woodwork. You chop it into six inch to one foot lengths and nail each one down in a rough curve. It's all under the carpet.

[manatbandq]

That's the method that I worked it out for myself. I always assumed it was a bodge but all my carpets have stayed down with no problems.

MBQ

[Plum]

mrcheerful and EricP, thanks for the extra information

Plum.

[Mark]

. And the gripparod was put very close to the wall, nowt

Yes most of the advice above is nonsense. The correct gap from gripper edge to skirting is about 8mm Reference:

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