Renovation 4th Edition

by Michael Litchfield

  tance, and the square fit easily under the cabinet

  adHEring and

  toekicks. Holding one edge of the square flush to

  SEaMing tHE Flooring

  the wall, he ran the point of the pin scribe along

  Some flooring materials are adhered only along

  the other edge—scribing a light line in the felt

  the edges ( perimeter bond), whereas others are

  paper 11⁄2 in. away from the wall. Because the

  completely glued down ( full-spread adhesion).

  square’s blades are straight, along curved surfaces Flooring secured by full-spread adhesion is less

  he moved the square often, making a number of

  likely to migrate or stretch and hence is more

  scribe marks to indicate the arc of the curve.

  durable. Follow the installation instructions that

  It’s OK to use several sections of felt paper if a come with your flooring. Be sure your supplier

  room is large or unusually complex. In this case,

  provides the manufacturer’s instructions on

  be fastidious about marking section edges so you adhesion and seaming methods that may be

  can reassemble and tape them to the resilient

  unique to your resilient flooring.

  sheeting before transcribing the room outline.

  On a room of any size, you’ll probably need to

  Full-spread adhesion. After the resilient floor-

  use several sheets of resilient flooring as well.

  ing is final-trimmed in place, it is typically lapped

  (Sheet widths vary from 6 ft. to 12 ft.) Important:

  back halfway, exposing roughly half the area

  When you’re done scribing, gently lift the

  underneath. Using a square-notched trowel,

  template—but leave the duct tape stuck to the

  spread a compatible adhesive on about half the

  paper. Loosely roll up the template and carry it

  floor. Unroll the lapped portion down into the

  to the room where the resilient sheet has been

  adhesive, and immediately use a 100-lb. roller on

  unrolled on the floor, face up, to warm and flat-

  the material to spread the adhesive and drive out

  ten. Line up template edges to trimmed flooring

  bubbles. Roll across the material’s width first,

  edges. Then carefully unroll the template so it

  then along its length. Next to the walls, use a

  lies flat atop the resilient material (Step 4). Press

  hand seam roller to seat the material in the adhe-

  down the “boats” so the duct tape sticks to the

  sive. Repeat the process with the second half of

  resilient flooring, anchoring the template.

  the sheet. If you get adhesive on the face of the

  flooring, clean it off at once, using a cleaner rec-

  Cutting and Fitting

  ommended by the manufacturer. (Most glues

  rESiliEnt SHEEtS

  clean up with water.)

  Seaming edges. If one sheet of flooring doesn’t

  To transfer the outline of the room to the resilient cover the entire floor, you’ll have at least one

  flooring, place a blade of the framing square on

  seam edge. Here, be sure to follow the manufac-

  the scribed line and run a utility knife along the

  turer’s instructions on seam spacing and adhesive

  outside edge of the blade, as shown in Step 5 on

  applications between individual sections, called

  p. 583. The mark made by the utility knife—

  drops. For example, manufacturers indicate how

  11⁄2 in. beyond the scribed line—represents the

  far back from the edges to apply adhesive and

  cutline you’ll make in the resilient flooring. But

  whether the seams should be butted together or

  the utility knife should score the flooring only

  overlapped and double-cut through both layers.

  about one-third deep. After you’ve scored with

  Although manufacturers tell you to butt vinyl

  the utility knife, use a hooked knife to cut all the

  seams tightly, you’ll need to leave a hairline gap

  way through, with the scored line guiding the

  between the sections of Marmoleum, which con-

  hooked knife. Hold the hooked knife at a slight

  tracts along its length and expands across its

  angle so it undercuts the edge. At some point,

  width. Also, linoleums tend to expand slightly

  you’ll also trim off the flooring’s factory edge,

  because of the moisture in the adhesive.

  which protects the material in transit.

  Once you’ve cut the outline, remove the paper

  template and loosely roll the flooring with its

  Wal -to-Wal Carpeting

  back facing out. Carry it to the room to test its fit. Basically, there are two types of wall-to-wall car-

  If you need to retrim the flooring to make it fit

  peting. Conventional carpeting is laid over a sep-

  exactly, you’re in good company. Professional

  arate rubber or foam padding and must be

  installers always assume they’ll trim because no

  stretched and attached to tackless strips around

  template measurement is ever 100% accurate.

  the perimeter of the room. Cushion-backed car-

  When you’re satisfied with the flooring’s fit and

  peting, which has foam bonded to its backing,

  final position, use a pencil to draw set marks on

  doesn’t need to be stretched—it’s usually glued

  the underlayment so you’ll know exactly where

  down—so it’s generally easier to install. However,

  584 Chapter 20

  it must be destroyed to remove it. Consequently,

  better-quality carpeting is almost always conven-

  tional, and that’s the focus here.

  Pretrimmed size

  zzzzzz Carpet layout

  Carpeting doesn’t ask much of subflooring,

  of carpet

  which can be slightly irregular as long as it is dry,

  Fill pieces

  solid, and of adequate thickness (5⁄

  Seams needed

  8-in. plywood is

  typical). Carpeting can be installed over existing

  wood, tile, resilient flooring, or concrete floors,

  but check the manufacturer’s recommendations

  regarding subgrade installations, acceptable gaps

  in the substrate, padding thickness and type, and

  16 ft.

  so on. Don’t scrimp on padding; buy the densest

  Pile direction

  foam or heaviest rubber padding you can.

  Windows

  CarPEting toolS

  You can rent most of the specialized tools.

  To install conventional carpeting, you’ll need

  the following:

  25 ft.

   A power stretcher stretches carpeting

  Main door

  Drop piece

  taut across a room, so it can be secured to

  tackless strips along opposite walls. Cross-

  An ideal layout minimizes waste and seams, positions

  room stretching eliminates sags in the middle

  seams away from traffic, and orients carpet pile so that

  of a room. You simply add and adjust stretcher

  someone entering through the main entrance looks into

  sections to extend the tool.

  the pile. Carpet comes in 12 ft.-wide rolls (also called

  bolts), so 41 RF
(running feet) of carpet would al ow enough

   A knee-kicker is used in tandem with the

  power stretcher to lift the carpet edges onto

  extra for trimming edges in this 16 ft. by 25 ft. room.

  strips, to stretch the carpet in a closet, or to

  draw the seams closer together before you hot-

  P R O T I P

  glue them.

   The stair tool drives carpeting into the

  Both knee-kickers and power

  spaces between tackless strips and walls and

  stretchers have a dial on their

  between stair risers and treads.

  head, which adjusts the depth of

   A seam iron heats the hot-melt carpet

  the tool’s teeth. adjust the teeth

  seam tape that joins the carpet sections.

  so they grab the carpet backing

  but not the padding.

   A row runner, or row-running knife, cuts

  between the rows of loop-pile carpeting. Many

  installers use a large, flat-bladed screwdriver

  to separate the rows first.

   An edge trimmer trims the carpet edges

  Carpet Pile and layout

  so they can be tucked behind tackless strips;

  under baseboards; or under transition pieces

  Most carpeting consists of yarn loops stitched through a backing material. the

  such as metal carpet doors, which are used in

  upper face of the carpet is called the pile. When those yarn loops are uncut, the carpet-

  doorways or where dissimilar flooring

  ing is called loop pile. When the loops are cut, it is called cut pile. Sculpted pile usually

  materials meet.

  is a mixture of looped and cut, which frequently creates a pattern.

   Seam rollers can be either star wheeled

  Because carpeting is stored and transported on a roll, its pile gets pressed down in

  (spiked) or smooth; they press the carpet

  a direction that it retains thereafter. By stroking a carpet’s pile, you can determine its

  edges onto the hot-melt seam tape to ensure a

  pile direction. When you look into the pile, the carpet color looks richer and when the

  strong bond. Use a smooth roller for cut-pile

  pile direction points away from you, the carpet appears lighter. When you install carpet,

  carpets and a star roller for loop-pile carpets.

  the main entryway of the room should look into the carpet pile so that it appears as

   Miscellaneous tools include a utility knife

  rich and luxuriant as possible.

  with extra blades, aviation snips to cut tackless

  also, where it’s necessary to join two pieces of carpet, the pile of at least one piece

  strips, a hammer, a stapler if you’re applying

  should lean into the seam, thus overlapping and concealing it to some degree. Finally,

  padding over plywood, a notched trowel if

  if you have to use more than one piece of carpet in a room, all pile should point in the

  you’re installing padding over concrete, heavy

  same direction. otherwise, the sections will appear to have different hues.

  shears, a chalkline, a tape measure, and a

  metal straightedge to guide utility-knife cuts.

  Flooring

  585

  EStiMating CarPEt

  under such obstacles. To anchor carpet edges in

  doorways, you can use a metal carpet bar, which

  Carpeting comes on factory rolls whose standard has angled barbs like a tackless strip, as shown in

  width is 12 ft.; a handful of carpet manufacturers “Carpet Transitions” on p. 590. Or you can install

  offer widths of 13 ft. 6 in. or 15 ft. Plan on cover-

  a hardwood threshold to provide a clean edge to

  ing most of the room with a large piece of carpet

  butt the carpet to, after first anchoring it to a

  12 ft. wide, then covering the remaining spaces

  tackless strip, or folding the carpet under about

  with smaller pieces joined to the large piece with

  1 in. and nailing down that hem.

  hot-melt seam tape. Professional installers call

  the full-width piece of carpet the drop; the small-

  inStalling Padding

  er pieces are called the fill. Joining carpet seams

  Padding, which is usually 6 ft. wide, should run

  is time-consuming, so choose a layout that mini-

  perpendicular to the carpet to prevent padding

  mizes seams.

  and carpet seams from lining up. If the padding

  Start by measuring the room’s width and length has a slippery side, face it up so carpet can slide

  at several points, then make a sketch of the room over it as you position it. Once you’ve rough-cut

  on a piece of graph paper. A 1⁄4-in. to 1-ft. scale is

  the padding, carefully position the pieces so they

  a good size to work with. On the sketch, include

  butt to each other. Do not overlap padding sec-

  closets, alcoves, base cabinets, floor registers or

  tions, which could create a raised welt under the

  radiators, stairs, doorways, and other features.

  carpet; likewise, padding should not overlap tack-

  Also note the location of doors and windows,

  less strips. Trim the padding so it butts to the

  particularly the main entrance into the room.

  edge of the strips. Then use duct tape, or some-

  Carpet pile should slant toward the main

  thing as strong, to tape the padding seams

  entrance, so that a person entering the room

  together so they can’t drift.

  looks into the carpet pile.

  If there’s a plywood subfloor, staple the pad-

  Carpet seams and edges must be trimmed,

  ding every 6 in. around the perimeter of the floor

  so factor that into your estimate. Add 3 in. for

  and every 12 in. in the field using 3⁄8-in. staples. If

  seamed edges, and allow 6 in. extra for each car-

  the substrate is concrete, sprinkle a latex-based

  pet edge that runs along a wall. Stair carpet pile

  carpet adhesive such as Parabond® M-4259 Solv-

  should slant toward a person ascending the stairs. Free around the perimeter of the room and

  Try to carpet stairs with a single piece 3 in. wider spread it out with a notched trowel; it’s not neces-

  than the stair treads to allow for tucking along

  sary to adhere the entire padding. Finally,

  both sides of the tread. If the carpet has a repeat-

  because concrete is slippery, tape the padding

  ing pattern, determine how often it repeats and

  edges so they can’t ride up onto tackless strips.

  add that amount plus 2 in. to the lengths of

  smaller pieces that must be seam-matched to

  rougH-Cutting CarPEt

  the large piece of carpet covering most of the

  When rough-cutting carpet, it’s helpful if you can

  room. Given a detailed layout sketch, a flooring

  unroll it completely. If you don’t have enough

  supplier can refine the estimate and order the

  room to do so indoors, unroll it on a clean, dry

  correct amount of padding, tackless strips, and

  sidewalk or driveway. Sweep the area well before-

  other supplies.

  hand, and make sure there are no oil stains on

  the ground.

  inStalling taCKlESS StriPS

  Cut the carpet to the overall room dimensions


  Wear heavy gloves when handling tackless strips. on your sketch—plus the extra you included for

  Nail the strips around the perimeter of the room, seams and trimming along walls. At this stage,

  leaving 1⁄4-in. gaps between the strips and the

  don’t cut out carpet jogs, such as along cabinets

  base of walls so you can tuck the carpet edges

  and around doorways, because you’ll cut those

  into those gaps. As you nail down each strip,

  later, when the carpet is spread out in the floor

  try not to hit the angled tack points sticking out

  you’re carpeting. Important: Before making any

  of the strip. (The tacks should always slant

  cuts, note the direction of the carpet pile, espe-

  toward walls, away from the center of the

  cially if you have more than one piece of carpet-

  room.) Because it’s difficult to grasp the strips

  ing to cut.

  without pricking a finger, use aviation snips to

  Transfer the room dimensions to the carpet.

  shorten them.

  Use a felt-tipped marker on the edge of the carpet

  Each strip must be nailed down with at least

  to indicate the cutline across its width, or use a

  two nails. Nail the strips in front of radiators or

  utility knife to notch the carpet’s edges at each

  built-in cabinets because it would be difficult to

  end of the proposed cut.

  nail the strips or to stretch carpeting behind or

  586 Chapter 20

  LAYING WALL-TO-WALL CARPETING

  Tackless strips come in 4-ft. lengths, with nails suitable

  for the substrate. This strip has short, case-hardened

  masonry nails for attaching strips to a concrete slab. Wear

  goggles when driving such nails down.

  In the old days, installers tacked the perimeter of a carpet every inch and hand-sewed sections

  together. Today, carpet seams are joined with hot-melt tape (above right) and stretched onto

  tackless strips that hold the edges securely. The tool to the right of the installer is a knee-kicker,

  used to move carpet.

  In general, cut loop-pile carpet from its pile

  side (its face), and cut cut-pile carpet from its

  backing side. To cut carpet with cut pile, flop the

  edge of the carpet over so its backing is up, and

  snap a chalkline between the two notches you

  made in the carpet’s edges. Cut along the chalk-

  line with a utility knife or a double-edged flooring

  knife, using a long, metal straightedge to guide

  the blade. If the carpet is loop pile, cut it with the