How to fit your own carpet with 4 easy steps?

                                                                                         

Getting Ready Your first step is to get rid of the old carpet. Start by removing the door trims, so you can get the old carpet out and the new carpet in easier. Give the old carpet a good vacuuming so you won't be breathing in dust, and then use a utility knife to cut the carpet into strips about 18 to 24 inches wide.
Start at one end and pull the carpet off the gripper (pins holding it down the carpet around the perimeter of the room) and roll it up in sections. Some people feel that you can reuse the existing underlay, but in most cases it will be worn out just like the carpet, so you're better off getting rid of it as well.
Remove the existing gripper and make sure the floor is clean and dry. This is a good time to check your subfloor and securely fasten any floorboards that may be loose so they won't squeak under the new carpet. Install new gripper around the perimeter of the room, but not in front of doorways. Leave a space of about 10mm between the strips and the wall, and be sure the pins face towards the wall. At corners, make sure the gripper is butted tightly against each other.
Laying the Underlay Put the underlay down in strips in the opposite to the direction of the carpet. Tape the strips together using gaffer tape. Laying the Carpet to install carpet properly, you need to start with a piece that overlaps the edge of the floor by 4 to 6 inches. The overlay can then be trimmed so the carpet fits properly. To cut your first section, measure the room at its longest point and add 5/10% to that measurement. Mark the back of your carpet on both edges with that measurement and join the two marks with a chalk line. Fold the carpet over on itself, and using a straight edge and a sharp utility knife, cut through the backside of your carpet. Be sure to place a piece of scrap board underneath your cut line to protect the underlay.
Seams If your room is wider and you need another piece of carpet follow the same process with the second piece - measure, mark and trim. Be sure the carpet pile is running the same way in both pieces, and that the carpet piece is large enough to overlap the wall by 5/10%, as well as overlapping the first piece of carpet by 5/10%. (Try to layout your carpet pieces so the seams won't be in noticeable areas, but obviously sometimes that just isn't possible.)
Where the carpet pieces will join, overlap the two pieces, and then using a utility knife or a rented seam cutter, cut through both pieces of carpet, ensuring the edges will match exactly. After cutting the carpet, centre a piece of seaming tape on the floor underneath where they will be joined (adhesive side up). Use the seaming iron to activate the adhesive (the iron goes on the tape, not on top of the carpet), and then butt the edges together and seal the seam with a carpet roller.
Attaching the Carpet Use a knee kicker to attach the carpet along one edge. Place the toothed end of the kicker about 3" from the wall and drive your knee forcefully into the padded end of the tool. This will stretch the carpet over the gripper where the tacks will grab it and hold it firmly in place.
Work your way around the room stretching the carpet over the grippers, and trim the carpet near the wall with a utility knife.

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