I found the heavy cardboard corners that protect new appliance edges , work great for protecting walls when laying out carpet. A little piece of masking tape will hold them in place. Don Monfils
Good tips guys. I still think some of you guys are holding out on us. Hopefully with time we'll keep getting more good input. I'm always looking to learn a newer, faster, better, more efficient way and these forums are a great way to pick em up.
( especially for us small towners)
use your electric tacker to put strip on those stairs that have risers that bounce,use you pad tacker to keep seam tape from unrolling when stored got more just can't remember them at this time...dj
Maybe you all know this one but I run across guys who don't. This is a way to stretch around a toilet or other tight spots using a scratch awl. Pretty handy in a tight.
Tony, how can you make that work when the toilet is in the way? I tried that trick the last time I did carpet in a bath and it was a real pain trying to get the carpet to come up over the tackless because I kept bumpin' into the toilet bowl base. I tried going in low and just raising the awl to a vertical position, but that didn't seem to work so pretty good.
That's what I was going to say Tony. Set and trim out around the toilet base, after bumping along side the toilet to the back wall. Then pull away from the toilet. Pulling to the toilet, may cause a pucker right in front of the base. Never stretch to the middle, always away.
Using an awl in tight places like around a toilet is a very good way to set the carpet on the strip. However when I used an awl I did not hold it upright I poked it through the carpet at about a 45 degree angle both in horizontal and vertical. When you push the awl to move the carpet don't push it up but slightly down and the direction you want to pull the carpet. This keeps the carpet from rising up on the awl and helps the carpet hook onto the tackless. Make the motion of moving the awl around the point of insertion not over the point of insertion.
I stretch or bump past the stool, trim and tuck it, then just hold the carpet flat and execute a precision stair tool stretch jam. How tight does it really need to be back there ? It's just going to get peed on anyway.
I used to have a miniature pitch fork type thing that was great for leveraging. I got it at a garage sale for a quarter. What a lucky find. Naturally, like many other small tools, a helper lost it.
When cutting tack strip for stairs I lay out enough strip for all of the stairs, Mark size on the top and bottom of the stack of strip , and connect the dots. Then cut on your marks. DON MONFILS
When installing tack strip on steps I first install the riser piece by using a piece of 3/4" hardwood as a spacer and then adjust the tread piece according to the thickness of the carpet to be installed. It makes the riser perfectly straight.
