Press the iron onto the towel in quick bursts to avoid burning your towel or the carpet underneath. You'll need at least three for each step. Hoot the carpet over tack strips at the ends of your room after the stretching and trim the carpet to perfectly fit the room. Leaving a carpet un-stretched can ruin the aesthetics of your room. 13. Position the strips with the tack points facing the wall. A knee stretcher, also known as a kicker, is a special tool that has a grip on one end, to attach to the carpet, and a pad on the other end, for you to ‘kick’ with your quadriceps, (do not kick with your knee! Got the knee kicker and the tools that go along with it - knife, roller, tucker, etc. Hoot the carpet over tack strips at the ends of your room after the stretching and trim the carpet to perfectly fit the room. If a carpet is not stretched properly during installation, the carpet can loosen and develop ripples and wrinkles. But you can still use a steam iron to get rid of super stubborn dents, wrinkles, or creases that refuse to let your rug lay flat. You may also need to clean the surface to ensure the carpet fits well and can stick to any adhesive spray you may use in the installation. This is why we always suggest getting a professional to fit your new carpet. Pry the carpet gently up from the strips with a wood chisel or other pry tool on a wall parallel to the ripple. Place a damp towel over the problem area and switch your iron to the steam setting. • Attach the carpet to the tack strips, tuck it between the strips and the wall, and then work your way across the wall with the knee kicker as shown in Step 13. Press forward on the knee portion of the tool to stretch the carpet, and use a putty knife to tuck the edge of the carpet into the tack strip down in the floor. You simply have to stretch the carpet and reattach it to the tack strip. Using the stair tool, … Plus… scroll to the bottom to find out how you can make your own DIY Knee Kicker! Place the tooth edge of the knee kicker on the carpet near the wall in a corner. However, if you have decided that self-installation is the best route for you, this guide will show you how you can replicate some of the results of a knee kicker using various techniques. Switch to a lever-activated stretcher to pull the carpet tight to the wall. After you have done this you can lay paper felt on top of your floorboards. Set the knee kicker so that it is 6 inches from and perpendicular to the wall where you plan to start fastening the carpet to the tackless strip. However, there is a caveat to this. These are used depending on the flooring surface you are installing on and the type of carpet and flooring that is used. ANCHOR THE LAST WALL Attach the carpet along the last wall. The head of the knee kicker … Place the carpet tacking strip a distance from the wall equal to about two-thirds the thickness of the carpet. One of the sure-fire signs that a carpet is in need of adjustment is when it develops wrinkles. On your hands and knees, connect the prongged point of the tool to the carpet around the outside section of your carpet and sharpley “knee” the padded section to stretch your carpet. By stretching your carpet you can ensure a clean fit that will wear well. At the door to our bonus room, the carpet is coming up from the tack strip for about 4 ft or so. Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N15O46EHbNQ&ab_channel=CazWhite, https://www.hunker.com/12001466/how-to-install-carpet-without-a-stretcher, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet_stretcher, CLITHEROE CARPET WAREHOUSE OPENING HOURS OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK. Continue to use the knee kicker as you secure the carpet over the tack strips. Pry the carpet gently up from the strips with a wood chisel or other pry tool on a wall parallel to the ripple. Although results and quality of fitting will vary greatly with a DIY Knee Kicker, it is a preferable option to laying a carpet without a knee kicker. Repeat the process along the entire doorway until no portion of the carpet edge remains visible. carpet installers attach the carpet to the tack strip on … Now you will need to use a Knee Kicker to pull your carpet towards the edges of the room. Install tack strips around door frames but not across the threshold to prevent stepping on the sharp points. All carpet installed over padding must be stretched in tightly from one wall to another using a mechanical tool called a “Power Stretcher” this tool is uses leverage instead of knee force. This is because the carpet will not be flush with the edges and may buckle in places. It will also encourage dust and draughts to come up through your flooring. When installing carpet, professional installers often use a bespoke carpet stretching machine. This will ensure your carpet looks it’s best. These won’t usually be an exact fit to your room due to the different shapes and differences in your room. I am using a Z bar, and I'm having a hard time stretching the carpet up to the Z bar. This can be fixed in place by using either tape or again, adhesive spray. If you are adamant that you are not getting your carpet professionally installed, wear grippy shoes and make sure your carpet if tacked to the floor behind you. Lancashire's No.1 Carpet Factory Outlet All Rights Reserved. Two strips of padding for each step -- one of the step itself, and one for the rise. Put it about 3 inches (7.6 cm) out from the wall. A Knee Kicker is a small tool that is used to refine the fit of a carpet. After you have installed tackless strips along the edges of your room and cut the carpet to fit the size of your room with a few inches of room on all sides, hook your carpet onto the tackles strips starting with the furthest edge of the room moving towards the door. Carpet that is beginning to wrinkle will only get worse as it continues to be walked on, so stretching and reattaching it to the tack strips is the best way to get wrinkles out of wall-to-wall carpet. Slam your knee swiftly into the cushioned end of the knee kicker to hook the carpet onto the tack strip. For novice DIYers, the temptation is to shove the carpet tack strips (sometimes called " tackless strips") all the way against the wall or baseboard.