Install Carpet Without Tack Strips

Install the tackless strips along the edges of the area you are carpeting.

Install carpet without tack strips.

A small amount of glue at the top and base of each stair can keep it in place. Tack strips are strips of wood with sharp pointed tacks. Keep a space equal to about two thirds the thickness of the carpet between the walls and the tack strips using a scrap piece of carpet as a guide. They are attached to the subfloor around the perimeter of the room to provide the anchor point for the edges of the carpeting to be gripped.

Stretch in carpet installation is the most popular installation methods in homes. These will grip the carpet backing and hold it in place. Without nailing in tack strips i would glue down in order to prevent wrinkles. To install carpet start by nailing the tack strips to the floor using 2 nails for each strip.

Another alternative is to carpet each stair individually where the foot lands. This shows the proper tack strip placement to get long lasting and beautiful results out of your carpet install. Position the strips with the tack points facing the wall. Prepare your stairs for carpet installation by installing tack strips thin pieces of wood resembling yardsticks with tacks pointing upward.

Install carpet without tack strips small tension rods attached at the base of each stair can be placed to tighten carpet that runs the entire length of the stairs. For novice diyers the temptation is to shove the carpet tack strips sometimes called tackless. Padding is secured to the floor in the middle of the room. Install tack strips with a gap between the wall.

Next unroll the carpet padding from one side of the room to the other and slice it off with a box cutter. These strips have hundreds of nails that are angled in towards the wall. I was installing new carpet at our old house and many of the nails on the tack strip came off because the concrete chipped away over the years and it left some dents or holes on the floor.