Is carpet glued down?

Most domestic carpet is not. It is stretched over underlay and held by gripper at the edges. Some carpet tiles and certain commercial floors are stuck down, which is a different method altogether.

Can gripper go on a concrete floor?

Yes. It is fixed with masonry nails or adhesive. The floor needs to be dry and reasonably flat first.

Why does new carpet sometimes ripple?

Usually because it was not stretched tight enough when fitted, or because the underlay underneath has moved. A fitter can re-stretch it with a power stretcher.

Do I need to move the furniture?

Ideally the room is empty. Small items, ornaments and anything under beds should always be cleared before the fitter arrives.

Where can I get carpet supplied and fitted?

Either of our warehouses in Maidstone or Gillingham can price carpet, underlay and fitting together, or sell supply only for your own fitter.

How is carpet fitted? The process, step by step

You searched for how carpet is fitted and want the real sequence, not a sales pitch.

A fitted carpet is held at the edges, not glued. The fitter nails or glues timber gripper strips around the room just off the skirting, lays underlay inside them, rolls the carpet out with a few centimetres spare at every wall, hooks one side onto the gripper, then uses a knee kicker and a power stretcher to pull it tight across the room before trimming and tucking the edge down behind the gripper. Doorways get a metal or wooden bar where the carpet meets another floor.

Written for: For anyone having carpet laid who wants to understand the job before the fitter arrives.

1. Clearing and checking the subfloor

Everything starts with the floor underneath. Old carpet, underlay and staples come up, and the fitter looks for loose or squeaking floorboards, raised nail heads, and on concrete floors any damp or uneven patches. A carpet will show every lump beneath it within weeks, so this is the part that separates a careful job from a quick one.

Old gripper is often reused if it is sound and in the right place. If it is rotten, split or sitting too far from the wall, it gets replaced.

2. Gripper around the edges

Gripper is a thin strip of wood with angled pins sticking up. It goes around the whole room with a small gap to the skirting, pins pointing towards the wall. On timber floors it is nailed; on concrete it is usually nailed with masonry pins or glued. The gap matters: it is where the edge of the carpet is tucked, which is why a well fitted carpet looks as if it disappears under the skirting.

3. Underlay goes down inside the gripper

Underlay is rolled out to butt up against the gripper, not over it. Joints are taped so they cannot move, and on timber floors it is stapled so it stays flat. The underlay is what gives the carpet its feel underfoot, and it takes much of the wear that would otherwise flatten the pile.

4. Laying out and cutting the carpet

The carpet is rolled out with the pile running the same way across the whole room. It is cut roughly to size with spare at every wall. If the room is wider than the roll, the join will already have been planned so it sits out of the main line of light and away from the busiest walkway. Seams are made with heat-activated tape underneath, pressing the two edges together so the join is as close to invisible as that carpet allows.

5. Stretching

One edge is hooked onto the gripper. The fitter then works across the room with a knee kicker along the edges and, in larger rooms, a power stretcher that pushes from one wall to the opposite one. A carpet that is only kicked into place and never properly stretched is the usual reason for the rippling people notice a few months after fitting.

6. Trimming, tucking and door bars

The spare carpet at each wall is trimmed and the edge pushed down into the gap between gripper and skirting with a stair tool. At every doorway, the fitter adds the right bar or trim for the floor on the other side. Finally, doors are checked: a thicker carpet and underlay can mean a door needs a few millimetres taken off the bottom.

Having it done through the warehouse

We supply carpet and underlay from stock at both warehouses and can arrange fitting through trusted, fully vetted local fitters, with onsite measuring available in most Kent areas. If you already have a fitter, buy supply only and we cut to their sizes while you wait.

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Questions we get asked about this

Is carpet glued down?: Most domestic carpet is not. It is stretched over underlay and held by gripper at the edges. Some carpet tiles and certain commercial floors are stuck down, which is a different method altogether.
Can gripper go on a concrete floor?: Yes. It is fixed with masonry nails or adhesive. The floor needs to be dry and reasonably flat first.
Why does new carpet sometimes ripple?: Usually because it was not stretched tight enough when fitted, or because the underlay underneath has moved. A fitter can re-stretch it with a power stretcher.
Do I need to move the furniture?: Ideally the room is empty. Small items, ornaments and anything under beds should always be cleared before the fitter arrives.
Where can I get carpet supplied and fitted?: Either of our warehouses in Maidstone or Gillingham can price carpet, underlay and fitting together, or sell supply only for your own fitter.