Carpet Installation
The master bedroom carpet a homeowner has been waiting six months to replace because the previous installer wrinkled the last one inside a year and they want it done right this time. The new construction great room with bare plywood and a roll of Shaw Anso sitting in the garage. The finished basement that has needed carpet since the moisture issue got fixed and the owner is finally ready. The home-office bedroom that has gone from kids' rooms to office and needs a quieter, lower-pile carpet for the calls. Carpet installation is the residential trade for broadloom carpet over rebond pad in bedrooms, family rooms, offices, basements, and any wall-to-wall scope where the room dimension exceeds 8 feet and the install needs a power stretcher. Handis does the substrate prep, tackless strip layout, pad install with taped seams, carpet stretch on a power stretcher per the Carpet and Rug Institute CRI 105 installation standard, seam heat-bonding with a seam iron and hot-melt tape, and perimeter trim at every wall and threshold. Carpet and pad are owner-supplied or Handis-sourced and line-itemed separately from labor on every quote. From $2,500 for a small bedroom up to $6,500 for a finished basement or great room.
Service
What Carpet Installation Includes
Carpet installation is the residential trade for broadloom carpet over rebond pad in any wall-to-wall scope — bedrooms, family rooms, offices, basements, great rooms, finished attics. The scope covers substrate prep, tackless-strip perimeter layout, pad install, carpet stretch on a power stretcher per CRI 105, seam heat-bonding, and transition trim. The work that holds flat for a decade when every step is right, and that wrinkles inside a year when the installer takes the knee-kicker-only shortcut on a room over 8 feet across.
Substrate Prep — Staple Pull and Damage Repair
Before any new pad goes down, the subfloor has to be clean. Old carpet staples come out with a staple puller. The subfloor vacuums down to bare plywood or concrete. Any visible damage — a soft spot from an old pet stain, a creaky board, a popped nail — gets fixed before the pad. On a re-carpet over an existing carpeted floor (where we are pulling the old carpet first), the carpet removal scope rolls into the install price; on a new construction or post-renovation install (where the subfloor is bare from the start), the substrate is usually ready with just a vacuum.
Tackless Strip Perimeter Layout
Tackless strip (a thin wood lath with pin nails angled inward) gets nailed along every wall in the room about 1/2 inch from the wall. The strip pins hold the carpet edge stretched and tucked into the gap between the strip and the wall. We use carpet nails on wood subfloors and hardened masonry nails on concrete. Strip layout follows the room shape with mitered corners at every wall change.
8-Pound Rebond Pad with Taped Seams
8-pound 7/16-inch rebond pad rolled out across the room with seams butted (not overlapped) and taped with carpet seam tape. The pad gets stapled to wood subfloors with a hammer tacker every 6 to 8 inches around the perimeter and at every seam. On concrete slabs the pad gets adhered with a carpet pad adhesive. Higher-density pad (10-pound for stairs, 12-pound for high-traffic finished basements) gets specced and line-itemed when the use case calls for it.
Carpet Stretch on a Power Stretcher — The CRI 105 Standard
The carpet rolls out across the room with the pile direction running consistently in one direction (toward the main light source on bedrooms). One edge tucks onto the tackless strip at the starting wall with a knee-kicker. The power stretcher then stretches the carpet across the field to the opposite wall, with the stretcher head braced against a temporary wall protector and the carpet pulled to the manufacturer-specified stretch percentage. Stretched carpet locks onto the tackless strip at the opposite wall and gets trimmed at the wall edge. Repeat for the perpendicular dimension. This is the CRI 105 standard and the difference between a carpet that holds for a decade and one that wrinkles in a year.
Seams Heat-Bonded with Hot-Melt Seam Tape
Where two pieces of carpet meet on the same field, the seam runs through hot-melt seam tape activated with a seam iron. The iron melts the adhesive on the tape; the carpet edges press into the molten adhesive while the iron is still in place; the seam cools and locks. The result is a seam that disappears visually and holds for the life of the carpet. Seam placement is planned during layout so seams run perpendicular to the room's main sightline and avoid high-traffic paths.
Perimeter Trim and Transition Detail
Carpet trimmed at every wall edge with a carpet trim knife and the edge tucked into the gap between the tackless strip and the wall. Transitions to hard-surface flooring at doorways get a carpet-to-hard-surface threshold strip — Z-bar for carpet-to-laminate or carpet-to-LVP, metal threshold for carpet-to-tile. Closet entries get a wider tackless strip and a tighter trim because the door clearance is tight.
How Carpet Installation Works
Seven sequential steps from on-arrival substrate prep through tackless-strip layout, pad install, carpet stretch on a power stretcher, seam heat-bonding, perimeter trim, and transitions — the sequence Handis runs on every CRI 105 carpet install.
Substrate Prep — Staple Pull and Vacuum
On a re-carpet, pull the old carpet, pad, tackless strip, and every staple from the subfloor (rolled into the carpet removal scope). On a new construction or post-renovation install where the subfloor is already bare, vacuum the substrate to bare plywood or concrete. Repair any subfloor damage (soft spots, popped nails, creaky boards) before the pad goes down.
Tackless Strip Perimeter Layout
Nail tackless strip along every wall in the room about 1/2 inch from the wall, with the pins angled inward toward the room center. Carpet nails on wood subfloors, hardened masonry nails on concrete. Miter corners at every wall change. Strip runs continuous around closets, with the trim notch for the door clearance.
Pad Install with Taped Seams
Roll out 8-pound 7/16-inch rebond pad (or higher-density per use case) with seams butted, not overlapped. Tape every seam with carpet seam tape. Staple the pad perimeter and seams to wood subfloors with a hammer tacker every 6 to 8 inches; on concrete, adhere with carpet pad adhesive. The pad has to lay flat with no ripples before the carpet goes down.
Carpet Layout and Pile Direction
Roll out the carpet across the room with the pile direction running consistently in one direction — toward the main light source on bedrooms so the pile reads uniform from the door, or along the long dimension on basements and great rooms to minimize seams. Plan seam placement perpendicular to the main sightline and away from high-traffic paths.
Power Stretch per CRI 105 Standard
Tuck one carpet edge onto the tackless strip at the starting wall with a knee-kicker. Set up the power stretcher with the head braced against a temporary wall protector at the starting wall and the foot pad at the opposite wall. Stretch the carpet to the manufacturer-specified stretch percentage and lock it onto the tackless strip at the opposite wall. Trim at the wall edge. Repeat the stretch for the perpendicular dimension.
Heat-Bond Every Seam with a Seam Iron
At every carpet seam, lay hot-melt seam tape adhesive-up under the joint. Run a seam iron along the tape until the adhesive melts. Press the carpet edges into the molten adhesive while the iron is still in place. Let the seam cool and lock. The seam should disappear visually and hold for the life of the carpet.
Perimeter Trim and Transitions
Trim the carpet at every wall edge with a carpet trim knife and tuck the edge into the gap between the tackless strip and the wall with a stair tool or trim tool. Install transition strips at doorways — Z-bar for carpet-to-laminate or carpet-to-LVP, metal threshold for carpet-to-tile, wood thresholds for carpet-to-hardwood. Vacuum the room and reset light furniture before leaving.
Carpet Installation Pricing
Final pricing depends on room square footage, carpet and pad cost (owner-supplied or Handis-sourced), substrate condition, number of seams, transition type, and whether furniture moving is in scope. Carpet and pad are line-itemed separately from labor on every quote. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Send us the room measurements and the carpet spec — we will quote the project with carpet, pad, and labor line-itemed separately.
Why Handis for Carpet Installation
The single most common failed carpet install we are asked to fix is the bedroom or family room where the original installer used a knee-kicker to stretch the carpet across the long dimension instead of a power stretcher. The knee-kicker is a tool meant for perimeters and small spaces; the power stretcher is the tool meant for any room dimension over about 8 feet. A knee-kicker install reads as wrinkles inside the first year — a ripple across the carpet at the closet door, a buckle in the middle of the floor under a piece of furniture, a stretch loss at the threshold to the hallway. The fix is a re-stretch on a power stretcher, sometimes a full pull and re-install if the carpet has been wrinkled long enough that the backing has set. Handis runs a power stretcher on every install over 8 feet in any dimension because it is the CRI 105 standard and the difference between a carpet that holds flat for a decade and one that ripples in eighteen months.
Power stretcher on every install over 8 feet in any dimension
The CRI 105 installation standard requires a power stretcher (not just a knee-kicker) on any carpet install where one room dimension exceeds 8 feet — which is every residential bedroom, family room, basement, and office. The power stretcher pulls the carpet to the manufacturer-specified stretch percentage across the field and locks it onto the tackless strip at the opposite wall. The knee-kicker is the perimeter and small-space tool. We run the power stretcher on every install over 8 feet because the shortcut install is what causes the wrinkles we get called to fix.
Real pad — 8-pound 7/16-inch rebond as the Handis default
8-pound 7/16-inch rebond pad as standard — exceeds most carpet manufacturer warranty requirements (which usually call for 6-pound minimum) and reads underfoot as more comfortable than the cheap pad. Higher-density pad (10-pound for stairs, 12-pound for high-traffic finished basements) gets specced where the use case calls for it. Memory-foam and frothed-foam pad available as upgrades. Pad spec is line-itemed on every quote so you see exactly what is going under the carpet.
Hot-melt seams heat-bonded with a seam iron
Every carpet seam runs through hot-melt seam tape activated with a seam iron — the adhesive melts, the carpet edges press in, the seam cools and locks. The result is a seam that disappears visually and holds for the life of the carpet. Seam placement is planned during layout so seams run perpendicular to the room's main sightline and away from high-traffic paths. We do not use the double-stick tape shortcut.
Carpet sourcing — owner direct or Handis-sourced, line-itemed on the quote
Owner-supplied from Pental, Carpet Liquidators, Great Floors, Floor & Decor, or online direct-buy. Or Handis-sourced from regional suppliers (Mohawk SmartStrand, Shaw Anso, Stainmaster PetProtect, Tigressa). Carpet and pad are line-itemed separately from labor on every quote. We tell you on the booking call which carpet lines fit which use case (wool loop for low-traffic bedroom, solution-dyed nylon for high-traffic family room, pet-stain-resistant for households with dogs) without pushing a brand.
One-year project warranty on the install
Handis carries general liability and workers' compensation; every technician has cleared a background screening. Our one-year project warranty covers the carpet stretch (no ripples or buckles within a year), the pad install (no pad migration or shrinkage), and the seams (no separation). The carpet manufacturer's stain and wear warranty stays with the product per their terms. If a Handis stretch fails inside the year we come back and re-stretch at no charge.
Estimate
Tell us the room(s), rough square footage per room, the carpet spec if you have one (product line, color, weight class), the pad upgrade if any (memory foam, higher-density rebond), and any furniture or substrate issues. Send phone photos if you can. We send a clear estimate with carpet, pad, and labor line-itemed separately.
Customer Reviews
Recent carpet installation reviews from verified Handis customers.
Master bedroom carpet replacement after the previous install had wrinkled within a year. Handis ran a power stretcher across the long dimension this time and the carpet has been dead flat for two years. They used 8-pound rebond pad and heat-bonded the single seam by the closet door — you cannot see it. The bedroom feels like a different room.
New construction install in the upstairs bedrooms. Three bedrooms plus the hallway, all owner-supplied Shaw Anso from a local supplier. Handis sequenced the install over two days, stretched each room with a power stretcher, heat-bonded the hallway seams. A year and a half in and everything still reads flat. Cleanest carpet install I have had in a residential home.
Family room carpet replacement after the previous install had developed a buckle in the middle of the room under the coffee table. Handis pulled the old carpet, did a deflection check on the subfloor (it passed), set new tackless strip, installed new pad, ran a power stretcher in both dimensions. The buckle is gone and the carpet reads flat.
Finished basement carpet install — 650 square feet of owner-supplied Stainmaster PetProtect over 10-pound rebond pad because we wanted the density for the dog traffic. Three seams across the field, all heat-bonded with a seam iron. You cannot see any of them. Two-day install, dead flat finish.
Home-office bedroom carpet swap — went from a high-pile shag to a lower-pile cut-loop for the video call audio. Handis pulled the old carpet, vacuumed the subfloor, installed new pad and the new carpet. The acoustics in the room are noticeably different and the carpet is flat. Quick one-day project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis residential carpet installation.