Carpet Installation near you

The underpad does more than add cushioning. It absorbs the impact of each step so the carpet's backing and fibres wear more slowly, adds warmth, dampens sound and gives the stretched carpet a stable layer to lie on. Common types include bonded foam made from recycled urethane, prime foam, rubber and denser fibre pads.

Thicker and softer isn't automatically better. A pad that is too plush lets the carpet flex with every step, which strains the seams and backing and can lead to ripples, and loop and Berber carpets usually call for a thinner, firmer pad. Carpet makers often specify the pad their warranty requires, so choose the two together, and ask about a pad with a spill-resistant film if you have pets or young children.

Bedrooms, family rooms, home offices and upstairs hallways are carpet's natural territory: rooms where you walk barefoot, sit on the floor or want quiet, and where water is rare. Kitchens, bathrooms, entrances and laundry rooms are poor choices, since water, grit and salty slush end up in the pad.

Basements are the hard case. A concrete slab can stay cool and damp, and a single flood from a failed sump pump or a sewer backup can soak carpet and pad beyond saving. Health Canada's guide on moisture and mould suggests considering removing carpet from basement floors, and says mouldy carpet and underpad should be cut out and thrown away. If you still want carpet downstairs, solve any dampness first, favour a synthetic fibre and run a dehumidifier in humid weather; otherwise, an area rug over vinyl or tile is easier to live with.

Carpet comes off rolls of fixed width, so the installer measures each room and draws a seam plan before ordering. The plan keeps the pile running the same way in every piece, allows extra for matching patterns and keeps seams out of doorways and main walking paths; seams also show less when they run toward the main window rather than across the light. Ask to see it, since it explains the quantity ordered.

On installation day, tack strips, thin wooden strips set with angled pins, are fastened around the room a small distance from the wall, nailed into wood or secured to concrete. The pad is laid inside them, and pieces are joined with heat-activated seam tape so the backing bonds and the seam blends into the pile. The carpet is then stretched tight with a power stretcher braced from wall to wall, hooked onto the strips and tucked into the gap at the baseboard.

Stretching is what keeps carpet flat. A knee kicker alone can't pull a room-sized carpet tight enough, and a loose carpet soon ripples, wears along the ridges and becomes a tripping hazard; many carpet makers call for power stretching in their instructions. Doorways get a transition strip to the neighbouring floor, and doors may need trimming if the new carpet and pad sit higher than the old ones.

Replacing carpet means lifting the old carpet and pad, pulling the tack strips and staples, and checking the subfloor before anything new goes down. It's the moment to screw down squeaky panels, replace any section softened by an old leak and seal pet urine that has soaked into the wood, since the odour can come back through new carpet. Ask whether removal, disposal and moving furniture are part of the quote.

In older homes, old carpet sometimes hides an earlier floor. According to Health Canada, asbestos turns up in building materials from before 1990, floor tiles among them, and the Quebec government names vinyl tiles, linoleum and adhesive coatings among floor coverings that may contain it. If sheet vinyl, tiles or black glue appear under the carpet in a house of that age, stop: don't scrape, sand or tear anything out, and have a sample tested. If it's positive, the old floor can sometimes stay undisturbed under the new covering, but removing it is work for a qualified asbestos abatement contractor.

New carpet, pad and any adhesive used on stairs or seams can give off a smell for a while. Health Canada notes that some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can cause headaches, dizziness and eye, nose and throat irritation, lists glues and adhesives among products to use with extra ventilation, and advises choosing low-emission products when possible. Ask the installer about lower-emission carpet, pad and adhesive, and air the rooms well while the smell lasts; in winter, run the bathroom fans, range hood or ventilation system if opening windows isn't practical.

Loose fibres shedding from new cut-pile carpet are normal and fade with regular vacuuming. A tuft standing above the rest should be snipped level with scissors, never pulled, and a snagged loop is trimmed the same way. Keep the maker's care guide and the installation invoice for the warranty.