Getting Ready For Installation

Is the timing right?
If you want the most benefit, do carpet last - after the remodel; after painting; after the kids go back to school; after the Holidays, etc. It’s the same with combination installations like hard surface/carpet installations: CARPET ALWAYS COMES LAST!

Supplies you’ll need:
Dust masks, fans, plastic trash bags, broom & dustpan, waste basket, photos of detail work (stairs etc.) camera to take pictures, pair of pliers, sticky notes pointing to any paint that may not be completely cured.

Have your paperwork ready:
Your purchase invoice, your copy of the Consumer’s Installation Checklist, your copy of the Installation Agreement, two printouts of the Form: It Will Go Away Agreement.

Remove valuables to safe area away from work areas. Out of sight. Out of mind.

Remove doors if it was agreed during Meeting Of The Minds. It’s a wonderful gesture to have already removed doors for the installers; they’ll probably return the favor with extra attention to detail.

Vacuum the old carpet before removal. It may seem like a waste of time & energy but most of the stuff you vacuum up would otherwise end up in the air during the removal of the old carpet. Always wear a dust mask when vacuuming or sweeping and have one for every other person in the house.

Get Yourself Ready. Make sure everybody in the house is wearing shoes with hard soles. Have a jacket or sweater handy. Everyone should have a dust mask. Advise respiratory sensitive occupants to be gone during the install.

Provide an adequate supply of fresh air during and after installation. In general, follow the same common sense ventilation precautions used when painting, wallpapering, or renovating. Increasing fresh air flow through the home will reduce exposure to most chemicals released from carpet. Create a draft. Open windows and doors. Use fans. If you have a ventilation system, be sure it is in proper working order. Operate it during installation, and keep it running for 48 to 72 hours after the new carpet is installed. Allergy-prone or unusually sensitive individuals should avoid the installation area completely, especially while the old carpet is being removed and the new carpet is being installed, and for 48 to 72 hours afterward.

Temperature:
Winter months can pose a problem for installation as the colder temperatures and lower humidity cause carpet to contract and stiffen. According to the Installation Guidelines, carpet is supposed to be allowed to acclimate to the climate of the residence of installation for 48 hours. So much for theory. It’s seldom done this way. But you can at least keep the temperature near 70F and humidity at normal conditions, ~50% for 48 hours prior to installation. The installer may be able to store the material in a heated warehouse too. It’s too late to crank up the heat during the installation. You’ll just piss off the installers.

Don’t buy during the winter months unless the store agrees to warm up the carpet before installation. Otherwise they’ll use cold temperatures as and excuse for your wrinkles. They’ll go ahead and let you buy it in the dead of winter then wait until you complain to tell you that you should have waited. Even a well intentioned installer using his power stretcher will have problems stretching cold carpet. You might consider ‘soft-back’ carpets; they aren’t as affected by low temperatures.

There’s other installation related problems you need to be aware of. Read about them so they don’t happen to you. See Installation errors.

Detail work: Take photos of the stairs or any other detail areas and have prints ready so you can show him right when they begin to install the new carpet. That’s perfect timing.

Installers are supposed to come Prepared. Read what’s expected of them in the Installer's Checklist. If you’ve hired your own installer and let him take his own measurements and look the job over, then he probably won’t come unprepared. Use the Meeting of the Minds to work out all the details.

I love it when people call right after their installation and say, “Joe, you made such a big deal about nothing! It went real smoothly.” These are the people who stayed home and were prepared. It’s the people who don’t call that I worry about. I know they had problems. They’re just ashamed to admit it. They don’t call because they don’t want to hear that they were supposed to be there for the installation.