How Long Does A Carpet Install Take?

It’s time for you to install a new carpet in your living room or maybe you’ve moved to a new place. Whatever it is, the question is how long is that going to take? And it’s a fair question because you won’t be able to use the entire room until you get the new carpet installed. 

A typical installation can take about 72 hours 52 minutes and 24 seconds. Jk!

On average, it takes between 2 to 6 hours to install carpet in a standard-sized room. But you can expect the job to take one or two days, especially if you have several rooms to cover. 

It’s great to have some basic understanding of the process if you need to change the carpet in your home or home office. In this article, let’s discuss the several factors involved in installing carpet and why it’s best to leave the job to a professional.

The amount of time it takes for carpet installation mainly depends on the following factors:

1. The carpet installation timeline or size of the project
2. Size and shape of individual rooms and stairs
3. Type of carpet
4. Removal of furniture
5. Removal of any existing carpet
6. Efficiency of the installation guys

Understand the carpet installation timeline

For starters, have a look at the total square footage of the project and ask these questions.

How many rooms and what size? You may even measure the room. What kind of furniture is sitting in those rooms and how easy or hard is it to remove that furniture from there? Do you have an existing old carpet or some other kind of flooring? And finally, ask yourself if you want to DIY or hire a crew for professional installation.

Asking these questions will surely help you anticipate how long it’s going to take to install carpet in a single room.

Size and shape of the room and stairs

The size and shape of the room are key factors that determine the time taken in the carpet installation process. If you have perfectly square rooms, it typically takes one day or less to get a carpet installed. Because it’s relatively easier and hence quicker to install a carpet as compared to a distinctive size and shape, which will definitely lengthen your carpet installation timeline.

So if you do have an irregular-shaped space in your house, it’s unfair to expect a quick installation. Irregular-shaped rooms will definitely take more time to install the new carpet.

P.S. Stairs are a difficult place to install a carpet and have many factors involved in even choosing a carpet for stairs. So, stairs will take longer than the time it takes to install carpet in a room.

Since most rooms are not perfectly square or rectangular, carpets often need to be cut and pieced together to fit the space correctly. Your new carpet must not show visible seams. This can be achieved by carefully matching the pattern and color of the carpet at the seams, ensuring that the seams are properly aligned, and using the appropriate seam method for the type of carpet being installed. Properly installed carpet seams can provide a seamless and professional-looking finish to the installation. One more reason for you to give a professional take to install the carpet.

Type of carpet

Another factor that can impact installation time is the type of carpet being installed. Some carpets require more time and care to install properly than others.

For example, a carpet with a complex pattern or design will require more precision and care during installation than a plain, solid-colored carpet. Similarly, a carpet with a thick pile or heavy backing will require more time to cut and lay, which can take more time to install. 

What to do with the furniture?

This part is dreadful, especially if you’ve put expensive furniture in your home and you’re very particular about your furnishings. As moving your furniture can make your heart skip a beat. And anyone would feel that way as you decorate your home with so much love and care. But, a new carpet is going to make your place look from drab to fab.

You can try moving all the furniture to one side of the room, finish the job on that side and rearrange to cover the other side. But, this process is not recommended, especially if you want a fantastic-looking carpet installed with perfection. You don’t want to waste all the effort. Plus, it will also take more people and energy to move things around again and again. So, it’s best to move the furniture to another room. 

Pro tip here is to move lightweight items and loose belongings before you do anything at all to save time. If you’ve hired a professional crew, they can do that for you, if you’re able to spend. But if you want to get the job done as quickly as possible and may as well save your money, then it’s best to move your furniture and remove everything else before your carpet crew arrives. 

Prepare the floors

Another factor to estimate carpet installation time is the condition of your floor. You must prepare the floor before the actual installation. If you have to remove the old carpet or flooring it’s obviously going to increase the time it takes to lay carpet, depending on what type of flooring you currently have and how much space needs to be updated.

If you’ve hired a professional, it’ll take significantly less time as they have all the required tools and experience to make the installation much quicker. Again, if you’re doing it yourself, it’s going to take much longer.

Another important step in carpet installation is to make sure the floor is level before you install any padding and carpet. A subfloor that is uneven, damaged, or poorly prepared may require additional time and effort to level, repair, or replace before the carpet can be installed.

Also, do not stretch the carpet to cover all areas, make sure your carpet is just the right size, as this will cause wrinkles and affect the overall look and feel of the room.

Carpet installer: DIY vs Professional installers

As in other areas, outsourcing an experienced professional significantly saves time, money and resources to get any job done.

Experienced and highly skilled carpet installers are able to work quickly and efficiently, completing installations in less time than less experienced installers. They are also able to identify and address potential problems or challenges quickly and effectively, minimizing delays and ensuring a smooth installation process.

Efficient carpet installation professionals have a number of tools and techniques at their disposal to help streamline the installation process. For example, they use specialized tools and equipment to stretch and secure the carpet, ensuring a tight and smooth finish. They also use high-quality adhesives and materials to ensure that the carpet stays in place and looks great for years to come. In short, the quality of the fitting depends on how well you know professional carpet installation.

But first of all, they have to be on time. Not everyone shows up at 8:00 am in the morning. So if their day starts 1:00 pm in the afternoon, you can figure out how long it will take. The later you start, the longer it will take. Simple.

But hey, if you have some experience, and the required tools and really do enjoy DIY and love using your own hands to fix everything at home, then definitely go for it! Install your new carpeting yourself. This will likely take longer to install, BUT if you think “My carpet needs me” and that’s something you enjoy and will be satisfied with. You must do it!

Inspect, Inspect, Inspect & Clean

Once your carpet is installed, take a look around before you let the professionals pack up and leave. Have a final walk-through with their team to ensure your carpet is properly installed. Check all corners and make sure the carpet is flat stretched on the surface, there’s no carpet glue showing, bumps or wrinkles, and the carpet is properly trimmed and secured around the edges.

Also make sure to clean up all materials left over after the installation process, even better to vacuum the carpet to leave it nice and clean. The installation team might as well do this for you.

Feeling good now as everything’s done and looks great? Wait it out, it’s time to bring back the furniture in place. It’s recommended to wait 24 hours before bringing the furniture onto a freshly stretched carpet, to let it settle and prevent any damage.

It’s important to communicate with your installer and discuss any challenges or concerns you may have about your specific space to make the carpet installation process smooth and efficient.

Conclusion

We hope that’s covered all you might want to know about how long it can take to install carpet.

The total square footage, size, shape of rooms and stairs, type of carpet, choosing if you want to install your own carpet or hire a professional, your furniture, and your floor all together define how long carpet installation will take.

Will you try installing your new carpet yourself?

Happy carpeting! 🙂

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