Installing carpet w/o attached pad onto a concrete floor?

Question

I am installing carpet in my basement on a concrete floor. My plan was to install tack strip, lay down pad upto the tack strip and then lay the carpet over that. Am I going down the right path or is there a better way to do it. I know this is how you would do it with a regular wood floor underlayment but I am unsure about concrete. Do I need to tape down the pad to the floor or can it just float under the floor? I am just wanting to confirm what to do before I go and do it. Thanks!

Answer 1

Houses without basements install padding and carpet on a concrete slab all the time. The only difference here is you are below grade. Before installing your padding and carpet duct tape a small sheet of plastic sheeting to the floor. After a couple of days check for condensation on the plastic. If there is none you are good to go. If there is, simply install a vapor barrier before the padding (the tack strip will hold it in place). If the home is not too old a vapor barrier was probably laid before the concrete was poured.
Sometimes you find padding stapled to wood floors or glued to concrete. Kathleen G. is right, this is not necessary if the carpet is stretched properly.

Answer 2

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Installing carpet w/o attached pad onto a concrete floor?
I am installing carpet in my basement on a concrete floor. My plan was to install tack strip, lay down pad upto the tack strip and then lay the carpet over that. Am I going down the right path or is there a better way to do it. I know this is how you would do it with a regular wood floor...

Answer 3

Hey man, yeah i'd just glue the carpet straight to the floor if it's just ya basement.. But if your keen on stretching your carpet with tack strip, then you'll have to glue your tack strip down with some pretty mean adhesive, we use this stuff called gorilla glue for concrete floor and you only use a really thin strip of it and it holds like **** to blanket.. Or you can use a 5mm masonry bit on a hammer drill, and fit your tack strip with 5mm RAMSET plugs.. You will need to tape your underlay (pad) down to the floor if you want to save frustration when fitting your carpet, because as you move/stretch the carpet over top of it, the underlay will move around underneath.. Hope that helps!!

Answer 4

I have carpet (thick pile) and padding (1/2", 6#) "loose laid" (without tack strip) in all my bathrooms and it has been there for years with out any problems. The reason I had it loose laid is in case the toilet over flows, I can easily take the carpet and pad outside and clean it off. And I do not need to wear slippers to the bathroom when it is cold.

Answer 5

I think you'll be just fine not attaching the pad to the floor as long as you secure the tack strips and stretch the carpet well. We do it in Florida on slab all the time! Good Luck!

Answer 6

well im not a carpet installer, but I think it would be better to use some kind of glue. You could always go to Lowes or HomeDepot and ask someone that works in the carpet department. They are always very helpfull.

Answer 7

Use a quality carpet adhesive available at your local carpet store.

Answer 8

I would put a vapor barrier down first.

Answer 9

I don't think that this is true

Answer 10

Was asking myself the same thing