Carpet installation · Peoria, IL
Carpet installation in Peoria, IL: what happens from measure to move-in
Carpet installation in Peoria goes smoothest when you know what happens before, during and after install day. Most of the questions we hear in the showroom are not about color. They are about the day itself: what you need to move, what happens to the old carpet, and whether the stairs get done too. Here is the whole process, start to finish, so nothing on install day is a surprise.
Step 1: pick the carpet with your room in mind
Start with how the room is used, not just how the carpet looks. A family room with kids and a dog needs a different carpet than a guest bedroom. Bring a photo of the room and, if you can, a rough sketch with measurements. Take samples home and look at them in your own light, morning and evening. You can browse our carpet before you visit, and our carpet cost guide shows how a room is priced.
Ask about the pad at the same time. The pad under the carpet affects how it feels, how quiet it is and how well the carpet holds up. It is one of the few parts of the job you never see again, so it is worth a minute of questions now.
Step 2: the free in-home measure
Before anything is ordered, we measure your rooms in person, and the measure is free. A good measure does more than add up square feet. It plans where the seams go, which way the carpet runs, and how the pieces fit doorways, closets and stairs. That plan is why the amount you buy is usually more than the room's square footage. Carpet comes in rolls of a fixed width, and the layout has to work with that width so seams land in low-traffic spots instead of the middle of a walkway.
This is also the time to point out anything unusual: a squeaky spot in the floor, a step down into a sunroom, a floor vent, or a room where the doors already drag. If the new carpet and pad are thicker than what you have now, doors may need to be trimmed so they swing freely. Ask about it at the measure so it is part of the plan.
Step 3: getting your home ready
A little prep the week before keeps install day on schedule.
- Clear small items off floors, shelves and dressers in the rooms being carpeted. Breakables, lamps and anything on the walls near the floor should come out.
- Ask when you schedule how furniture will be handled, so you know what to move ahead of time.
- Unhook and move computers, TVs and their cords yourself.
- Plan for pets and kids to be somewhere else for the day. Doors stay open and tools are out.
- Make sure there is a clear path from the driveway to each room. Rolls of carpet are long and heavy.
- Take down floor-length curtains or tie them up so they don't get caught.
Step 4: install day
On install day the work typically goes in this order:
- Old carpet and pad come up. Tear-out and haul-away of your old floor are included in our installed price.
- The subfloor gets checked. Loose boards get screwed down and any staples or debris come out. This is the best chance to fix a squeak, because once the new carpet is down the floor is covered for years.
- Tack strip goes in around the edges of the room if the old strip is worn or damaged.
- New pad goes down, with its seams taped so it lies flat.
- The carpet is laid out, seamed and stretched. Stretching is the step that matters most. Carpet that is not stretched tight will ripple later, usually in the busiest part of the room.
- Edges are trimmed and tucked, transitions go in at doorways where carpet meets another floor, and the area is cleaned up.
Stairs take longer than you would guess, because each step is cut and fit by hand. If your project includes stairs, plan on extra time for that part alone.
You don't need to watch the whole job, but someone should be home at the start to walk through the rooms and at the end to look things over.
Step 5: the first few days
New carpet can have a smell for a few days. Open windows and run fans if you can. You may also see loose fibers on the surface at first. That is normal shedding on many cut-pile carpets, and it settles after the first several vacuumings. Wait to slide heavy furniture back across the carpet. Lift it instead, so you don't pull the new stretch out of place.
If you see a ripple, a seam that is easy to spot, or a transition that catches your toe, call us at (309) 233-0534. These are things to look at early, while the job is fresh.
Why installation matters as much as the carpet
Two homes can buy the same carpet and get very different results. The difference is almost always the install: where the seams are, how tightly it was stretched, and how the edges and stairs were finished. When you compare prices, compare the whole job, not just the price of the carpet itself. Our installed price includes the professional installation and the tear-out and haul-away of your old floor.
We install carpet for homes in Peoria, Peoria Heights, East Peoria, Dunlap, Morton, Pekin, Chillicothe, Washington and Canton. Start your flooring estimate online, or call (309) 233-0534 to set up your free in-home measure.