How To Ace
Outdoor Carpet Installation
Nowadays outdoor carpets come
in all shapes and sizes, but don't let that fool you into
thinking that there are also tons of different and difficult
ways to install the flooring.
The basic technique is easy to
learn, and if you follow this guide you will soon be installing
outdoor carpeting like a pro!
There are several tools that
you need to get for the installation, such as a utility knife,
scissors and a straight edge. You also need the right types of
adhesive and solvents to clean up.
The shop where you bought the
outdoor carpet, whether online or brick and mortar, can supply
you with all these materials.
Before you start, double-check
that the outdoor carpet you have is the right one for the job.
Humidity and sunlight are the major hazards for outdoor
carpeting, so if the are a of installation will be subject to
any of these, you need to make sure that you have the right
high-quality carpet.
Before you begin, divide up
the area where the carpet is to be installed into rectangular
areas, and clean up the first one thoroughly, removing any dust
and grime.
You should also unroll and lay
out the outdoor carpet somewhere else for a couple of hours, so
that it can breathe and expand before the
installation.
Put down a grid of
double-sided adhesive tape on the area to be carpeted. If the
outdoor carpet does not already come cut to size, you now need
to trim it.
Make sure that you leave some
extra carpet on the edges at this stage, as you will do some
more trimming later. Now lay down the outdoor carpet and ply
one half of it on top of the other.
Prepare the glue strips and
add the liquid adhesive. Make sure to follow the glue's
instructions carefully, as setting times, and thicknesses vary
between manufacturers.
Time to fix the outdoor carpet
to the floor. Take extra care to lay down the carpet smoothly,
so that you do not create any wrinkles and furrows on the
material. Make sure that the fitting with regards to walls and
other fixes obstacles is correct. Then repeat on the other
side.
Take off the covers from the
double-sided strips and add glue before fixing the outdoor
carpet. You have installed the first piece of
carpet!
If you hired a carpet roller,
use it now to fix the flooring to the ground. At this point,
you can trim the outdoor carpet edges of any extra fabric and
make sure that the whole floor covering fits neatly.
This is also the time to use
glue solvent to clean up any edges or blemishes. Do it now for
the area rather than later for the whole house, or the extra
glue will harden and make your work harder.
Repeat the process on the next
area to be carpeted, until all the outdoor carpet has been
installed. Where two pieces of carpet meet, the area can either
be sown together or covered with a special metal casing. You
will soon have a perfectly installed outdoor carpet!
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