Fitting Your Carpet
Before You Fit Your Carpet
There’s a time and a place for everything, and fitting carpet is no exception. Wait until any building, refurbishment, or decorating is complete, then ensure the conditions are right.
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Comply with British standards
According to the British Standards Code of Practice – BS CP 102, BS 5325, and supplementary specifications, your working area must be clean, fully enclosed, weather-tight, and heated to 18°C (64.5°F) for 72 hours before fitting any floor coverings. You also need to ensure the room is well-ventilated when using adhesives.
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Prepare the floor surface
Check that the surface is dry. A concrete proctor should give a maximum moisture reading of 5.5%, and hygrometer tests should show a maximum relative humidity of 75%. If you don’t get these readings, primers, sealers, and adhesives may take longer to dry, or not dry properly at all. The excess moisture may indicate the need to install a suitable damp-proof membrane.
If the surface is dusty or porous, you’ll need to seal it.
If it’s an uneven or worn wooden floor, replace or patch level any floorboards as necessary, then cover them with flooring-grade hardboard (rough side up) or plywood. Position the sheets with staggered joints, and nail them at 100-150mm (4-6”) intervals. Prime them, and ensure the surface is now smooth, flat, firm, and free from all contaminants. For more detailed information, please refer to the CFA Manual for the Installation of Textile Floor Coverings.
If you’re laying carpet over a base of wood blocks, you need to be very careful. Dampness from the ground, as well as loose, uneven, or unsound blocks, can cause problems. If you have any doubts about these issues, you’ll need to replace the blocks – or better still, remove them and repair the base. Some people attempt to create a level surface with fabricated underlays, but hammering staples or nails into the blocks often fractures them; therefore, we don’t recommend this method.
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Don’t lay new coverings over old ones
All kinds of carpet, vinyl and other soft floor coverings are unsuitable surfaces for laying new carpet or carpet tiles. You’ll need to take them up and prepare the surface as described above.
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Get advice on unusual conditions
It may simply be impossible to achieve the conditions we’ve described so far, or there may be something unusual about the site where you need to fit the carpet. If so, it’s essential that you talk to us before proceeding. Please get in touch with our technical department at +44 (0) 1924 262525 or email technical@burmatex.co.uk. We’ll provide you with any advice we can, but we cannot take responsibility for any problems you may encounter when conditions are not ideal.
Carpet Tiles
First, a few things to check
- Ensure all the tiles are from the same batch by checking the batch or dye numbers.
- DO NOT lay different batches together on the same floor.
- Unpack the tiles and condition them for at least 48 hours in the room where you’ll be fitting them.
- Check that you have the right adhesive. In busy areas, such as around photocopiers and coffee machines, or where there are castor chairs or filing cabinets, you’ll need to use a suitable release or permanent bond adhesive.
- In areas where spillages may occur, it’s best to use Burmatex® barrier tiles.
- Switch off any underfloor heating at least 48 hours before and after you apply the adhesive.
- Don’t lay carpet tiles over any underfloor heating where the temperature exceeds 27°C, or on concrete treated with oil-based chemicals.
Then fit the tiles
- Plan the installation carefully. Draw a chalk line down the centre of the area or from a doorway.
- Find the centre point and draw a line at a right angle to the first, as shown in this diagram.
- Lay one row of tiles along each leg or cross.
- If necessary, redraw the chalk lines so there’s at least half a tile border along each wall.
- Using a V-notched trowel (1/16” x 3/16”) for F3 and F44, or a brush for F41, apply the adhesive evenly over the whole area.
- Allow the adhesive to dry for 30 minutes or longer, depending on the humidity and temperature.
- Working outwards from the centre of the cross, lay the tiles in position, pressing firmly to ensure they stick correctly to the surface.
- When fitting tiles at the edge of the room, butt one tile against the skirting, and position the tile to be cut exactly on top of the one immediately behind it, overlapping the butted-up one. Where this crosses, mark and cut the top tile. This will then fit the required space exactly. However, the tiles should be firmly together, but be careful not to compress them against each other.
- Many of our carpets can be laid tessellated at 90° to each other or broadloom. Some we recommend should only be tessellated. If unsure, call our technical department on
- +44 (0)1924 262525, email our team on technical@burmatex.co.uk or check the specifications for each product individually.
Carpet in Rolls
First, a few things to check
- Ensure the rolls are from the same batch by checking the batch or dye numbers.
- Check that you have the right adhesive (see the table on the back pages).
- Switch off any underfloor heating at least 48 hours before and after you apply the adhesive.
Then fit the carpet.
- Remember to lay all carpet rolls with adjacent pieces in the same direction.
- Cut the carpet to the required length, plus 5cm (2 inches).
- Lay the first piece lapping up the side and end walls.
- Lay the next joining edge in the same way, making sure there’s an overlap of 5cm (2”) on each seam. Continue this way until you’ve covered the whole floor.
- Fold back the length of all pieces and, holding the trowel at a 60° angle, spread the adhesive evenly to within 20cm (8”) of the seam over an area that can be covered within the open time.
- Place a straight edge along the centre of the overlap, and cut through both pieces with a sharp knife, removing the surplus.
- Lift the edges of both pieces, apply adhesive, lay the carpet, and roll it thoroughly with a 68 kg (150lb) roller.
