Dave wrote:
PC Paul wrote:
Hi

A friend has asked me if I can put a bit of carpet down in her
hallway. It's an awkward space with an L bend, 6 doors off it, an
alcove etc. Currently it's got several overlapping rugs covering the
lino, and
has had for years. She's not lookign for a gold plated job, just
very cheap and good 'enough'. The new carpet is a foam backed offcut

I've laid carpet and vinyl in simpler spaces no problem, already got
a big stanley knife (and hooked blades if needed).

Any tips for doing it right first time?

If the carpet is definitely large enough to cover the L shaped floor,
the first job is to lay the carpet down in the longest leg of the L,
ensuring that the outside edge follows the wall parallel and then
make a diagonal cut at the inside of the L, so that the carpet will
go round the corner. This will result in both inside legs of the L having
quite a large amount to cut off. Don't be tempted at this point to
cut off that part of the carpet that is bunched up on the inside of
the L.
Now check that the carpet overlaps all walls that it has to be cut to,
including any deep doors. Ensure that the carpet, where it goes around
the corner is flat on the floor. You can now rotate/move the carpet if
you find that there is not enough to fill the short L shape. If all is
not fine at this point, you can move the carpet so that the diagonal
cut is away from the wall. If all is fine, then rough cut the large amount
off that I mentioned earlier. You should end up with at least an
overlap/excess all around every wall and door opening of about 3
inches (75 mm).

The next phase is to make the cuts from the edge of the wall/door
opening that are at 90 degrees from the wall door opening (That is
towards you). Make any deep cuts so that you have some overlap. e.g..
You are looking at a wall with a door in it and the carpet has to go
towards the door opening. Cut the left hand side so that at the edge
of the carpet that sticks through the door is cut too far to the left
inside the doorway, but is accurate at the edge of the door frame
nearest to you. Depending on the cross section of the door frame, you
may have to make several cuts. You will end up with long pieces of
overlap and lots of strips around door frames. When you are satisfied,
do a final trim.

Now all you have to do is cut the carpet along the L shape. As far as
the walls go, I would fold the carpet towards you, look at the bend
radius and mark the backing of the carpet with a pen every 3 inches
and trim it too that line. If you err on the side of a tiny excess
(use scissors for cutting this), then you can go back and re-cut, or
you might be able to tuck the edge under the skirting board if there is a
gap (Use a narrow scraper to do this). Once you get the balance right,
you should be able to quickly trim all the other edges to fit. Facing
the wall, you should now be cutting left to right. Just make sure that
the carpet does not creep as you fit it, or it will not look right
when the job is done. Measure and check for alignment twice or more and
cut once.
HTH

Enjoy the meal

Dave

Brilliant, thanks.

I can do the meal bit. The rest only time will tell ;-)