Which Side To Lay Carpet Padding

This is the side that faces up.

Which side to lay carpet padding.

It is a question that gets asked a lot. Whether it s cushioned back carpet for a basement or plush carpet and pad for a living room here is some general information to help you understand how to lay carpet in place. For corners and alcoves where the power stretcher can t reach use the knee kicker and stair tool. If you re installing over wood floors the moisture barrier goes up to prevent spills from soaking into the padding.

Most carpet padding consists of polyurethane foam the same stuff that s in furniture mattresses and even car seats. The reason for this smooth side is so that the carpet can easily slide across the pad when installing it. Now it is time to install the carpet pad. It serves a number of uses such as insulation acoustics support and comfort.

Carpet typically comes in 12 foot widths which makes a roll of carpet heavy and hard to handle even for an average sized room of 12 feet x 12 feet. Carpet with attached padding is a project most diyers are comfortable doing creating an even bigger savings by skipping installation fees altogether. Carpet padding is usually a foam underlayment specifically designed for installation under broadloom carpet. At one big box home retailer recent prices for a roll of carpet padding ranged from 50 19 per square foot for a recycled foam padding with a density of 5 to about 300 1 11 per square foot for a top quality memory foam padding with a density of 10.

Carpet padding is typically sold in rolls containing 270 square feet of padding. If in doubt ask your carpet salesperson and don t be embarrassed. Lay out the carpet pad perpendicular to the direction you plan to install the carpet image 1 and staple it near the tackless strips with a staple hammer image 2. Some carpet paddings have a webbing or moisture barrier coating on one side.

In this video i share a few quick tips on how to install carpet padding and which side of the carpet padding goes up. Carpet with padding takes less time to install than padding and carpet separately and it takes less tools.