Tackless carpet installation is one of the most common types of carpet installation methods, but it can be confusing to figure out exactly what it is.
Tackless carpet installation refers to installing carpet using tackless strips, which are slim pieces of wood with tacks on top placed around the perimeter of a room.
But what exactly are the differences between tackless carpet installation and other types of carpet installation, and which method is the best? Let’s have a closer look at the types of carpet installation to find out.
Why Is A Tack Strip Called Tackless?
The most confusing aspect of tackless carpet installation is that tacks are actually involved.
Tack is another word for nail and there are sometimes hundreds of nails on a ‘tackless strip’, but the key here is that the nails are on top of the strip and pointed towards the wall, not underneath. These are used to secure the carpet in place when it is stretched during installation.
So, the ‘tackless’ aspect actually means that tacks – or nails- are not needed to secure the tack strips into the floor. Instead, the tacks are found on top of the tack strip itself – so a tack strip does contain tacks but can be called tackless if no tacks are used to secure the strip to the ground itself.
Pretty confusing, right?
Types of Carpet Installation
Tackless installation is not the only way that a carpet can be fitted. Let’s take a look at each method to get a better idea of how carpets can be fitted and what type is best for different situations.
Stretch In
Stretch in carpet installation is what we call ‘tackless’ carpet installation and involves placing tack strips around the perimeter of a room.
Once these are in place a carpet pad is fitted to provide cushioning and to level the carpet that is to be fitted above it. Once the pad is in place the carpet is then stretched (hence the name) and fitted onto the tack strips which keep it in place.
This is the most common type of carpet installation in residential homes as it is easy to do and also easy to remove if you decide to change carpet or flooring type in the future.
Cut To Fit
Cut to fit installation is the most simple and straightforward type of carpet fitting.
A contractor will simply measure the dimensions of your room and then cut a piece of carpet to fit those dimensions, with the carpet placed on top of the floor and not secured to it. This has clear disadvantages, such as the fact that the carpet is not secure and can move around with ease, but it is useful in some cases.
Cut to fit can be used for areas such as bathrooms where you want to be able to easily remove the carpet to clean underneath. It’s also useful if you are renting and are not allowed to fit new carpet but want to have the same feel.
This type is probably the least common method of installing carpet and is more of a temporary measure.
Glued Down
Glued down installation is straight to the point – the carpet is simply glued straight onto the floor.
The glued down method is very simple and similar to cut to fit, with the extra stage of glueing the carpet to secure it to the floor. This method is very common for commercial settings because there is less room for the carpet to become worn and damaged as it will not move when there is traffic on it.
There is also double glue down carpet installation, where a carpet pad is glued into place first and then the carpet glued on top of that. This provides a more comfortable floor as the padding beneath provides cushioning.
Final Thoughts
Tackless carpet installation isn’t technically tackless, it simply refers to when no tacks are used underneath the tack strips to secure them to the floor.
We know how confusing this can be, but we hope that this article has cleared up some of the confusion! If you have any other questions regarding this topic then don’t hesitate to let us know here!