I’m building a layout in my garage and I wanted to put some cheap carpeting down over the concrete floor. Does anyone have any advice on how to do this? Can I do it myself? If so, what tools/supplies other than the carpet would I need? Any advice appreciated. Thanks.
Brad
Brad, go to your local Home Depot and get some cheap carpet from the carpet machines. Get a piece of Felt pad and put the carpet down. You can use tack strips if you want it permant, if not use double sided tape
let me know if you need more help
Josh
One thing to remember with carpeting is that if you drop drop that little 2-56 screw into it, you may never find it again… There are pros and cons to carpeting the layout space. In favor of it is that carpet is a lot easier on the feet than concrete. I would advise that you get a very close napped industrial type of carpet that will not let fine parts dissapear as easily.
Brad, I epoxy painted my garage floor and then went to Lowe’s and bought close napped carpet runners to put in the walkways. This way I can pull them up and out of the way if I have to do some “dirty work” like plastering and etc.
CHEAPER TOO! [:D]
REX
Carpet will absorb more sound than concrete, so the room will be quieter.
While it may be hard to find that 2-56 screw and impossible to find the Kadee knuckle spring, the carpet may save a car or engine that leaves the tracks and “falls off the edge of the world.” With carpet, it may still break into a few pieces, or lose a coupler or grab-on, but it won’t be a hopeless pile of plastic chips.
If you go to alot of places you can get these 2’x2’ foam blocks that connect together. They are nice on the feet and you can connect them together to make it fit anywhere. Much easier to do than Carpet. Probably cheaper too
Look around town for a motel recarpeting thier rooms, that is where we got a whole bunch of carpet for our whole club building. and for the perfect price too, FREE!
I prefer the carpet with foam pad attached. Easier to lay. I have a very course weave (It was my wife’s music room) and I find I can find things. It is very light colored and its comfort on my feet more tham makes up for the lost springs. I layed chunks of wool plush in my garage under the wood shop and though it gets dirty, that has worked well. No pad. Got it from a dumpster.
I too have an addition I added to my 3 car garage that is 20 by 24, poored all the concrete myself and built the structure then! I ended up using epoxy on the whole thing and using carpet runners in the path ways. Works great for me, but everyone has to make up there own mind how the want it done, to each his own.
You might want to rethink the cheap carpet idea. When I built my house last year I was able to finish a little over 1100 sq ft over my garage for my train room. I installed cheap builders grade carpet and have regreted it eversince. The cheap stuff I got has a tendency to lose fibers (like your car carpet does) and has created a headache for me. I could have gotten what is in the rest of the house for just a little bit more per yd.
Mike in Tulsa
Mike,
I’m also here in Tulsa, E-mail me if you want,
Bob
Indoor-Outdoor carpeting with a pad underneath is very durable and should be reasonably priced. Because it is not a deep pile, it’s easier to see dropped screws and other tiny parts. I haven’t shopped around lately, but remember that self-sticking carpet squares used to be available.
Thanks for all the tips on this. This past weekend I went out and bought a felt pad and carpet from Home Depot and am about halfway through laying it using double-sided tape. Total cost for a 10x20 garage was about $250 ($60 for pad, $140 for carpet, $50 for tape).
Everything went smoothly until my wife dropped the carpet while unloading it from the car and it slid down the rear side of the car, scratching a lot of paint off which will probably double my all-in cost of the project. Next time, I’ll have them roll the carpet with the plush side out rather than the scratchy side. Better to get the carpet a little dirty than damage my car.
I had a professional come in and carpet my train room before i started the layout…i used the industrial carpet that you find on the floor in most businesses…very short pile so that if i miss the drop cloth with paint or plaster, it’s a snap to clean up…it cost me about $500 and they did an excellent job…I really do like the carpet too…it gives the room a bit more of a cozy feeling, cuts down on the noise, and saves my feet and knees from the pain I get when I stand on concrete for too long…(it’s an old guy thingy but you’ll be there someday [:D] ) chuck
I started in the garge without carpet and eventually ended up in the basement with carpet. Much easier with the carpet. Easier on the knees and back. Not nearly as cold. However, it was much easier to sweep up the garage than vaccum the basement. In the end, I like the carpet better.
While I was building my house, there was a construction dumpster out in front for a while. Some unscrupulous carpet layer dumped a load of used carpet on my lot. The sucker didn’t throw it in, he just left it on the ground. Making the best of a bad situation, I brought the chunks in and spread it out over the concrete. I’ve been moving it around and cutting it up for the last 6 years. Eventually it will find the trash, but it has literally “saved my butt” many times. Knees too.[swg]
I will install new carpet when the scenery is done.
I prefer carpet tiles they got a rubber back to them and a short pile plus i got them free from a building that was demoing them out I figured i would save some space in the landfill
dark
Everyone who has walked into my train room (fmly the garage) has appreciated the indoor/outdoor carpet (cheapest stuff at Home Depot) I laid down… on top of the 8lbs padding. 6lbs and 8lbs were the same price, so I went with the better stuff.
And you don’t lose screws in the indoor/outdoor stuff - it’s too tight a weave. I don’t know where I lost that paper bag full of drywall screws, but it wasn’t into the carpet…
Ditto that. Go to HD and get the cheapest indoor-outdoor they have. It will be a very tight “berber” style rather than cut, and only the tiniest of tiny parts will get into it. It will cut sound and make life nicer for da feet too. If you’re laying it over concrete consider using double-sided tape or adhesive rather than “tackless” strips. It’s easier, holds up fine, and less “permanent” should you ever want to change.
I’d absolutely not use “pile” carpet (i.e. the kind where the loops are trimmed and there are individual strands). You want the “loop” stuff for this sort of usage.
Read thru the post and yes carpet would be good on the concrete floor only suggestion that I would make would be go with a good grade of carpet tiles, reason is that if someone is not carefull and spills or drops something and you get it stained it is easy to just pull it out and replace that tile instead of living with it or pulling it all out. One other thing is if you are using any adhesive to attach the tiles to the floor spend the $8 for a PH test kit. If the ph reads 9 or higher you will have an adverse reaction and will ruin the carpet. I work for Lowes as a flooring specialist and deal with this stuff every day.