Carpeting concrete floor with foam pad

Hey, so I've been building myself a room in my basement for a while now and I'm finally getting around to the carpeting phase.. I've never done any carpet work before so I was hoping to get some feedback and tips on how to go about this.

I plan on gluing a 1/4in foam pad down on the entirety of the concrete minus the edges where i was going to install concrete tack strips by pre-drilling holes and nailing down with plastic-insert concrete nails as well as liquid nailing the strips. Does this sound like an effective way to go about it? or perhaps overkill? if there's a simpler method I'm all ears.

I'm not sure how to install the carpet itself on the tack strips, I've heard about having to use a carpet stretcher or something of sorts?

Any additional info/help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

Welcome to the forums! I would not glue down the padding, since you will be changing the carpet due to water damage in a few years (possibly). It will only make removal more difficult and will not help keep it down. Tack strips for concrete use concrete nails and require no pre drilling or inserts or screws.

Carpeting will need to be stretched from all sides and fastened to the tack strips. You can use a knee kicker type stretcher or the bar type, the latter of which would be easier on your body.

I would do a moisture test on the floor first by taping a 3' x 3' piece of clear plastic to the bare floor for a few days. If you get water droplets on the plastic, you may want to opt for tile.

 

If you use any glue on the pad, buy some pad glue. Only use a little spread around the edges and use pad tape on the seams. To be honest, I don't think you know enough about installation to do it. Google carpet installation and read everything you can and watch every video you can find.