How to Install Indoor/Outdoor Carpeting on Your Porch

Installing indoor outdoor carpeting on your porch is not nearly as complicated as it sounds. Whether your porch is wood or concrete, the process is the same up until you have to secure the carpet to the surface. With the right tools, and some patience, you can dress up your porch to look its best with some new indoor outdoor carpeting.

Tools and Materials

• Industrial adhesive
• Staple gun
• Staples
• Utility knife
• Measuring tape
• Work gloves
• Safety glasses
• Knee pads
• Broom
• Hammer
• Concrete bags
• Nails
• Power saw
• Wood
• Concrete fill
• Coarse sandpaper
• Wrench

Step 1 - Preparing the Porch

If you have railings that are bolted to the porch, then use a wrench to remove them. Make sure you keep everyone else off the porch to prevent anyone from getting injured. You can keep these railings or you can choose to install new ones when the project is over.

Sweep the porch completely to remove all of the debris. If you have a wood porch that has some rough areas that have become rippled over the years, then use coarse sand paper to smooth those areas out. If there are holes or rotted boards on the surface of your porch then use a hammer to remove them, and then replace with new boards. If you have a concrete porch and it has holes bigger than a four inches in diameter, then fill them with concrete fill and wait for the fill to dry.

Step 2 - Cutting a Rug

Measure your porch floor with a measuring tape. Measure the complete floor from one end to the other. Apply those measurements to your indoor outdoor carpeting, and use a utility knife to cut the rug to size. Always make at least three measurements before applying them to your rug to be sure that you are cutting the rug to the correct size. If you have a helper with you then ask him to do measurements and compare the two.

If your porch is not a perfect square or rectangle, then measure it as though it were a square or rectangle and cut the rug to that size. When you install the rug, you will use your utility knife to cut out any different shapes in your porch.

Step 3 - Fitting the Rug

Before you can permanently apply your indoor outdoor carpeting to your porch, you need to fit it to the porch and make all of the necessary cuts.

Lay the rug on your porch and lay concrete bags on it to hold it in place. Any heavy objects will do, but be careful when using things like concrete blocks or bricks. The sharp edges could cut your rug, and someone could get injured using those items.

If you have porch posts that you can not remove, make cuts around them using a utility knife. Cut out any shapes in your rug that correspond to areas on your porch. Locate the bolt holes from your railings and cut small holes over them to make sure you can find them later.

If your rug is in two pieces, line up the seam at this point and be prepared to secure the seal first. When you are done with this step the rug should look like it is installed, but there is one more step to go.

Step 4 - Securing the Rug

If you have a wooden porch, you can use a staple gun to secure the rug in place. Staple along the seam first, and then work around the edge of the rug working out towards the edges. Place staples at various points in the middle of the rug to make sure it does not shift around.

For a concrete run, you will lift the rug at the seam and lay a bead of industrial adhesive along each side of the seam. Allow the seam to dry. Roll each section of the rug up towards the seam, and then place adhesive on the concrete porch. Then roll the rug out towards the outside edges of the porch until it is in place. If you have no seam, then choose one side of the rug to secure first with adhesive. Allow the adhesive to dry, roll the rug towards the secured part of the porch, lay down adhesive on the rest of the porch and then roll out your rug.