How Long Does It Take to Install Carpet?

You have chosen the perfect carpet type and color for your home, so now you are finally moving on to think about installation. How long does it take to install carpet, anyway? While a carpet company will be able to give you the best estimate, you can use this guide to get a general idea of the project timeline.

Stages of Carpet Installation

The actual time frame will vary widely, based on what you are getting done. It may take less than a day or multiple days, but here are some general guidelines.

Preparatory stage

During the preparatory stage, you will need to remove all furniture from the rooms. This can take one to two hours for a couple of rooms, or two to four hours for multiple rooms. It also depends on the size of the rooms and how many items are in them. Anything particularly heavy will add to the time frame, including removing pianos, bookshelves, or safes. If you want to be very thorough, you should also remove any valuable artwork, wall hangings, or curtains to avoid accidents during installation. This will add more time.

Next, the installer will remove any existing flooring. If you have carpet, you can expect it to take one to two hours, while hardwood flooring removal takes three hours. If you have tile, you can expect tile floor removal to take eight to 12 hours per 100 square feet.

Finally, a professional installer will check if your wood or concrete subfloor is level. If there are any dips or peaks, it can take one to three days to fix, depending on how much work needs to be done. You are more likely to need your floor leveled if you have not installed flooring in the room before. However, your house may have settled over time, so you may need floor leveling even if you already have existing flooring.

Installation

Installing carpet in one room takes one to two hours for a typical job, while installing carpet in multiple large rooms can take two to four hours or longer.

A full house carpet installation can take four to six hours or longer, depending on the factors detailed below.

Factors That Affect Time to Install Carpet

Here are the main factors that can affect your carpet installation timeline.

Number of Rooms and Square Footage

You will want to consider how many rooms you are installing carpet in. If it is just one room, the carpet installers may be done in under two hours, assuming that you do not need any leveling or furniture removal. This time frame also assumes that your existing flooring is carpet, since carpet removal is the quickest to remove out of all flooring materials.

To get a general idea of how many hours it may take, multiply the number of rooms you are carpeting by one to two hours. For example, if you are installing carpet in four rooms, you can expect it to take four to eight hours.

Oddly Shaped Rooms

Installing carpet in square rooms is the easiest and therefore takes the least amount of time. However, your rooms may have diagonal walls, nooks, columns, or odd angles in the corners. Each of these room features will require your carpet installer to take extra time to properly trim your underlayment and carpet to size.

Carpet Type

The type of carpet you are using will also affect installation time. Generally, the higher the pile, the longer it takes to install. Plush carpets, like shag carpets, require extra time to cut and install because they are harder to work with, compared to low-pile carpets like berber.

Stairs

If you are carpeting a whole multi-story house, or if the room has a small flight of stairs, you should expect the project to take longer. Small stairs with a few steps can take an extra 30 minutes, while an entire flight of stairs may take an hour or longer to do.

Number of Installers

Depending on the project size, your carpet company may send a team of one to three people to help you get the job done. The bigger the team, the less time it will take. If you need the carpet installation done as quickly as possible, you may want to get quotes from different companies and choose one that is willing to send a bigger team to your house.

Tips for Preparing Your Home for Carpet Installation

Before you do anything to prep your house for carpet installation, carefully review the contract you have signed with the company. It should let you know what is included in the installation costs and what is not.

For example, some companies offer free furniture moving services, but they will not move anything that is extra heavy or fragile. This includes things like pool tables, china cabinets, aquariums, pianos, and safes. In these cases, you should arrange for movers to take care of the heavy lifting before the carpet company arrives.

You should also pay attention to decorative items that are on the walls. If you have any expensive paintings or wall hangings, it is best to move those out of the way.

Also, make life easier for your installers by making sure they have an easy way to access the rooms you need carpeted. Clear out any cluttered hallways so they can easily carry in all the necessary materials and tools.

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro

If you decide to do the carpet installation yourself, you can expect the process to take longer than if you hire a company to do it for you. Pros have experience, often work in teams, and have all the necessary tools to get everything done quickly.

On the other hand, you may be interested in doing a DIY job. Just know that improperly installed carpet can cause issues down the road like rippling, seams coming undone, or a bumpy floor. It may seem like a straightforward process, but installing carpet does have a small learning curve. If you do not have experience working with carpet or carpet installation tools, it can prove to be a difficult task.

To avoid any issues or frustration, you can hire carpet installers near you to do the job for you. That way, you know it will get done right the first time.

You can expect carpet installation costs to range between $3 to $11 per square foot, depending on the carpet type you choose. And of that cost, labor accounts for $0.50 to $1 per square foot. Labor can be as much as $2 to $3 per square foot for complicated installation jobs, including stairwells.