I had a leak under my daughter's room floor. That is where the plumbing is. Anyway, we are replacing the whole floor with 3/4" plywood and then I was going to lay carpeting down. Since there is nothing under where the new floor will be but the ground how would I go about laying a carpet down? Should I glue it down (because I have no clue on how to stretch and put down a carpet) or should I put plastic under the carpet just in case my piping leaks again. I am so confused. Her room is 8'5"x10'4". How many square feet is that and how much carpeting would I need? Also what kind of padding would I use and do I really have to stretch it? Sorry for all the questions but this I do not know about at all. Thank you in advance.

 

If your not sure about a stretch in installation, you should think about a double stick installation.

You glue the double stick padding down, then glue the carpet to the padding. Only thing is to do a proper double glue, you need to be sure to get a carpet with a high pick secondary backing

Gluing the carpet to the subfloor is an option but there will be no cushion and have a hard feel.

If you glue anything down, you need to think about a moisture barrier from the underside of the manufactured home. Not for future leaks, but from ground moisture vapor emissions that can cause problems with the adhesives.

Stretch in installations can be DIY installation, given your hand skills and the ability to catch on quickly, because one mistake can make it look terrible, or not last very long.

 

You will need a piece of carpet that is 9 feet long. Most carpet comes in 12 foot widths although you can find the occasional 15 footer.
My recommendations: from your tone and questions I am guessing you are really trying to prevent calling in a professional(sorry CDW - I live in Amish country where they want to do everything themselves)
I agree with CDW about laying a moisture barrier - not because your plumbing will go again....but because the ground does "sweat". There are barriers you can buy but my recommendation is go to your local home improvement type store and get the moisture barrier that is used under a Pergo (or other laminate floring) installation. This is not very expensive.
"Kicking" carpet in CAN be a nightmare, it is one of the reasons you do not see many 50 yr. old carpet installers - - it is extremely hard on the body. If you do not stretch the carpet it will eventually ripple, you may be able to rent a kicker from that same home improvemant store.
Whatever you do....
good luck and remember, it wasn't your spouse (or kids, or dog) that hit your thumb with the hammer!

 

First let me say a knee knicker is not a tool that is used to properly stretch carpets!!!!!
Only the uneducated, corner cutting Hacks, that rip the customers off of their hard earned money, used knee kickers to try to stretch the carpet to industry specifications. It will never happen. I want to see someone get 1½% stretch with a knee kicker and not rip the carpet where the kicker headgrips the carpet in the small area it grips.

A pole stretcher, or commonly referred too as a power stretcher, is the only proper way to stretch carpets to industry specs. But you don't want to over stretch the carpet! it can cause the secondary backing to breakdown and the latex and fillers holding the secondary backing to the primary backing will crumble and fall out. Another reason that a high pic secondary backing holds the latex and fillers from falling out and makes the carpets last way longer.

Some repairs are fine using a knee kicker, because if you get carried away with a pole stretcher you can end up with bubbles and wrinkles elsewhere, but knee kickers are not to be used to do the final stretch, just the placement on the tackstrip you are going to stretch off of/away from.

 

You have been given a couple of different options so now you can make a decision as to which method you want to employ. CDW had described the glue down to you so I didn't repeat it. It truly is the better method for a DIY job. I do believe just about any job can be figured out and done for yourself, if you take the time to research it and talk to the right people, it may not be the method the "professionals" recommend but alot of times they have a bit of an overinflated opinion of themselves. I simply try to give people all the information they are requesting so they may make a decision that is right for them.
Personally, I have never used a kicker... but I have seen them used for a long time and was never called back for repairs. Guess you just have to know the idiosyncracies of your particular tool.
Good luck and work safe
m

 

>>>>>Guess you just have to know the idiosyncracies of your particular tool.