What is a Carpet Tack Strip?
A carpet tack strip is one of the go-to accessories for installing wall-to-wall carpet. Basically, it's a thin strip of wood with two or three rows of sharp, angled pins. You fix it around the edges of the room with the pins pointing up. Once the carpet is stretched, it hooks onto these pins, keeping everything nice and flat, no wrinkles or curled edges!
The Base: Usually plywood.
The Pins: Two or three rows, with the tips angled toward the wall.
The Nails: You can get wood nails, concrete nails, or dual-purpose ones.
Where it goes: Fixed around the room, leaving a small 6–9mm gap from the wall.
Wood Nail: Best for wooden floors or plywood subfloors. These usually have ring shanks for a super strong grip.
Concrete Nail: Made for concrete subfloors. They're harder and won't bend easily when you hammer them in.
Dual Purpose Nail: Works on both wood and concrete. A great option to keep in stock if you aren't sure what kind of floor your customer has.
Install the strip around the room with the pins facing the wall.
Leave about a 6–9mm gap between the strip and the wall so you can tuck the carpet edge in neatly.
Use at least two nails per strip to make sure it doesn’t move while you’re stretching the carpet.
Make sure the pins don’t poke through the top of the carpet—you don’t want any snags!
Got a thick carpet or heavy underlay? Go for taller pins. For thin carpets, shorter pins are the way to go.
Residential wall-to-wall carpeting.
Commercial jobs like hotels and offices.
Any stretch-in carpet system that needs a carpet stretcher.
Just a heads-up: This isn't for glue-down carpets!