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My apartment has hardwood. Some people may like this, and it's fine for the kitchen and dining room. But for the bedrooms and living room I want carpet, which has both benefits of noise reduction and because I prefer to walk on carpet with my bare feet, not cold hardwood. I also like how carpet makes the apartment feel warm and cozy; complete hardwood has a cold vibe.

I will put an area rug in the dining room which I already have. But an area rug is far too expensive for the bedrooms and living room, plus I want a solid color (not patterns like area rugs have), so I plan to simply get some carpet by the rolls which is much cheaper.

However, I need to know how to install this in a temporary fashion that does zero damage to the hardwood, and it also needs to be as inexpensive as possible.

What I want to do is have a way to install and stretch the carpet as if it was installed, but in a way that does Zero damage to the hardwood even if it is on for years. Because it is an apartment, and I cannot damage the hardwood.

I did hours of research but am still coming up empty. Hope you can help, thanks.

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  • You can have carpet bound to use as a rug, so the design is a non-issue. Premade rugs are more popular because they're often cheaper and available instantly. You may luck out and fins bound remnants which work for you at a local carpet store.
    – Matthew Gauthier
    Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 23:26
  • Premade area rugs are far, far, far more expensive than just regular carpet. The only difference is you need to bind regular carpet, but area rugs are already bound, for an extreme ultra premium price. Even if you can't do yourself plenty of people will bind it for $1 per linear foot, still a fraction of the cost of an area rug plus you can get a perfect fit unlike an area rug.
    – diy
    Commented Jan 13, 2019 at 5:53

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You can get non-slip rug pads that are made to keep rugs from sliding around on floors, and cover your entire floor with those wherever you want this carpet. But without nailing it down at the edges, there is no way to do it. I've done what you are planning in bedrooms before, but I didn't bother putting the carpet/rug under the bed or furniture; no point in wasting the money. I only wanted it where feet would go.

Not an endorsement, but here are some examples; items 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9 on this page: https://www.tenbestproduct.com/best-rug-pads/

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  • Probably the best solution. After doing more research I came to the same conclusion. Unfortunately it increases the cost, but still far less than doing area rugs plus you can still choose your pattern and have a perfect fit.
    – diy
    Commented Jan 13, 2019 at 5:56
  • Actually rug tape is probably a better solution and cheaper too.
    – diy
    Commented Jan 13, 2019 at 20:39
  • Rug tape leaves a residue that, in my experience, can attack the finish on some hardwood floors and I have been dinged with a charge to refinish the floors because the tape caused irreparable damage.
    – JRaef
    Commented Jan 14, 2019 at 20:16
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My first thought is padding-attached carpet and double-sided flooring tape. You'd want to investigate the manufacturer's claims about the tape to be sure it'll come off and not stain the floor.

Obviously this isn't as robust an anchoring system as tack strip, so you'll have to be careful when dragging furniture, etc. Use nylon sliders.

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  • Did you mean to put padding underneath the carpet and turn it into an area rug? I was considering doing an area rug but didn't know if I needed padding; however, I was ideally looking for a more secure solution if possible, like for example some kind of removable glue that doesn't damage hardwood but secured the carpet until removal time. Good tip regarding the sliders though for a non-anchored rug
    – diy
    Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 18:14
  • Did you look at the article I provided?
    – isherwood
    Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 18:15
  • I see, how much does this kind of carpet cost, can it be as or nearly as affordable as regular carpet?
    – diy
    Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 18:30
  • Pricing questions are off topic on this network, partly because I have no idea where you are. You'll need to do your own research into that.
    – isherwood
    Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 18:39
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    @user2966384 - Pricing is off topic here. Prices and available materials can vary a lot from area to area and country to country. To be honest with you what you have asked for in your question is really not feasible. Just get youself some low cost carpet pieces and lay them over some of that rubbery mesh "no slip" pad material.
    – Michael Karas ♦
    Commented Jan 12, 2019 at 0:48

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