Fit carpet gripper rods to a concrete floor

Fit carpet gripper rods around a concrete floor safely, ready for underlay and carpet fitting.

CG-01Clear the room and strip the old floorMove out furniture and roll back or remove any old carpet, underlay and gripper rod. Pull old gripper nails out with pliers and bag them straight away so nobody stands on one. If the old flooring is vinyl tiles or lino laid before around 2000, do not sand, scrape or cut into it — it may contain asbestos. Leave it undisturbed and get it checked if you are not sure.

2 each · Heavy-duty rubble bag

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

1 each · Pliers

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

CG-02Sweep and inspect the concreteSweep and vacuum the floor so you can see the surface clearly. Check for cracks, crumbling patches or damp staining — gripper needs sound, dry concrete to grip into. Fix any loose or crumbly areas with a repair mortar and let it cure fully before you carry on.

1 each · Concrete repair mortar

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

CG-03Check for pipes and cables before you drill or nailConcrete floors can hide underfloor heating pipes, electric cables or old service runs almost anywhere, not just in obvious places. Run a cable and pipe detector over the whole area, but treat it as a guide, not proof — detectors miss deep or shielded cables. Find your stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink) and check it turns before you start. If you have any doubt about what's underneath, turn off the water at the stopcock and isolate the relevant circuit at the consumer unit before you fix anything down.

1 each · Cable and pipe detector

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

CG-04Measure and cut the gripper rodMeasure each wall and cut gripper rod to length with a hacksaw, mitring the corners at 45° so the rods meet neatly. Leave a small gap where a door threshold or pipe will sit — you can cut a short piece to fit around it later. Keep the pins facing away from you as you cut and carry lengths pin-side down.

10 each · Carpet gripper rod (concrete pins), 1.2m lengths

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

1 each · Hacksaw

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

CG-05Position gripper around the roomLay each length around the perimeter with a gap of 8-10mm between the gripper and the skirting board — about two-thirds the thickness of your carpet. This gap gives you room to tuck the carpet edge down later. Point the pins toward the wall, not into the middle of the room.

CG-06Fix the gripper to the concreteMost concrete-floor gripper rod comes with hardened pins already built in — hold it in place and hit it with a club hammer to drive the pins straight into the concrete. If the pins won't go in because the concrete is very hard or dense, pre-drill 5mm pilot holes through the rod's fixing holes with a masonry bit, then hammer the pins or a matching masonry nail through. Space fixing points roughly every 300mm along the rod.

1 each · Club hammer

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

1 each · Masonry drill bit, 5mm

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

1 each · Safety goggles

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

CG-07Deal with doorways, pipes and alcovesCut short lengths to fit around door frames, pipe boxing and any alcoves, mitring joins where two lengths meet at a corner. At doorways, stop the gripper short of the threshold so a door bar or threshold strip can sit over the join later. Check every cut piece still has pins facing the wall side, not upward.

1 each · Carpet gripper rod, offcuts as needed

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

CG-08Check the fit and safety of every fixingWalk the perimeter and press down on each length of gripper to make sure it's firmly fixed and doesn't rock. Run a gloved hand carefully along the inner edge to check no pins are sticking up where underlay or feet will go. Re-fix any loose sections before moving on.

1 pair · Work gloves

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

CG-09Tidy upSweep up concrete dust, nail offcuts and rod trimmings, and bag them for disposal — sharp pins should never go loose in a general bin bag. Vacuum the floor thoroughly so no grit is left under where the underlay will sit. The floor is now ready for underlay and carpet fitting.

1 each · Dust sheet

Buy:ScrewfixB&QToolstationAmazon

Some links may earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Save this as a project

Back to all guides