What are the benefits of using carpet gripper rods?
Our carpet grippers, sometimes called gripper rods or tack strips, are the ideal product for stretch-fit carpet installations to ensure the carpet stays firmly in place.
There are a range of benefits to fitting a carpet using gripper rods, including:
- Simple and fast installation
- Allows for accurate fitting of carpets
- Suitable for a range of carpet types
- Affordable way to neatly secure flooring
- Easy to take up carpets and move or replace them
The carpet gripper rods we supply at Carpet Underlay Shop are made from high-grade, resin-bonded plywood with a five-ply (6mm) thickness, which is machined on one edge to a defined angle and penetrated from the underside by two rows of passivated pins.
Set at an angle of 60 degrees to eliminate pull-out and bending, even when power stretching, the pins then hold the carpet backing in place with the correct tension.
Maintaining the structural tension of wall-to-wall carpet prevents the carpet from bunching up, keeping edges neatly tucked in and the surface flat to prevent tripping. Not only does this make your carpet installation safer and more visually attractive, but it can also extend the lifespan of your carpet by reducing wear from increased movement.
From carpet-to-carpet gripper to carpet gripper for wood floors, our gripper strips are an essential component in any high-quality carpet fitting.
Order carpet underlay and grippers online today
The Carpet Underlay Shop website has everything you need for a carpet installation. In addition to ordering carpet underlay to support your flooring, you can also choose from a variety of underlay accessories like metals and tools, plus a box of carpet grippers to fit the carpet tidily.
Simply ensure you choose the correct type for your subfloor from the following options we offer:
- Wood Carpet Grippers – For securing carpet to timber subfloors.
- Concrete Carpet Grippers – For securing carpet to concrete subfloors.
- Dual Purpose Carpet Grippers – For securing carpet to wood or concrete.
Once we confirm your order, you can expect delivery within 2 to 3 working days, with next-working-day delivery available for an upcharge.
If you would like more information about our selection of carpet gripper rods, or need help with an order, why not call 0203 887 0994 to speak with a member of our team?
Alternatively, send us an email at sales@carpet-underlay-shop.co.uk, and we’ll respond to your query as soon as we can.
Frequently Asked Questions
The price of grippers for carpet depends on the design, the type of subfloor they’re compatible with, and how many lengths you’re buying. It’s less common to buy single gripper rods that are individually priced, because this would quickly become expensive when ordering enough for the perimeter of a room.
While a standard strip of carpet gripper is around 1.52 metres or 5 feet long, you can buy packs of them totalling up to 152.4 metres or 500 feet.
A full box of a premium type, such as dual purpose carpet gripper rods, currently costs around £50 for a 500-foot box at Carpet Underlay Shop. However, smaller rooms can benefit from needing fewer lengths and/or simpler designs with smaller pins, starting from 12.2 metres or 40 feet for under £20.
To work out how much carpet gripper you need to stretch-fit your carpet, use our handy carpet underlay calculator. Simply enter the length and width of the room to generate the area in square metres or square feet, and the amount of gripper required in metres or feet.
The best pre-nailed carpet gripper for your installation depends on factors such as the:
- Thickness of the carpet
- Type and thickness of the carpet underlay
- Type of subfloor beneath
- How much you’re willing to spend
The products in this collection are suitable for use with most carpets and underlays as standard.
The Royale Carpet Gripper is famous in the industry thanks to its easy installation and high-grade resin. This German-made carpet gripper continues to be one of our best-selling products and works incredibly well with a range of applications, particularly the Plushwalk 12mm Carpet Underlay.
However, the thicker the carpet and/or the underlay, the stronger the gripper rods must be. In the case of very thick carpet and heavy underlay, it’s better to use a specialist long-pin carpet gripper or extra-wide carpet gripper that can penetrate the pile and secure the thicker material successfully.
We would recommend the Mechanical Extra Wide Carpet Gripper for this purpose.
We have a helpful guide explaining how to fit carpet gripper on our blog, but here is a summary of the steps involved:
- Cutting gripper rods – Measuring out the strips and cutting the lengths to size where necessary, leaving gaps for doorways.
- Subfloor preparation – Cleaning the subfloor of any debris left by the removal of the previous flooring.
- Gripper positioning – Planning where to lay the gripper, leaving a gap of 8-10mm from the skirting board, then marking the nail spots.
- Securing the grippers – Either hammering directly into the timber subfloor or drilling into the concrete subfloor and using wooden dowels.
- Fitting carpet and underlay – Clean the area again before laying the underlay and power-stretching or knee-kicking the carpet onto the pins.
- Finishing the installation – Tucking the trimmed edges of the carpet neatly over the gripper against the skirting board.
An important tip is to always ensure that the angled pins are pointing at the skirting board, not out into the room. Plus, if you would rather save time, effort, and money when working with a concrete or stone subfloor, the strips can often be glued directly to the surface with a suitable adhesive.
At Carpet Underlay Shop, our strong pre-nailed carpet grippers and dual-purpose gripper rods make this process simpler from the start!
Yes, it’s possible to fit a carpet wall-to-wall without using traditional nailed carpet grippers. You may need a blind or blank gripper with nails on one side only for a natural fibre carpet, or may simply prefer the easier and safer option of using glue, sticky spray, or tape to stick down a carpet instead of stretching and tucking it over nails.
While nail-less carpet gripper may not be available, we do supply a range of carpet adhesives, including carpet glue, adhesive spray, bonding tape, double-sided tape, and barrier tape.
Additionally, if you need to secure a rug to flooring, we also offer anti-slip rug gripper underlay options.
There’s also the double-stick installation method – a dual-bond process that involves adhering the underlay directly to the subfloor and then gluing the flooring directly on top of the underlay. We stock a selection of double-stick carpet underlay products that are compatible with this technique.
