plasticus posted:

Carpet & Carpet Padding

Alright, short version of the project is that I'm finishing a room in my basement with some buddies, starting this weekend. I'm a complete rookie when it comes to home improvement. One of my friends is an electrician, and the other has done a fair amount of drywalling and plumbing.

I was pulling up the carpet last night, and the pad underneath was in pretty good condition. The carpet had been laid using pin strips (?) and a carpet stretcher. However, I just bought new carpet (pretty cheap stuff) that has a pad attached to it. So should I just double up on the pads? I think that having two pads would make it seem more comfortable, but I won't do it at the expense of having wavy carpet.

If I do use both pads, should I change the way I install it? My plan was to just tape down the new stuff to the concrete floor. If it makes a difference, the old pad appears to be a synthetic fiber(it's black, you can see the individual fibers if you look closely, and it has a ridged/wavy pattern), and the new carpet has a rubber backing. Can I tape the old pad to the concrete floor, then tape the new carpet & pad to the old pad underneath? Would a glue work better in this case?

Thanks for any advice in advance!