An Expert Guide to Carpet Installation…
Be sure to address several key considerations when your carpet is being installed:Carpet can be installed over existing wood, vinyl or concrete flooring. Often it’s possible to reuse the existing tack strip except when concrete is involved; in this case, it’s generally necessary to use a new tack strip. The carpet pad should be stapled to the sub-floor or glued onto concrete. Carpet is cut to room size, rolled out and stretched using a power stretcher before it can be attached to the tack strip. Finally, the carpet is tucked under the baseboard trim to finish the installation.
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Carpet must often be seamed . . .It is important to remember that carpet is a fabric, and as such, larger rooms will exceed the width of the carpet “fabric” and therefore require a seam to make a larger piece for installation.
Carpet typically comes in 12-foot widths, so often it’s necessary to seam pieces of carpet together for any room exceeding twelve feet. The key to managing carpet seams is location. Make sure the seams aren’t located in high-traffic areas and try to hide them under furniture if you can. If you have any questions or concerns about seam locations, ask to review seam placement before your installer starts the job.
More to consider . . .
- Seams are never invisible, so seam placement is an important consideration.
- Seams should run “with” the natural light from a window, not “through” it.
- Even though seams can be used to put smaller pieces of carpet together to minimize waste, and thereby reduce costs, you should generally limit “T-seams” to no more than three per room.
- Don’t let an installer talk you into reusing a carpet pad or going with a less expensive model to save money. The pad you need is specified by the carpet manufacturer, and substituting for something else will result in buckling and seam separation, as well as voiding the warranty.
- To make a seam, the trimmed edges of the carpet should be sealed with a latex seam sealer. Installers often try to skip this step to save a few dollars. The installer should also use heat-fused seaming tape to fuse two pieces of carpet.
- Some installers who don’t have a power stretcher will use a knee-kicker, which can’t apply the right amount of tension across the entire length of the carpet. This can result in wrinkling or buckling as time passes.
Solving after-installation problems:
- Shedding is a natural part of a new carpet. Frequent vacuuming for the first few days should remove any loose fibers from the carpet’s surface.
- Sprouting refers to small tufts or loops of carpet that become visible after the installation. Use a small pair of scissors to carefully trim the loose fibers flush with the surface of the carpet.
- Finally, if wrinkles or ripples appear in the carpet, it may be necessary to re-stretch the carpet. Contact your retailer to have this done professionally.
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