CHOOSING CARPET

Michael Holigan: Carpet makes a great flooring. It's durable. It comes in a variety of great looks and it's easy on the feet.

When it comes to the pad underneath your carpet, a six pound pad is about the minimum density you want. A lot of people think that a lot of pads or a real soft pad makes for better installation. But what happens is the carpet backing begins to flex and starts separating from the carpet fibers. So a six pound pad with a thickness of about half an inch, would give you a firm, but comfortable, pad. Berber carpet is very popular again and people often wonder how much pad to put underneath it. In most situations, 3/8 of an inch works great with Berber.

It's preferable to choose a nylon carpet that has some sort of chemical treatment for stains. It's also important to look for a carpet with a good twist rate. Twist rate is the amount of turns per inch that the yarn is twisted and then set. The more twists, the better and the longer your carpet will stay looking good. Standard rates vary from « a turn to up to 7 « or eight turns per inch. Just remember, the more turns, the longer it's going to last and keep looking good.

A lot of people worry about the seams coming up or being able to see the seams. A six inch seaming tape will normally eliminate any problems. Some people will use a four inch tape. It's cheaper, but it has a tendency to let the seams peak. Request that your installer uses a six inch tape on any seams. Using a seaming iron, the installer will heat the adhesive on the top of the tape and that will hold both sides of the carpet together. Once the adhesive has dried, it creates a bond that will stretch without coming apart.

If you have a moderate size family, say four people, you should expect a quality carpet to last anywhere from five to 10 years with good upkeep and maintenance. And that shouldn't require any more than regular vacuuming and steam cleaning about once a year.

One advantage of carpet is that the damaged places can be fixed pretty easily, probably more easily than you realize. If you have one of these (Dog), occasionally you're going to get a few of these (torn carpet). Puppies just love to chew. But it's not hard to fix. Let's take a look. If the damaged section is on the edge or in the corner like this one, the carpet will have to be pulled back off the tack strips holding it in place. A knee kicker tool makes the job easier. Once enough carpet is pulled back, the damaged section can be cut out. A ball point pen is handy for parting the carpet pile to ensure that only the backing is cut and not the pile. Most builders leave a little extra carpet in the attic just in case you need to make repairs. If you can't find any carpet in the attic, cut a little bit out of the closet in some hidden corner that no one will see. The damaged piece becomes a template for cutting out a patch. If the carpet has a pattern, it's important to match it a closely as possible. And make sure the pile is going in the right direction or it will never look right. A little extra on the outside edges leaves room for trimming snug to the wall or other flooring later.

Next, a piece of steaming tape is laid under one seam and a steaming iron is used to melt the adhesive. Then the patch is put in place. A roller tool called a tractor secures the carpet to the tape and blends the pile of the new and the old carpet together. On the second seam the tape can be heated and then placed under the carpet. The excess and any stray threads are trimmed away from the edges and then the carpet is reattached to the tack strip. Here again, the knee kicker comes in handy.

Finally, the edges of the carpet are tucked in around the baseboard and next to any other flooring, like the tile we have here. And the repair looks as good as new, even with the Berber carpet you can't see the seam.

Episode 45 1996 - 97 Season

| Termites | Utility Knifes | Flooring | Changing Shower Head | Choosing Carpet | Painting Tip | The Closing |

Purchase Video