How to Know If Repair Must Be Done for Carpet Seam

Aug 30
06:43

2012

Ma. Theresa Galan

Ma. Theresa Galan

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Most houses are going to end up with some seams in their carpet because houses vary too much in size, in construction, and in dimensions of the room. Often times a carpet seam splits apart because it was never sealed properly. When this is the case, one or two rows of carpet will begin to come loose right at the seam.

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A properly executed seam consists of two straight edges of carpet,How to Know If Repair Must Be Done for Carpet Seam Articles some seam tape under it and some seam sealer. The carpet mills design carpet to be seamed together. If done properly, a carpet seam will stay put for the life of the carpet.

If part of your carpet is coming up, it may be seam that's to blame. Lift the carpet just a bit to see what's under there. If what you see looks like some sort of industrial tape, then yes, it's coming apart at the seams. 

Split carpet seams can be a problem in both residential and commercial carpet alike. Carpet seam splitting can be caused by improper installation, such as seams that weren't thoroughly secured and properly aligned. This is especially true with woven or what's incorrectly called a Berber carpet.Carpet seams also come apart due to poor quality seam tape and adhesives.  The last reason carpet seams split apart is due to age and traffic. If your carpet has been in continuous use for thirty or forty years and the seams are splitting apart, then the carpet has lasted far longer that it was ever designed to last. More common in carpet repair, though, is the need to re-seam a loose carpet as part of the carpet re-stretching process. When we stretch carpet to eliminate ripples, we end up with extra carpet at the edges. If the edge is the edge of the room, we trim off the extra around the periphery; if that edge is at a seam, we cut off the extra carpet at the seam, and then repair the seam.

Tools of the Trade; the basics

  • Carpet seam tape
  • Seaming iron
  • Glue Gun with carpet glue sticks
  • Slotted blade knife
  • Straight edge
  • Carpet tractor and weights

If a carpet comes apart at the seam it can be repaired in several different ways. One way is to glue it back together, another way would be to remove the old seam tape and do the entire seam over. If the seam that came apart is on a Berber carpet then it becomes a bit more challenging.

A seam needs to withstand a lot of use, and do so for many years. This is one place where it really makes sense to use the best products available. One thing you definitely should not use is the cheap two-sided carpet tape that some web sites sell. It won't last.

Basics of Carpet Seam Repair The simplest form of carpet seam repair is when most of the seam is fine but a portion of the seam tape has lost its grip on the carpet backing. This usually happens when the seam tape was over melted or under melted during the original installation. It can also happen due to carpet cleaning or carpet flooding.  If this is the case you may only need to use your glue gun to apply a generous portion of glue to the seam tape that's under the carpet and press the carpet backing into the glue. For more useful ideas and information of this topic, check out our main page here: 

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