I recentely had new carpet installed wall
to wall and due to bad luck I had a little
flood in one area. When we pulled back the
carpet I noticed the zbar had approx 17
nails in one side of it. Is this common
practise in a installation to make sure
bar is down?

 

MartinM:

I've installed my share of carpets, but I'm not familiar with the term "zbar". Perhaps we're using different terminology.

For a wall-to-wall carpet, the tackstrips around the perimeter of the room are most often called "smoothedge" simply because the company that invented them (Roberts) called their new invention "Smoothedge".

The metal edging used to finish the cut edge of the carpet where another floor material begins is called "Naplock". Naplock is a metal edging strip, with or without pins that's used to finish the edge of the carpet where there's a transition to a different kind of flooring material.

If the transition from one flooring material to another flooring material is covered with a vinyl molding, then the metal strip that vinyl molding is pushed into is called "track base".

Whatever Zbar is, I don't think it needs 17 nails to hold it down. You tell me what my word for what you got is, and I'll tell you what may have happened there.

(However, off the top, I can see no reason to use 17 nails for any one of these products.)

 

Nestor,

It's "z-bar", and every pro i know can tell you what it is. I get mine at www.owencarpet.com.

regards

 

If the nails won't hold in the floor you use as many nails as it takes, (if concrete) You could also drill 1/8th in (pilot)hole half the length of the strip nails this holds better as it doesnt crack or make a pocket in the concrete

Z bar is used for a carpet edge on another material such as vinyl,VCT's or concrete. Mostly for conrete floors, but the problem with it is you step on the tackstrip nails with your bare feet.

To get rd of the nails poking through problem rub the strip with your finger till you hit the nail then hit it with a hammer.

For a wood floor you don't need Z bar as you can take the pad within an inch or so to the other floor (vinyl or ?) turn the carpet and staple it to the wood floor thus no nails. Stretch the carpet away from the turned edge and it will conform nicely to the pad.

Look at the " Z " imagine a piece of tackstrip to the right of it the pins (nails) are pointing to the left, the carpet is stretched over the Z then trimmed and tucked under the top of the Z then pounded down with a hammer.

Presto a carpet egde

 

Z-bar is used where you don't want an exposed metal showing.
They put so many nails in it because they were having trouble getting it to nail into the concrete. You have to hold your mouth just right sometimes. If the Tackstrip and Z-bar have been pulled up before, it can be a nightmare to get a nail to hold again, because of the broken out concrete from removing the previous nail.

Perry Wright
"Carpets Done Wright"

 

Can't get local carpet-layers to return calls, and we've had severe rainstorms in the
last few days, so there will be lots of insurance work. I need to replace 155 yards of the stuff, am well-stocked with tools that
I know how to use, and am wondering whether
to tackle the job. Any decent books out there that would show me? Thanks