Carpet Wrinkles


  #1  
Old 01-24-02, 06:52 AM
donhleo
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Carpet Wrinkles

Am having floors recarpeted. Neighbor has 7 year old carpet that is wrinkling throughout the entire home. (Bedroom, Living room, and Hallway) Is there some type of carpeting I can specify that will not wrinkle? I have talked to installers that say wrinkling is a problem with the new carpets. Thanks for your help
 
  #2  
Old 01-25-02, 11:22 AM
T
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Causes of carpet wrinkles

Wrinkling is a common problem in the carpet industry. The major cause of carpet wrinkling is improper installation. Today's carpets are stiffer and more challening to install. Even the best installers sometimes have to return to restretch carpet.

If possible, it is best to allow the carpet to acclimate to temperature and humidity of the home for 24 hours before installation. Carpets installed in cold months tend to have more wrinkle problems and require restretching. Carpet may come loose along the walls. Seams may come loose. The wrinkles all run in the same direction.

Carpet that is wrinkled should be restretched ASAP to prevent damage to the carpet backing. Proper restretching is almost as involved as the original installation. A power stretcher should be used. All the furniture will have to be removed and the carpet stretched in both directions. There may have to be seam repairs.

Another cause for wrinkling is delamination or separation of the carpet from its backing. This is a problem that is seen occasionally. It is a manufacturing problem that can not be corrected. It is identified by a series of small wrinkles in a high traffic area. If you should see signs of delamination, take action immediately while the carpet is still under warranty. Thus, it is good to buy a product with a manufacturer's warranty.
 
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Old 01-25-02, 08:20 PM
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Wrinkling is caused by 4 things...

1. Lack of proper stretch! A knee kicker is not a stretching tool. A pole stretcher or commonly called a power stretcher is the only way to properly stretch carpets to manufacturers specs. Don't let an uneducated installer fool you!

2. Improper padding selection. Nothing over 7/16" thickness and no less then 6# density, for cut pile carpets. For loop pile carpets, it is no more than 3/8" thickness and 8# density. But check with the manufacturer, not the retailer that is selling you the carpet. I have found ½ of the retailers are uneducated in this knowledge. They will sell you anything you want, even if it voids a manufacturers warranty.

3. Moisture! From either the top from improper cleaning, or from underneath in the form of vapor emissions from the concrete slab, without having, or a busted moisture barrier. Moisture causes delamination of the primary and secondary backings. Delamination causes wrinkles.

4. Manufacturers product is defective. Lack of latex holding the primary and secondary backings together.

Shaw Industries is one of the big carpet mills in Dalton, Georgia. They have a backing that has come out in the last 3 years called "SoftBac". They give carpet with this backing a NO WRINKLE GUARANTY. The soft backing doesn't scratch baseboards or walls. It gives the carpet an extra soft feel when walking on it. Check it out here...

http://www.shawinc.com/

I hope this help in your choice of floorcoverings
http://bal.ifloor.com/cgi-bin/bal.pl?program_id=50
 
 

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