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Shoutout to the guy who helped me fix a huge seam gap in a Phoenix hotel lobby | Carpet Installers - Librear

Shoutout to the guy who helped me fix a huge seam gap in a Phoenix hotel lobby

I was putting down a big roll of commercial carpet in this hotel off the 101 last month, and my seam just would not close up tight. The gap was almost a quarter inch wide after I ran the iron over it. This older installer from another crew saw me sweating and came over. He told me to check the power stretcher head was locked, then showed me his trick of putting a knee on the carpet right behind the iron. Closed up perfect. Anyone have a different method for stubborn seams on heavy commercial stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_nancy4mo ago

And honestly I think people sleep on the humidity factor too. If you're working in Phoenix during monsoon season the moisture in the air can mess with the backing expansion just enough to make seams pull apart. I've had jobs where the gap closed up overnight after the AC kicked in and dried things out. The knee trick works great but sometimes the carpet itself just needs to settle before you lock it down. A quarter inch is bad but I've seen worse from guys rushing to finish before the glue cures in the heat.

the_mia6mo ago

A quarter inch gap on commercial carpet after ironing is the kind of thing that makes you want to just walk off the job. That old guy is a legend for not just watching you struggle. The knee trick is solid, but I've also had luck with a second pass from the seam out with the iron set a bit hotter. Sometimes that glue just needs a little more convincing to wake up.

dylan9766mo ago

Setting the iron hotter on a second pass is asking for trouble, it can scorch the carpet or fry the adhesive. That glue has a specific activation temp, and going over it just makes it brittle. The old guy had it right, pressure from a knee or a seam roller after it cools a bit is what really locks it down. Heat alone won't fix a gap if the seam wasn't cut right to begin with.