I'm fitting a felt backed carpet using gripper rods and the correct underlay for these carpets.
I've got the carpet stretching tool the DIY books advise but am finding the carpet does not actually engage with the gripper pins when simply stretched and pressed down as the books suggest but am having to give them quite a clout with a hammer to get it to bite.
Am I doing something wrong here ? Don't want it all to come apart in a week's time.
Thanks
Mike
My first carpet fitting extravaganza was the same. What the books don't tell you is, use a brick bolster to press the edge of the carpet down firmly on to the gripper. The gripper also needs to be at least and inch away from the skirting board to allow the carpet to fold down behind it and make the gripper work properly.
You mean the thing I used to chop bricks in half ? (Better clean it off first :-)
That's the one Mike. Use the flat blade bolster at the end of the kicker pad to press the carpet down in to the skirting. In a sort of sliding along the carpet surface action, starting just before the line of the gripper rod. You can also use the handle end to press down any wider bits at doors and corners as well.
Many thanks. Will give it a try tomorrow.
AN INCH ! Trust me on this, 5mm is the gap that professionals use, unless its unusually thick carpet. The idea is that only the edge of the carpet is sandwiched between gripper and wall.
The OP (Mike) has said it's felt backed carpet, so I said an inch out from the wall to allow for the stretchiness of the felt on the gripper. To close to edge of a felt backed carpet can cause the felt to pull away and fray very easily.
LOL You may need to read-up on correct methods of carpet fitting, before offering advice.
The book I read said a centimeter so I'm afraid that's where they are. This did seem about the same as the ones here which were installed professionally (I am still restoring the farmhouse)
Well, the man from Stoddard Carpets told me to lay the gripper track between 20 mm and 25 mm away from the wall so that the felt backing didn't pull away when the carpet started to shrink again after being stretched. The felt backing is usually not woven in to the main carpet, so it's easy for it pull and fray if the gripper is to close to the edges.
We also had a free standing server unit we wanted to put close in to the bay of the window. The unit had solid sides and was quite heavy, so I thought it may have rocked about on the gripper rod if it was fixed to far out from the window. So I fixed the gripper closer to the wall in there. Within a week of laying the carpet the thing had pulled away from the window by a good few millimetres, enough to be visible, and the felt backing was also frayed where it had pulled over the pins on the gripper track.
Hence my advice of laying the gripper rod a bit further out than normal when fitting a felt backed carpet. Mike is also using a proper kicker pad to stretch the carpet on to the gripper, which then makes the carpet settle and shrink a bit more than just laying the carpet loosely on to the pin track, so the gripper does a better job of holding the carpet more firmly in place on a more solid bit of the felt backing, and not against the edge where the carpet has been cut.
I'm only going by personal experience, and the advice I was given.
I wondered why Stoddards just called in the recievers.
OK, but you don't seem to have grasped the mechanics of the gripper and the gap and why you need the bolster. The gap between the gripper and wall/skirting is important because the carpet should be jammed tight between the two, which Is *extremely* important to the holding strength and also make a neat finish. Its also why you need a bolster to be able to push the carpet *INTO* the gap, *NOT* on to the gripper as you stated. Quite what you would do with a bolster and a 25mm gap baffles me somewhat. My last post on the subject, ive lead you to the water but if you decline the drink...
-- Mark
Thanks for the advice Bigwallop and Mark,
The carpet is now laid and seems to be fine. Probably not up to professional standards but it was my first time and in the smallest bedroom.
I have to say that felt backed carpet appears a bit crappy as it doesn't stretch like you think it would and as BigWallop said, it tears to pieces if it sees a gripper too near the edge.
Regards
Mike
The stretching is the hard part Mike. Sticking the kicker in the carpet and giving a bash with each knee at a time is the best way to stretch the carpet a little at a time. You don't have to be to close to each other at each kick, but try to keep about 14 to 16 inches apart between stretching.
Did you have to move the gripper? That's the only bugbear with a felt backed carpet. They're great for their feel and heat retention qualities, but the felt does peel and fray quite easily when you reach the edges.
Well done, anyway. I love to hear someone say it looks great, even though they say it themselves, on a first attempt at a new project. Now you can get rid of the bedroom slippers. :-)
Well it's a different spacing on each of four walls so we'll see which is best in time perhaps.
Hardly - the rest of the place (a semi-derelict farmhouse) still needs a lot of TLC :-)
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.