Bumps And Humps In Your Carpet? Here's How To Re-Stretch It Yourself
Posted on: 29 May 2015
Freshly installed carpeting looks and feels perfect in your home, but sometimes it doesn't maintain the smooth appearance it had when it was first installed. Over time, your carpet can begin to form lumps and bubbles throughout it. This happens when carpet continues to stretch after it has been installed. If this happens shortly after the install job is complete, you can typically call the installation contractor and he or she will fix it at no cost, but if it has been more than a year or two since installation, you will likely have to pay a fee to have the carpet re-stretched. To avoid this cost, you can re-stretch the carpet yourself. Here's how.
Materials Needed:
- Knee kicker
- Hammer stapler
- Carpet cutter
- Pliers
- Hammer
- Replacement carpet tack strips
Empty the Room
You should never attempt to re-stretch a carpet with any furniture on it. Empty the room completely. This will help to avoid uneven stretching and hidden bumps under the furniture that you didn't want to move.
Lift One Side of the Carpeting
Pick a wall with the straightest edge. It is easier to work with areas that don't have a lot of angles, so choose the carpet at the base of a flat wall to work with. Use the pliers to grip the carpeting, and gently lift upwards. It may take a little wiggling of the pliers to get the carpet to break free from the tack strip, but be patient; it will come off.
As you work your way across the carpeting, inspect the underside of the edge to ensure that no staples or tack pieces are stuck to it. Failure to remove these things could result in damage to the carpet later on or leave sharp things that will hurt when stepped on.
Remove and Replace the Tack Strips
Some people skip this step, but to ensure that the carpet remains in place, it is best to remove and replace the tack strips. Use the claw on your hammer to lift the old tack strips. Replace new ones in the same places that you have removed the old ones using fresh nails.
Re-Stretch the Carpet
Starting at the center point of the area where you have lifted the carpet, and place the carpet on the new tack strip to keep it in place. This is the 12 o'clock position. Now, go to the 6 o'clock position, place the knee kicker on the carpet and begin working your way back to the 12 o'clock position. Lift the edge of the carpet back off of the tack strip and work it back on as tightly as possible and give it a tap with your hammer to ensure that the carpet attaches to the tack strip.
Move 18 inches to the right and repeat the process. Continue doing so until you have re-stretched the entire carpet.
This process is relatively easy to get through, but if you don't feel confident in your abilities to do so, contact your local carpet installation company for assistance.
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