Super Service Award Recipient in:
2010, 2011 2012, 2013, 2014.
Why do carpets get loose and need to be stretched?
Carpets just as any other type of flooring material need a little maintenance to give a lifetime of use and good looks for long lasting enjoyment.
A tile floor for example will develop cracked and stained grout joints overtime, a hardwood floor will get scratched and dull and will need sanding and refinishing just as a good quality carpet will need to be re-stretched at some point, usually in about 10 years.
Why do carpets get loose?
The main causes of premature loosening of a carpet are both the quality of the carpet and the installation. In my experience this is a prevalent issue in newer houses nowadays. Most probably because the customers seldom gets the chance to choose a good quality carpet and installer.
As you walk on the carpet it depresses under your feet with each step taken. This produces a tiny amount of "give" or stretch that accumulates over time. Most carpets enlarge overtime by small amount of 1/2" to 2" That is all it is needed to cause a ripple.
Can I stretch a small area of my carpet with a bump or ripple?
When a carpet has a bump or ripple showing the entire carpet in the room is loose. The accumulation of extra carpet in one or two areas results in the bumps or ripples but the entire carpet is loose and needs to be stretched.
To help think about this. Imagine an 8 x 11 sheet of paper with a crease in the middle. How do you remove the crease without using an iron? You pull on its sides just as you would with a carpet.
Do I need to remove all the furniture?
Yes, let's begin by saying that in my opinion carpet stretching is a misnomer. Yes, you need your carpet to be stretched in order to eliminate a ripple. But, the way you get there is by removing the carpet from all four walls, stretching and trimming the excess before re-attaching it . in other words, you re-install a carpet in order to stretch it. For that reason the furniture does need to be removed.
There are situations where all furniture can't be removed from a room for many different reasons and the carpet can still be stretched. For example, in the first picture below. Let's say the customer was able to remove all the furniture except in the back wall opposite to the fireplace there is a huge china cabinet or piano. Could we have done this job? Yes, that ripple can still be stretched towards the fireplace and taken out that wall no problem. However, if in this same job the china cabinet was instead sitting on top of the ripple. Then, maybe it would have been very difficult to get this good job done. Each situation is different and has to be analyse on a case by case basis.
Carpets just as any other type of flooring material need a little maintenance to give a lifetime of use and good looks for long lasting enjoyment.
A tile floor for example will develop cracked and stained grout joints overtime, a hardwood floor will get scratched and dull and will need sanding and refinishing just as a good quality carpet will need to be re-stretched at some point, usually in about 10 years.
Why do carpets get loose?
The main causes of premature loosening of a carpet are both the quality of the carpet and the installation. In my experience this is a prevalent issue in newer houses nowadays. Most probably because the customers seldom gets the chance to choose a good quality carpet and installer.
As you walk on the carpet it depresses under your feet with each step taken. This produces a tiny amount of "give" or stretch that accumulates over time. Most carpets enlarge overtime by small amount of 1/2" to 2" That is all it is needed to cause a ripple.
Can I stretch a small area of my carpet with a bump or ripple?
When a carpet has a bump or ripple showing the entire carpet in the room is loose. The accumulation of extra carpet in one or two areas results in the bumps or ripples but the entire carpet is loose and needs to be stretched.
To help think about this. Imagine an 8 x 11 sheet of paper with a crease in the middle. How do you remove the crease without using an iron? You pull on its sides just as you would with a carpet.
Do I need to remove all the furniture?
Yes, let's begin by saying that in my opinion carpet stretching is a misnomer. Yes, you need your carpet to be stretched in order to eliminate a ripple. But, the way you get there is by removing the carpet from all four walls, stretching and trimming the excess before re-attaching it . in other words, you re-install a carpet in order to stretch it. For that reason the furniture does need to be removed.
There are situations where all furniture can't be removed from a room for many different reasons and the carpet can still be stretched. For example, in the first picture below. Let's say the customer was able to remove all the furniture except in the back wall opposite to the fireplace there is a huge china cabinet or piano. Could we have done this job? Yes, that ripple can still be stretched towards the fireplace and taken out that wall no problem. However, if in this same job the china cabinet was instead sitting on top of the ripple. Then, maybe it would have been very difficult to get this good job done. Each situation is different and has to be analyse on a case by case basis.
Carpet stretching loose carpet, before.
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During stretching, notice extra carpet removed.
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Carpet stretching loose carpet, after.
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Close-up of Power Stretcher
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We use a power stretcher in every job. The head of the power stretcher (on the left) grabs the carpet with about 50 scary looking thorns and attaches to a pipe at its other end to make it possible pull the carpet from an opposite wall. The lever transfers the force applied down to the head via a gear. This tool provides such a powerful stretch that it makes it fairly easy to rip a carpet from the wall if you are not careful.
Installing or stretching a carpet with it takes longer and it is more cumbersome to use. It is also several times more expensive than a knee kicker (pic below). Perhaps for these reasons it is not used as it should in every installation or stretching job. But the very use of it makes the difference between a professional and a not so professional job. Congratulations If you have read this far! because now you are educated enough to ask the $64000 question. Would you be using a power stretcher on my job? Not too long goes by before I hear from a customer mention they got a quote several times cheaper than mine. There is no free lunch, re-installing a two bedroom apt carpet for $200 or a living-room for a $100 it is not realistic. Someone is getting ripped off (in Seattle). Save yourself some aggravation. Just know than someone stretching a carpet with a knee kicker may be able to flatten a rippled but will not have enough power to make the carpet taught enough to hold the stretched for a long time to prevented from getting loose sooner than later. Let's not even consider these guys stretching with a knee kicker will give every bit of money back by needing knee replacement later in life. Call it, a loose, loose situation for everybody. |
This is a video of one of our toughest carpet cleaning jobs. |
Close up of Power Stretcher
Carpet in need of carpet stretching
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Disengaging the carpet from the tack-strips before beginning the stretching.
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Restore One, Inc. offers a written lifetime warranty with every stretching job!!
At Restore One, (206-444-0444) we have been stretching carpets for 20 years . We have never had to return twice to a job to fix it. This makes us confident in giving you a written warranty for our work .
During the re-stretching process with a power stretcher being used.
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After stretching the carpet and before cleaning.
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Bellow some extra pictures, the first one shows the carpet leftovers cut out of the bedroom in the middle.
In the picture carpet trims from an stretched room
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Loose carpet before stretching and carpet cleaning
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After picture of stretching and cleaning
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Carpet Power Stretcher in Use
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Carpet Stretcher and leftover Carpet
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Call Us Now! 206-444-0444 mario@restoreone.com Fixing Carpets In: Seattle, Bellevue, Shoreline, Lynnwood, Everett, Issaquah, Renton, Kent, Auburn Sammamish, Edmonds. Federal Way |
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