The Big Day: What to Expect
It's the big day! Your Beautiful Floor will soon be a reality. Here are a few things you can do to smooth the way.
Preparing for installation:
Clean, clear and prep the space where the new floor will be placed. Hopefully, you've already completed any other remodeling projects, such as painting and wallpapering. Also, vacuum the old carpet to avoid airborne dust and dirt when it is pulled up. When you have carpet professionally installed, most often that includes moving the furniture in the room. However, any delicate or expensive items you might want to consider moving yourself. Just the same way you wouldn't leave Grandma's antique cut crystal for the movers, you might not want to leave your mid century modern kitchen table (the one with the wobbly leg) for the installers to move.
Your carpet installation crew will inspect the carpet either on site or before arriving at your home. According to the Carpet and Rug Institute, for a proper installation, carpet must be power-stretched to minimize wrinkling and rippling, and seam edges must be sealed with appropriate adhesive to prevent delamination and edge ravel. If you don’t see a power stretcher on the job, the carpet is not being installed properly.
During installation:
Be sure to ventilate the room properly during and after the installation. Open windows and doors, use an exhaust fan or operate the fan of your heating or air conditioning system.
Thick carpet may prevent doors from swinging, and, if a door does not clear, you may have to arrange to have your doors trimmed.
After installation:
Vacuum carpet to remove loose fibers. Ventilate the area for 48 to 72 hours. However, if you are unusually sensitive to odors or are allergy prone, you may want to avoid the installation area during this period.
One more thing: There is no need to tip your installers, although, of course tips are greatly appreciated. Better yet, be a gracious host\ess and have a pitcher of ice tea or lemonade ready - installing carpet is thirsty work!
Carpet Seams
Think of carpet as a piece of fabric that has to be cut to fit your unique space. Most often constructed in 12-ft wide rolls which means that larger or irregularly shaped rooms will require seams. The placement of seams is important and most retailers will take care of this for you. If you’re concerned, speak to your retailer and ask to review the layout before the installation. Whenever possible, keep them in less trafficked areas. Generally, carpet seams are invisible after the installation. Nevertheless, they should run perpendicular to windows to avoid reflecting light which can increase their visibility. Patterned goods and looped carpet products are more prone to showing seams - this is where professional installation can really make a difference.
- Sandy