Carpet

Removal

Getting the old floor, adhesive, and fasteners out without damaging the substrate.

• Removing Carpet and Pad: Pullers and Scrapers

  Stretch-in and glue-down carpet removal: cutting strips, powered pullers, self-scoring scraper blades, and getting pad, staples and tack strip up.

• Removing Glue-Down Carpet and Carpet Tile

  Scraping glue-down carpet and carpet tile: self-scoring blade sizes, bevel direction, residue rules from CRI, and when to test the adhesive.

• Scraper Blade Selection: Width, Angle and Material

  Blade width, bevel direction, angle and blade type for each flooring material, plus how to keep blades sharp enough to matter.

• Walk-Behind vs Ride-On Scrapers: Choosing by Job Size

  How to choose between a walk-behind and a ride-on floor scraper by job size, access, material and power source, with the models that fit each case.

Surface Prep

Patching, leveling, and testing so the new floor has something to bond to.

• Choosing Carpet Pad

  Choosing carpet cushion by density, thickness and type: CRI limits, Carpet Cushion Council minimums, mill warranty specs, berber and radiant heat.

• Tack Strip Layout and Installation

  CRI 105 rules for tack strip: minimum size, pin direction, gully width, fasteners per piece, doorways, radiant heat and stairs.

Installation

Layout, cutting, adhesives, seaming, and the install itself.

• Carpeting Stairs: Waterfall vs Hollywood

  Waterfall vs Hollywood (cap-and-band) stairs, pile direction, tack strip and pad on stairs, and the tools that make the job faster.

• Trimming Carpet at Walls

  Setting and running a carpet wall trimmer so the carpet tucks cleanly into the gully, with CRI 105's gully rules and Crain and Roberts settings.

• Cutting Seams with Row Finders and Seam Cutters

  Row-cutting cut pile, cutting loop pile between rows, choosing a row finder and seam cutter, and CRI's seam sealing rules.

• Hot-Melt Seaming: Iron Temperature, Tape and Technique

  Hot-melt carpet seams that hold and disappear: seam placement, cutting edges, tape, edge sealing, iron technique and setting the seam.

• Setting Up a Power Stretcher: Tubes and Stretch Patterns

  Setting up a power stretcher: head placement, pin depth, tail block bracing, tube runs and CRI's seven-step stretching sequence.

• Power Stretcher vs Knee Kicker

  Why CRI 105 makes power stretching mandatory, what a knee kicker is actually for, and how much stretch carpet needs.

• Knee Protection for Floor Installers

  Why floor layers' knees take more damage than almost any other trade, and how to choose hard-cap, soft-cap and no-cap knee pads for the surface you're on.

Finishing

Transitions, wall base, stairs, and edge details.

• Binding Machine Setup: Needles, Tape and Thread

  Setting up a carpet binder: needle and orientation, thread tension, folder and tape width, stitch type, and single vs double pull.

• Beveling and Carving Rugs

  What a carpet beveler does, when rug edges need beveling before binding, which tools suit cut pile vs loop, and using napping shears for touch-up.

• Carpet Binding vs Serging

  Tape binding and serging both finish a carpet edge. How they differ in look, cost and fit, and what equipment each takes.

• Choosing a Rubber Reducer Profile

  Choosing a rubber or vinyl reducer by height difference and floor pair, with the ADA's 1/4 and 1/2 inch rules and CRI's carpet edge rule.

• Transition Strips & Thresholds by Height Difference

  How to pick a transition by the height difference between floors, what the ADA allows on accessible routes, and the mistakes that cause trip edges and failed...

Maintenance

Keeping machines and tools running between jobs.

• Rebuilding a Knee Kicker: Teeth, Pads and Heads

  Rebuilding a knee kicker: replacing pin plates and teeth, setting pin depth, and swapping the bumper pad on Roberts and Crain kickers.

• Power Stretcher Care and Common Wear Parts

  Keeping a Crain or Roberts power stretcher working: pin depth, lubrication, the wear parts that fail first, and their part numbers.

Troubleshooting

• Binding Machine Skipped Stitches and Timing

  Fixing skipped stitches, broken thread and poor feed on a carpet binder, with the checks from National's BindPro manual.

• Seaming Iron Not Heating or Overheating

  Diagnosing a seaming iron that won't heat or runs too hot: settings, cords, thermostats and elements, and what overheating does to seams.

• Peaked and Visible Seams

  Why stretched seams peak, what CRI says about seam visibility, and how iron temperature, tape, edge sealing, rollers and weights affect the result.

• Carpet Ripples and Re-Stretching

  What CRI says causes carpet wrinkles and buckles, and the steps for a proper re-stretch, including the adjoining rooms.

Shop the tools

• Carpet Pullers
• Power Stretchers & Accessories
• Knee Kickers
• Seaming Irons & Weights
• Seam Rollers
• Seaming Cutters & Row Finders
• Tack Strip and Anchoring Tools
• Carpet Binders & Sergers