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Carpet Laying And Estimating Website

PUT EVERYTHING IN BUT THE KITCHEN SINK

Don't be afraid to clutter up your sketch with details—you'll be glad you did later. Indicate the location of all doors, closets, windows where they reach the floor, French doors, radiators, standpipes, risers, and the like. In particular, mark "Main Entrance" or "Front Door" very clearly on the drawing. Most drawings of this type place the front of the house, or of the room, at the top of the plan, but some place it at the bottom. Make sure that whatever system you use, the drawing is clear on this point.

Indicate the foot and head of every stairway. If there are any unusual conditions on any part of the job, such as special instructions from the customer, make a notation to that effect in the appropriate place on the drawing.

The relation of the area to be carpeted to all adjoining carpeted rooms and halls should be shown on the plan, e.g.. "door to dining room," or "door to hallway," etc. The plan showing these adjoining areas should clearly indicate the direction of the seams in the carpet if those areas are already carpeted.

For curved and very intricate sections, use a template. That is, take a piece of paper large enough for the purpose and trace the outline of the curve or irregular line on it, then cut it to fit the actual space. Then indicate on the sketch the section of the floor that the template covers.

Check all clearances under doors where carpet is laid. Some doors do not allow sufficient clearance between wood floor and bottom of door for carpet of average thickness. It will be a great help to know this in advance rather than being confronted with it during the process of carpet laying. Sometimes the padding can be thinned or eliminated to provide the necessary clearance, or a wood door can be planed a sufficient amount on the bottom edge. Recently a hinge that lifts a door 3/4 in. to clear the average carpet has been introduced by Cal-Palm. Inc., of Hollywood, Calif. Called the "Door-Lift," the patented hinge raises a door as it is opened and lowers it when it closes. It fits any door and is easily installed.