The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Carpet Laying And Estimating Website
Piecing. Hallways and similar small areas can be covered by piecing together parts of padding remaining after the bigger cuts have been made. Use the largest pieces first, laying out and cutting all pieces as required to cover the necessary area. Be sure edges come together firmly, and tape all pieces of padding together, using any of the carpet tapes or padding tapes available, except those with built-in grippers specifically designed for carpet seams only.
LAYING OUT
After all pieces of padding have been cut to size, lay them on the floor in the proper places (usually one room at a time, of course, for convenience). On most jobs the condition of the wood floor is usually satisfactory, but if there are large splinters, loose or split boards, broken Parquetry and the like, be sure to rectify these conditions before laying down the padding. As seen in Chapter 4. floor conditions that require
attention should have already been reported by the man who did the measuring and estimating.
When wide cracks are encountered in wooden floors, building paper or even newspapers should be placed over the cracks before laying the padding, otherwise dust will be drawn up from between the floor boards and eventually streak the carpet.
STRETCHING
Stretching of padding is necessary only if the padding is wrinkled or creased as it comes from the roll, which of course should not happen if it has been handled with proper care. If wrinkled, tack it down at one end, or hold down in place with light sandbags or other weights. With the knee kicker (page 133) gently push until the padding is flat. Don't apply too much pressure or the padding may tear; remember, it isn't woven like carpet, but merely felted or matted together. (Padding with foam rubber skin or coating can't be stretched, but fortunately it can't get wrinkled or creased, either.) If the wrinkle comes back again, tack or staple both sides of the wrinkle while it is held flat. If too much slack is involved in the wrinkle, it is advisable to cut out the wrinkled portion, butting the edges and tacking and stapling to the floor.
ANCHORING
When the padding has been laid out flat, first tack or staple the areas where the edges or ends come together, placing tacks about 3 in. apartas in Fig. 7.1. In addition, some carpet mechanics sew or tape such edges or ends to insure against their coming apart under heavy traffic.
