How to Re-stretch Carpet The Right Way

Over the life of a carpet with the traffic and wear, it may need to be re-stretched because it has bubbles or buckles in it. Even errors in installation may show that a carpet needs re-stretching because over time it has buckled.

The key goal to re-stretching is to get the carpet tight again like when it was new. Power stretching is one of the best ways to re-stretch your carpet. You might want to check your local business listings to see if there is a business that rents power stretchers before you attempt to start on this job. Using a power stretcher will stretch the carpet one percent to one and a half percent in all directions. When carpet is stretched properly, you don’t usually get the buckles, bubbles, and wrinkles that you would otherwise get.

The first thing you want to do before even attempting to do a power stretching on your carpet is remove all the furniture from the room. Stretching should be done over the entire carpet at one time and if you have any furniture blocking any section, you will not be able to do it.

There may be tack strips like around walls and door entrance ways that will need to be loosened prior to attempting to stretch. Stretching is going to add length to the carpet so if you do not loosen it from tack strips, it will bubble right there. You can always re-attach the tack strip when the stretching is complete (there may be some trimming involved).

Check for any cushioning that may have bunched up underneath the carpet. Also, the cushioning or padding may have de-laminated in some areas and you will need to remove any material that is bunched up underneath.

As you stretch the carpet, it will more than likely reposition itself around vents and doorways. You may have to have some spare scraps of the same carpet so that you can seam pieces into it and make up for this repositioning.

Be cautious of unraveling at the edges. This is especially risky with older carpet. Get some seam sealer adhesive so that you can prevent any unraveling from occurring at the edges. This sealing is recommended for edges that will be placed under a metal strip and edges that are lifted to hard surface flooring.

Consider this as well: Carpet that is loose because of buckles or bubbles will wear faster because it gets flexed every time someone walks on it. So stretching prolongs the life of the carpet in that aspect. Another thing to consider is safety too. If an area is badly bunched up then someone could trip over it. All these reasons will make it easy to justify stretching your carpet.

But most of all, it will just look better when it’s all fully re-stretched.

Next article: Floor Preparation for Good Carpet Installation