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There are many factors that go into making a carpet installation and making a great carpet installation job. Next time you are out driving on the highway check out the vans that you pass or are passing you that are loaded down with carpet hanging out the back door. The week before Christmas I witnessed while driving on Crescentville Road in Cincinnati, Ohio one such van where the roll of carpet (hope it wasn’t coming to your home) actually was about 75 % out the backdoor and dragging on the pavement. Talk about some rough edges to try and get a clean seam edge ! Not to mention the soil and road rash to the carpet.
As you can probably imagine there are many factors that go into a properly installed carpet job. Lets start with the crew who is installing your job. Are they trained and do they have the necessary tools to get the job done correctly ? Seaming iron, kicker, wall trimmer, power-stretcher, stair tool, knives and of course seam tape. I want to focus today on the seam tape, which is the material that holds your carpet seams together properly. A roll of seam tape can start out at $3.95 per roll and can go up to as much as $13.95 per roll. The big three carpet manufactures…Shaw, Mohawk & Beaulieu want you to have your carpet professionally steam cleaned every 18-24 months. They also require the carpet to be cleaned by a member of the Carpet & Rug Cleaning Institute (this association has set certain standards in cleaning) and they also want you to keep your receipts. This assures the maker of your carpet that you have maintained to their standards in taking care of your carpet. If a warranty issue would arise then you would have your bases covered and a complaint could be initated on your behalf. The choice of the seam tape is pretty well left up to the crew that comes to your home with the carpet. Needless to say there are many installers who will stop by the local big box store and pick up a roll of $ 4 seam tape and throw into the back of the truck along side the roll of carpet that is already hanging out of his truck. God forbid if its raining . Water, rolls of unprotected carpet and seam tape just don’t mix. So ….what’s the point.
If the carpet manufacture goes to great length to make a good piece of carpet and wants you to abide by the warranty guidelines then why would you want a installer to come to your home with cheap seam tape and expect the seams to stand up to hot water extraction cleaning methods for years to come. There is a difference in the quality of $ 4 tape and $ 13 roll of seaming tape. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a happy medium here. Not every job requires the best. For example a apartment grade carpet that will probably be replaced every 3-4 years can hold up very well with a cheaper seam tape. We are installing a beautiful Shaw Soft Bac Anso Nylon carpet this week that is a 58.5 ounce face weight and believe me we are not using a $ 4 roll of seam tape. This gorgeous carpet will last the home owner 15-20 years and I want the seams to withstand the traffic movement and steam cleaning over those years to come. So a seam tape like Chapco Top Gun 50 will do a great job. The Top Gun 50 also well do a great job on Hollytex and Coronet Carpet with Luxury Back.
So lets talk about the difference in the seam tapes. I want to use for a example Chapco Industries. They are a maker of fine quality adhesives and tools for today’s installation mechanic and are a industry leader. CHAPCO® has the right solutions for all for your flooring installation needs! From fast-setting surface preparation products to high-performing adhesives, Chapco provide installers the confidence of quality installations every time. Chapco’s advanced quality and low-emitting formulations ensure a better work environment for customers and lasting reliability for end users.
For more than 70 years, CHAPCO has delivered exceptional, dependable performance with every application, and today, they’re still the leader in eco-friendly adhesives and surface prep solutions.
Chapco manufactures over 8 quality seam tapes. Below are some of the attributes of their product lineup………………
Performance 100 light traffic…..1 lb 14 oz…..Smokeless & Ordorless….apartment grade
Performance 200 moderate traffic..2 lb 2 oz…..Smokeless & Ordorless…..builder grade
Maximum Security 911….heavy traffic..2 lb 12 oz….Reinforced DuPont Kevlar…heavy traffic seams
Performance Max 300.moderate to semi heavy traffic..2lb..8 oz…Smokeless & Ordorless
Top Gun 50….. heavy traffic…2 lb 14 oz…Silicone release..Full 4 ” wide….large family seams
So, what is to gain from all this ? To help you make the right decision when you choose the store that will supply your flooring and the installation. Your local specialty store is your best choice because they can control who installs your carpet and the materials that the installer uses to seam the carpet together. Using a store that has CFI (Certified Flooringcovering Installers) is always the best choice. This group of highly trained and certified mechanics already knows the difference in what makes a properly installed job right. These installers
Chapco Seamin Tape
have passed rigorous installation tests to qualify as trained professionals.
Don’t wait til the day of the job when the installer knocks on your door and has the roll of carpet on his shoulder and is ready to install your carpeting. He has already stopped and purchased his supplies for your job and isn’t going to sit down and discuss the type of seam tape he is prepared to use. Do that when you discuss your needs at the floor covering store. Another advantage in buying from a specialty shop. All of these factors go into making your job turn out beautiful for years to come. That $ 4 a roll seam tape just won’t stand up to repeated steam cleaning over the next 8-12 years. And believe me ….when seams come apart and start raveling there isn’t a lot that even a CFI installer can do to repair the broken seams.
I trust this article will help enlighten you on the behind the scenes look at the tools of the trade the carpet installer uses. Make sure you discuss the seaming techniques that the flooring store will use on your particular carpet installation. If they are not familiar with seaming then find a retailer that can help educate you on the placement of the seams and school you on types of seam tape and stretching of the carpet and other valuable skills needed to make your flooring job last a long time.