Unfortunately, many homeowners jump into a new carpet installation without doing their due diligence on the company they’ve hired to do the work. More often than not, this can result in buyers’ remorse a few days to a few years down the road. Below are some of the more common installation problems the flooring contractors at Carpet Excellence in Waterbury, CT, have encountered over the years.

4 Carpet Installation Problems & How to Avoid Them

1. Buckling

When a carpet begins to buckle a year or a little more after it was installed, chances are, not enough or the wrong type of padding was installed underneath. This is a quick way to ruin your carpet, and it can cost you a lot considering most warranties won’t cover carpets that didn’t follow the right padding specifications.

You can prevent this issue by choosing a carpet padding that’s less than 8/16 of an inch. Anything larger will start having problems. Usually, carpets will call for a 7/16-inch pad, but short-pile and Berber carpets tend to require a thinner pad to avoid too much give. You’ll also need to pay close attention to the pad’s density, and you should choose one that’s  eight to 10 pounds if you want your carpet to last 10 or more years.

2. Bubbling

It’s a common situation for homeowners to have their carpet cleaned only for it to dry and bubbles to emerge. While they might think the cleaning was to blame, this is far more often the result of carpet that was not properly stretched before it was installed. This problem can easily be averted by pulling and stretching the carpet over carpet tacks.

3. Shedding

Some carpets, like staple fiber carpets, shed. While this is a normal process for a month or two after the installation, shedding after this time period is not. You can prevent this problem by either choosing a non-shedding carpet, such as bulk continuous filament (BCF) carpet, or by picking one of higher quality. For instance, a staple carpet constructed with seven-inch fibers is often a good choice.

4. Raveling

Typically, carpet pieces will need to be seamed (joined) together to cover the floor of a room; for the cut edges of these pieces to remain seamed, they must first be sealed. If this process is skipped before the carpet is installed, it can result in edge ravel, and this could eventually cause the carpet backing to start separating from the floor.

When you need new carpeting but don’t want to deal with these future problems, contact the carpet installation team at Carpet Excellence. You can speak with one of the flooring contractors today by calling (203) 756-0091. Also, check out the website to learn more about the other flooring installation services available.