Unsightly folds in a carpet around the perimeter of a room or in high-traffic areas cause carpets to wear unevenly and create a tripping hazard. Carpet re-stretching will protect you from falls and extend the life of your carpet. It’s a multistep process explained in detail below. 

Why Do Carpets Need Stretching? 

A professionally installed carpet should be perfectly taut and lay flat against the floor. However, the fibers in carpets—polyester, nylon, polypropylene, and wool—loosen with time. Although buckling is more likely to occur near seams, it can occur anywhere in a room. Sometimes, the tacking strips used to attach carpeting to the subfloor warp from moisture, pest damage, or inconsistent temperatures, causing ripples in a carpet.  

What Is It?

Carpet re-stretching smooths the folds in a carpet. If repairers see a problem with tacking strips, they’ll replace them. It’s a relatively labor-intensive process that requires a variety of tools, including a power carpet stretcher, carpet cutter, staple gun, tack strips, pry bar, rubber mallet, chisel, and pliers. Teams usually wear gloves and protective boots.  

What’s the Process?

The room is first cleared of furniture. From there, a technician evaluates the situation and determines which sides of the carpet to stretch and if any tack boards should be replaced. Next, they’ll carefully remove the toe strips from the affected walls and lift the carpeting, taking out staples as they work to prevent tearing.  

They’ll replace worn or warped tack boards using a rubber mallet and chisel. Then, they’ll position a power stretcher about six inches from the wall where the carpeting is still anchored. By pushing down on its lever, they increase the tension to stretch the carpet.  

After the fibers are stretched and the folds removed, the technician cuts away the excess, checks alignment, and pushes the carpet down onto the tacks, using a staple gun to secure the padding. They’ll reattach the toe strips and then steam the carpet. 

Carpet re-stretching is physically demanding and requires considerable upper-body strength, especially if a knee kicker, rather than a power stretcher, is used. Regardless of the tool in use, the result will be a perfectly flat and safer carpet to walk on for years to come.

If you need carpet re-stretching services, choose a repair service with a reputation for excellence. Cross Carpet Repair & More in Lexington, KY, offers a satisfaction guarantee on all carpet repairs and installations. To learn more about their commercial and residential services, visit their website, or call (859) 225-3863 to schedule an appointment today.