5 Things You Should Know About Carpet Re-stretching

Your Carpet looked pristine when you first had it installed. These days, it has more wrinkles than a pug’s face. If you get up in the middle of the night, you’re hard-pressed not to trip a few times. The good news is that carpet re-stretching can solve your flooring woes.

What is Carpet Re-stretching?

Carpet re-stretching is a process that professional contractors use to restore your carpet to its original glory. They use specialized tools to work out the wrinkles safely and secure the flooring material.
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The piece of equipment that does the bulk of the work is called a power stretcher. It’s somewhat bulky, so parts of the work get done with a knee kicker. This oddly named tool gets into the smaller corners and the contractor “kicks” it with a knee cap to get it to stretch.

The first step of this process is peeling the carpet layer off of the carpet pad. The contractors have to do this carefully to avoid causing any damage. The tack strips that previously secured the carpet to the floor get removed and replaced. If the carpet pad is in bad condition, it also gets swapped in for a new one. Finally, the carpet gets stretched out so it extends over the tack strips.

While the overall number of steps is low, the specialized skills and tools required means that this is a job best reserved for experts. If it’s done incorrectly, you can ruin the carpet or carpet pad completely or even get injured on the sharp tack strips. The other downside with doing it yourself is that you could end up with even more wrinkles.

What Causes Carpet Wrinkles?

Carpet Flooring wrinkles happen for many reasons. It’s not from old age. Some of them are controllable, so it’s possible to limit this situation from occurring in the future. Others are out of your control.
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• Damage: If the carpet or the carpet pad gets cut, it can cause it to start shifting around. Once it moves far enough, wrinkles start to pop up. The carpet layers could also come apart, which gives it another chance to get out of place.
• Furniture: Beds, desks, couches and other hefty furniture do more than cause imprints in the carpet. They can also lead to wrinkles, especially if you move them around without protecting the floor. If furniture or equipment is too heavy to lift over the carpet, you can get protectors or even use some plywood to act as a cover.
• Foot traffic: Wear and tear in high-traffic areas can result in wrinkles over time. You typically see this issue occur in hallways and entryways.
• Humidity and moisture: High humidity, flood damage and spills can make the carpet stretch and expand over time. Once this happens enough times, it creates uneven areas.
• Improper installation: You might be in trouble from the second the carpet gets installed. If the contractors do it incorrectly, you’ll face wrinkles sooner than you would normally. This risk goes up if a DIY installer put the carpet in place.
• Carpet pad problems: The carpet pad also plays a part in keeping the floor wrinkle-free. If it’s not dense enough, then there are opportunities for the top layer of carpet to start moving around.

Should Carpet Be Cleaned Before Stretching?

The problem with cleaning carpet before it gets re-stretched is that you can’t reach the nooks and crannies of the wrinkles. When you take the vacuum or carpet shampooer over these parts of the carpet, you end up with a lot of dirt left behind. Wait until after your carpet is restored then go to town with a thorough cleaning.

How Much Does Carpet Stretching Cost?

Carpet stretching pricing depends on several factors, such as the total square footage of the carpet and local price fluctuations. For an average room, you can expect to pay $100+ for the process. Get the flooring company to come to your house and take a look at the extent of the wrinkles to get a better idea of how much it’s going to cost you.

While carpet re-stretching may sound too pricey, it’s not something that’s easy to do with a DIY approach. The equipment required to properly perform this job is expensive and it’s not something that’s useful to have on hand any other time.
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Is It Better to Replace the Carpet?

Replacing the carpet because of a few wrinkles is not necessary and expensive to boot. In most cases, carpet re-stretching gets your floors looking as good as new. The only exceptions to this are if the wrinkles are severe enough that they creased the floor, or if the carpet has extensive damage.

If you’re looking for an excuse to get new carpet, you can certainly use the wrinkles as one, but it’s not necessary at all. You just need the right professionals and some time to get back to a safe and beautiful carpet.

Is your carpet no longer able to stretch and no longer looks smoother than someone who has a 17-step skincare routine? We don’t repair or re-stretch carpet, but if you’re ready for a brand new carpet or hard surface floor for your home, then contact Express Flooring.

Working with us is a simple four-step process.

1. Call us. Tell us the type of floor you want and the color and space, etc. in order to schedule your free in-home appointment
2. Meet Our Design Consultant and Select Your Flooring
3. We Measure the Area and Provide a Quote For Material AND Installation
4. If You Love Everything, Then We Can Install It The Next Day!

You may even qualify for a fantastic Vacation Getaway!