DIY question: Need help stretching carpet

[RickDel]

Hello...... I need advise stretching my carpet. I bought a cheap HF stretcher but not sure the process. I have a rectangle room with a fireplace in the center. How do I work around the fireplace (how to I stretch without pulling it apart at the fireplace)? Here's a picture and a diagram of my room, with yellow lines representing the raised carpet areas. Thanks - Rick

 

[Tile Tom]

Ditch the HF junk and just rent a power stretcher at almost any rental company.

If it's plywood subfloor I would nail down a 2x4 in front of the fireplace and work it both directions. Probably could leave the hearth tucked.

 

[C.J.]

Here’s the basics for stretching a square/ rectangle room. I’d make the fireplace wall the step 5 wall. Don’t cut out the hearth until you are actually doing step 5. Make sure the carpet is rubbed down on the pins real good before you stretch away from the hearth.

 

[Mark Brown]

Thank you carpet and rug institute for your never changing stretching pattern diagram.

 

[C.J.]

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

 

[Mark Brown]

You know, I did not think that diagram really looked quite right. All of the stretches are supposed to be at 15° angles. Why do they have that diagram listed as the one they show on their webpage and then the video explaining it is all at the 15° angle??? Why do they want to confuse me?

 

[C.J.]

There’s a good article in an old FCI magazine where the author doesn’t like the CRI diagram either and goes on to explain what their preferred method of stretching is. He mentions a butterfly method which is about equal to what Tom said with his 2x4 fastened at the fireplace and stretching both ways. I was just thinking about keepin it simple for a DIY installation. Kinda like a recipe, it’s just a good starting point that a chef then tailors to their own liking.

As far as the 15 degree angle on the stretch wall, one could stretch a wall straight on but they would first want to pull a stretch across that wall before stretching up to the wall. I suppose in the diagram the long stretches are pulled at an angle first there by supposedly eliminating the need to angle the second stretch wall. I generally angle stretched everything unless I couldn’t such as I had to keep a pattern in line or some crap like that.

Man, I knew when I saw this thread there was gonna be a million ways to stretch the same room.

 

[highup]

Here’s the basics for stretching a square/ rectangle room. I’d make the fireplace wall the step 5 wall. Don’t cut out the hearth until you are actually doing step 5. Make sure the carpet is rubbed down on the pins real good before you stretch away from the hearth.

View attachment 13563

CJ said, stretch away from the hearth. Good advice.
So I'd stretch across the hearth to the left and then I'd stretch it to the right and then I'd.....
....do the hokey pokey and...
Okay seriously. You need a stretcher that has poles that will telescope from one wall across the room to the other wall. I looked at the harbor freight unit that looks like it may be good for 6 or 8 ft? That's not enough.
I would start on the left hand side and stretch parallel to the fireplace to the right side for 3 ft or so.
Next, I would turn my stretcher around and stretch the opposite direction and stretch it onto the tackstrip pins for about 3 feet.
You'd know almost immediately if its possible to get all those wrinkles out. If not, you can come very close.
My next stretch would be very tricky but I do that type of thing fairly often.
I carry around fairly often, a 4x4, 8 to 12 ft long. I will lay it across the face of a fireplace but I will support it on each side of the fireplace with a couple of 32 inch 4x4s. It forms a bit of a u-shape and forms a wall out around the fireplace for you to stretch off of. In your situation a cheater device called a stinger would probably work for that purpose.
Once I stretched to the middle of the room, directly away from the fireplace, I might rearrange my stretcher tubes and stretch left of the fireplace, then to the right of the fireplace, in equal amounts.
After that I'd stretch straight away from the fireplace to the left and then to the right.
The sequence and the purpose would be much more understandable to a carpet installer, mainly as to what you're trying to achieve. You are trying to stress the carpet equally in all directions.
It's extremely obvious that the fellow that installed this carpet originally did the hokey pokey. He didn't own a stretch her and I'm not sure if he even used his kicker. It's ridiculous to have that many wrinkles at the face of a fireplace. The cabinet installer was a carpet hack. I do think that his crappy work can be fixed one of those wrinkles can be removed.
A lot of the problems that we see in our comments might change because we can't see the opposite side of the room.
What is opposite of the fireplace, doorways, doorways with carpet seams?
The left and right stretch is to remove the wrinkles of the easy part but we don't know what happens when we move those wrinkles and into the right and the inch to the left and what the stretching might affect.
A couple more pictures might help showing what's on the opposite side of the room from the fireplace.
.

 

[highup]

Thank you carpet and rug institute for your never changing stretching pattern diagram.

Never saw a Karastan's 12 way stretching diagram?

 

[highup]

There’s a good article in an old FCI magazine where the author doesn’t like the CRI diagram either and goes on to explain what their preferred method of stretching is. He mentions a butterfly method which is about equal to what Tom said with his 2x4 fastened at the fireplace and stretching both ways. I was just thinking about keepin it simple for a DIY installation. Kinda like a recipe, it’s just a good starting point that a chef then tailors to their own liking.

As far as the 15 degree angle on the stretch wall, one could stretch a wall straight on but they would first want to pull a stretch across that wall before stretching up to the wall. I suppose in the diagram the long stretches are pulled at an angle first there by supposedly eliminating the need to angle the second stretch wall. I generally angle stretched everything unless I couldn’t such as I had to keep a pattern in line or some crap like that.

Man, I knew when I saw this thread there was gonna be a million ways to stretch the same room.

If you're going to stretch it two directions at an angle why not add a twist?
Why not do 1 2 3 4 5 and then stretch straight across the middle to wall B/D?
From the center of the room stretch downward at a 15 degree angle towards corner B, then starting in the middle of the same wall again, stretch upwards to corner D at a 15 degree angle.
......... Or just glue the carpet to the pad and call it done.
........ You laugh, but I've done seen that happen once. Do not do drugs or that can happen to you too.

 

[C.J.]

Are we restretching the room? Somehow I thought it was getting new carpet. Now I’m not even gonna return dudes phone call

 

[Tile Tom]

That diagram is a good starting point for a regular ol square/rectangle room. Like the saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
The diagram is obviously the "right" way to do it but I say whatever works. I recommend splitting because I was trying to not have a DIYer have to deal with dinking around with the hearth.
If it was new carpet I would definitely be doing something more towards the diagram Chris put up.

 

[RickDel]

CJ said, stretch away from the hearth. Good advice.
So I'd stretch across the hearth to the left and then I'd stretch it to the right and then I'd.....
....do the hokey pokey and...
Okay seriously. You need a stretcher that has poles that will telescope from one wall across the room to the other wall. I looked at the harbor freight unit that looks like it may be good for 6 or 8 ft? That's not enough.
I would start on the left hand side and stretch parallel to the fireplace to the right side for 3 ft or so.
Next, I would turn my stretcher around and stretch the opposite direction and stretch it onto the tackstrip pins for about 3 feet.
You'd know almost immediately if its possible to get all those wrinkles out. If not, you can come very close.
My next stretch would be very tricky but I do that type of thing fairly often.
I carry around fairly often, a 4x4, 8 to 12 ft long. I will lay it across the face of a fireplace but I will support it on each side of the fireplace with a couple of 32 inch 4x4s. It forms a bit of a u-shape and forms a wall out around the fireplace for you to stretch off of. In your situation a cheater device called a stinger would probably work for that purpose.
Once I stretched to the middle of the room, directly away from the fireplace, I might rearrange my stretcher tubes and stretch left of the fireplace, then to the right of the fireplace, in equal amounts.
After that I'd stretch straight away from the fireplace to the left and then to the right.
The sequence and the purpose would be much more understandable to a carpet installer, mainly as to what you're trying to achieve. You are trying to stress the carpet equally in all directions.
It's extremely obvious that the fellow that installed this carpet originally did the hokey pokey. He didn't own a stretch her and I'm not sure if he even used his kicker. It's ridiculous to have that many wrinkles at the face of a fireplace. The cabinet installer was a carpet hack. I do think that his crappy work can be fixed one of those wrinkles can be removed.
A lot of the problems that we see in our comments might change because we can't see the opposite side of the room.
What is opposite of the fireplace, doorways, doorways with carpet seams?
The left and right stretch is to remove the wrinkles of the easy part but we don't know what happens when we move those wrinkles and into the right and the inch to the left and what the stretching might affect.
A couple more pictures might help showing what's on the opposite side of the room from the fireplace.
.

Thank you for the detailed response. I'm going to read this, and the others, a few more times to make sure I understand.

The room is a rectangle. There's two French doors on both sides of the fireplace. On the opposite side is just a wall (no doors). I'd take a few more pics but my wife and kids currently have Xmas decoration everywhere, while they decorate the house.

I saw a guy use a 2x4 as an extender with his HF stretcher. Do you think I can make that work, or do I really need to look into a rental? (I'm in a small rural area, so not sure how easy it will be to rent).

I have several rooms like this, so I really need to learn the process or find someone I can trust to do the job for me. I'd prefer to DIY, and honestly I don't think there's anyone around to do it. I needed to get carpet a few years back and the ONLY place I could find an installer was the big box stores. All the local carpet stores had closed down.

 

[Floorist]

With that hearth in the middle, all stretches need to be away from it. Are there any vent holes?

 

[Tile Tom]

If it's only been a couple years I would be on the phone nagging whoever installed it.
If I installed that job and it looked like that after only a few years, I would take care of you. That said, I have NEVER received a call to restretch a job I've done. And I offer free restretch on all my jobs!!!
I'm going to say that some knucklehead installed that with his kicker in the first place. Did you see the install? Did the crew have a big power stretcher that went from wall to wall? I highly doubt it.

You should start with bugging the company that did it. You might be surprised that you won't have to lift a finger. Like the saying goes, the loudest squeak gets the oil!!!

 

[Floorist]

If it's only been a couple years I would be on the phone nagging whoever installed it.
If I installed that job and it looked like that after only a few years, I would take care of you. That said, I have NEVER received a call to restretch a job I've done. And I offer free restretch on all my jobs!!!
I'm going to say that some knucklehead installed that with his kicker in the first place. Did you see the install? Did the crew have a big power stretcher that went from wall to wall? I highly doubt it.

You should start with bugging the company that did it. You might be surprised that you won't have to lift a finger. Like the saying goes, the loudest squeak gets the oil!!!

Very true. I installed carpet for over 40 years and only had one restretch. When I installed it, I told the store there was something wrong with it. I was getting 5" of stretch in 12' and it still wasn't tight.

 

[highup]

Very true. I installed carpet for over 40 years and only had one restretch. When I installed it, I told the store there was something wrong with it. I was getting 5" of stretch in 12' and it still wasn't tight.

Mohawk 1991?

 

[Floorist]

Mohawk 1991?

Probably about 1994, but who knows how old the carpet was. Put it in the store owner's son's house. Restretched it a few months later, got several more inches. The son told me that he restretched it again.