How to stabilize Carpet backing near selvage edge.

[MSLI]

We only had 3/4” trim on the selvage edge to meet the hallway carpet and most of the time that’s not enough trim for a stable seam edge. However, with very little effort the use of a glue gun can be your friend.

I applied a 1” wide bead of glue along the 3’ edge and smoothed it flat into the nooks and crannies with the applicator nozzle. Then let it dry completely before trace cutting to the hallway carpet. Now seam seal and burn the seam as usual.

I hope this tip using the tip of a glue gun becomes helpful for you and your customers, so you can keep those customers for the next one.

 

[C.J.]

Nice way to seal the edge and it’s a lot quicker than waiting for seam sealer to dry. Do you already hot glue seal your seams so you already had your gun up and running.

 

[MSLI]

Nice way to seal the edge and it’s a lot quicker than waiting for seam sealer to dry. Do you already hot glue seal your seams so you already had your gun up and running.

I flip flop between Latex, Acrylic and Thermoplastic, but currently I’m using Acrylic because I have excess stock. Also the hot glue gun is set up with standard tip, used for attaching Pad, small pieces of tackless and baby thresholds. Another reason is the difficulty applying the correct amount of hot glue onto a straight edge cut, in apartment grade plush Carpet. The edge winds up being rough and ‘ Wet Sealer ‘ applies a little bit easier.

 

[C.J.]

Wasn’t there some trick to getting seam sealer to dry faster? Something like spritzing it with alcohol or some other craziness.

I always used Orcon Fast Lock and either seamed it wet or you had to wait like 20 minutes for it to dry. I was always picking seam sealer boogers off of my iron from seaming wet. I’ve used Parabond a few times and wasn’t a fan. I think it’s a decent sealer and does a great job but it took too long to dry for me

If you step up to the area rug making glue guns you can get a cool tip for spreading the hot glue. The one I had looked like a T-bar and had a slit maybe 1.5” or 2” wide. Squeeze out your glue and press it into the backing as you move along. If you run into this type of situation enough it might be worth it to buy a specialized tip.

This one is supposed to work with the Pam gun but there’s other options.

https://www.gluegun.com/collections...le-spreader-glue-gun-nozzle?variant=268451794