Looped pile carpet repair at an angle

[highup]

Have you ever done a looped pile carpet repair cutting a diagonal instead of row cutting?

Some people re oriented their wood stove hearth, so now its parallel with the walls. A 5' by 5' repair piece needs to be seamed on in this corner.
The carpet is 25 years old, and white and in good shape. Loops are medium height, not like a fat Berber. They have a large piece of carpet for the repair.
If I do the seams on rows, it will put the repair way out in front of the hearth. A diagonal seam wouldn't be nearly as far out in front of the hearth, and would end against the wall where furniture will set.
Being the carpet is old and has faded, the seam will show regardless. It's an olefin product, so out from the hearth it has flattened from being walked on.......... row cutting for a head seam will be difficult if it's even possible.... I doubt it.
If I do a diagonal cut, the carpet is not flattened where I'd cut the seam, so the repair piece will match the pile thickness and texture of the existing carpet. I'd of course have to very carefully cut and seal the loops and probably end up trimming the top a bit once the seam is done.
The carpet has faded, so it's not gonna match anyway........... Should I break the rules?

 

[Floorist]

Do whatever works.

 

[highup]

There's a 1 1/2 foot triangle missing from the other side of the hearth, so I'll do that repair at an angle to see how the carpet loops behave and how it looks. Plenty of carpet to play with.
Got my serpentine too............. hmmmmmmm?

 

[Nick]

I would latex the backing first to keep the loops from fraying ..

 

[DarisMulkin]

If you can't get a good bias area to top cut what I would do is cut it from the back, but don't cut so deep as to cut the yarns. Then pull on the scrap piece to extend the loops. Cut off with shears at the base of the yarn and do the same on the new piece. That way there is no frayed yarn and hopefully the loops that remain will fill in the voids.
No matter what it is going to show even if the carpet was just a year old due to the dust from the air in the older carpet. :army:

:camping:

Daris

 

[Floorist]

Don't end up with a "frayed knot".

 

[Ernesto]

I would hand sew it tight to the bundle wrap.

 

[Nick]

I would sell the customer Hardwood ..

 

[highup]

I would hand sew it tight to the bundle wrap.

It's not woven goods. It just needs sealing on the edge like any other carpet seam edge. I figure on face cutting one side and cutting the repair piece from the back side. The carpet on the floor has the right pile direction for face or top cutting. That method would be less destructive to the loops.

 

[highup]

If you can't get a good bias area to top cut what I would do is cut it from the back, but don't cut so deep as to cut the yarns. Then pull on the scrap piece to extend the loops. Cut off with shears at the base of the yarn and do the same on the new piece. That way there is no frayed yarn and hopefully the loops that remain will fill in the voids.
No matter what it is going to show even if the carpet was just a year old due to the dust from the air in the older carpet. :army:

:camping:

Daris

If that works, Id seal the edges with latex and dry it with a hair dryer. Next, the edge can be sealed with a glue gun. Once the seam is heated, the thin film of hot glue gets reactivated and assists in reducing any voids...... you can tweak or reposition the loops a tad while the seam is hot.
I went over there today to start, but there was a guy spraying texture. They have guests tomorrow, so maybe I can do this one on Friday. Plenty of carpet to experiment with to check it's behavior and make a practice seam cut or three.

 

[highup]

If you can't get a good bias area to top cut what I would do is cut it from the back, but don't cut so deep as to cut the yarns. Then pull on the scrap piece to extend the loops. Cut off with shears at the base of the yarn and do the same on the new piece. That way there is no frayed yarn and hopefully the loops that remain will fill in the voids.
No matter what it is going to show even if the carpet was just a year old due to the dust from the air in the older carpet. :army:

:camping:

Daris

Well Daris...... I did try that "bias angle" I used a corner of the donor carpet for my guinea pig.
It looked so-so. There was a burned spot just beyond that bias angle.
I change the bias angle drastically and the test seam was much improved.
I ended up sealing the cut edges with a lot of latex (orcon) and letting it soak into the backing edges. Guessing around an 1/8" bead. I let it dry for 1/2 hour then sealed the Orcon glue with the hot glue gun using just a minuscule film of hot glue. Doing that insured the Orcon glue wouldn't act like contact cement when positioning the sealed seam edges. The seam turned out much better than I could have imagined. Had the carpet been new instead of faded, soiled and compacted, the seam would have turned out almost undetectable unless you new it was there.

I felt like a hack cutting a seam this way. I seemed weird ...and wrong, cutting at a sharp angle and from the top side.
It was sealed up well and ought to be pretty durable. Everyone is happy with the results. ....so is me.

 

[Roland]

When it comes to repairs, all the manufacturers rules can go out the window. Not saying not to try and row. What I am saying is, do it the way that will give you best results. I have angled seamed a berber many of times. Just open up the loops as you cut, ( I use my scissors ) and then make sure you seal good and then bam your done.

 

[highup]

When it comes to repairs, all the manufacturers rules can go out the window. Not saying not to try and row. What I am saying is, do it the way that will give you best results. I have angled seamed a berber many of times. Just open up the loops as you cut, ( I use my scissors ) and then make sure you seal good and then bam your done.

Yup, sealing it up good was the ticket to make this one work.
I made 2 test cuts. One was at a diagonal that mimicked the carpets own diagonal pattern. 45ish I guess. I needed to go another 6 or 8 inches out into the carpet to eliminate a burn mark, so I made a much steeper angled cut. (both were face cuts) This second cut looked much better for some reason. I cut the field piece from the top, and the repair piece from the back side and used scissors like you and Daris mentioned. I spent a lot of time gingerly but thoroughly sealing the edges. Not quite a bam.
I used the Sinch seamer for this one. Best tool for this particular repair.
Thanks for popping in Roland.

 

[Floorist]

Kool Glide is great for repairs. I know guys who would have just stapled in a piece.

 

[highup]

Kool Glide is great for repairs. I know guys who would have just stapled in a piece.

.....and I know guys who would end up not getting paid.

 

[highup]

Kool Glide was great for this repair because running a regular iron through berber at and angle is asking for some distortion. The Carpet One store lets me use theirs whenever I need it.

 

[Floorist]

Kool Glide was great for this repair because running a regular iron through berber at and angle is asking for some distortion. The Carpet One store lets me use theirs whenever I need it.

Roland gave me an old one several years ago. It works great.

 

[highup]

That was ............Kool.