Thermo or latex

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Some work, finally.
It's a Karastan wool Berber with a jute back. It's a 15 by 17 bedroom and a landing area, so there's just a doorway seam and a 15 foot seam for the 3'6" main fill.
Orcon sealer or thermo? ....or does it make a difference? I've thermo sealed almost everything for ......25 years? ...like forever.
Berbers with jute backing seem to have a bit of a loose connection on the trimmed edge. It of course needs sealing, but I'm just curious of your thoughts and reasoning.
I'm using a Koolglide on it. I've cooked a lot of thinner patterned or looped carpets on the low setting. This is a thicker one, a typical fat Berber.
Low or medium? I don't want to scorch the jute.
I'm installing this over a 40 oz synthetic felt pad.

 

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This is the carpet

 

[DarisMulkin]

I think I'd use latex. The backing and the face aree both natural fibers and you want to fill in the gaps to enscapulate the base of the yarns. But both would probably work. Make sure to use the koolglide sticks if you do the thermo.

 

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I've even done both. When the latex is close to dry, the heat from the gun along with a miniscule amount of hot glue will finish drying the latex and prevent the latex from acting like contact cement.
In all these years, Stanley or Arrow are the only glue sticks I've used.

 

[C.J.]

I got out of carpet before thermo sealing was a thing so I have a question. Does using thermo vs latex make a difference when it comes to stretching. Let’s say you thermo seal the seams before you pull a stretch along the length of the seam. Will thermo seam sealer limit or affect the amount of stretch since jute back will stretch significantly more than say a stiff assed action back or soft bac carpet will.

I’m sure you stretch it 3 ways from Sunday then let it acclimate overnight so for you it may not even matter but I still wonder.

 

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You apply thermo lightly. It reactivates and can ooze up if you apply too much.

 

[C.J.]

Makes sense. I was just wondering cus you can’t stretch a glue stick but a latex booger will.

 

[DarisMulkin]

Thermo sealing does help in preventing seam peaking. If it can't hinge it can't peak but it won't help in seam profiling-the tape showing.. Seam peaking will ony peak the thickness of the backing.

 

[highup]

I got out of carpet before thermo sealing was a thing so I have a question. Does using thermo vs latex make a difference when it comes to stretching. Let’s say you thermo seal the seams before you pull a stretch along the length of the seam. Will thermo seam sealer limit or affect the amount of stretch since jute back will stretch significantly more than say a stiff assed action back or soft bac carpet will.

I’m sure you stretch it 3 ways from Sunday then let it acclimate overnight so for you it may not even matter but I still wonder.

The carpet is plenty acclimated. I'm not sure if the product requires it or not. Jute back but typical primary material.
This was a pain to cut the seam. I tried pulling a row, but doing so seemed to pull latex out the seam edge. I ended up separating the rows over a carpet tube and cutting with a utility knife.
No way was a row cutter going to work
Latex took forever and a day to dry, then the Koolglide cord shorted out again. I fixed one section a couple weeks ago
The wires are broken inside because guys using the iron loop the cord super tight, then shove it inside the handle loop. Over time it's broken the copper strands inside the cord.
......soooo, it got McGuyvered on the spot.
The carpet is in place now. I still have to fold the carpet back to complete the last section of The seam, then we can start stretching.
There's also a 5 by 12 landing to seam on but the seam is trimmed and latexed.
What a crappy day progress wise.
We'll finish up tomorrow.

 

[MSLI]

This was a pain to cut the seam. I tried pulling a row, but doing so seemed to pull latex out the seam edge. I ended up separating the rows over a carpet tube and cutting with a utility knife.

That sucks ! Nice looking carpet, but Berber seams can be stubborn to trim, you needed Master hall of Fame winner Daris on that one.

So you free handed it ? Has anyone ever used an ice pick to transfer the row to the backside and gently cut with a small straight edge ?

 

[highup]

Yup, freehanded it. Kinda like an okie top cutter. I slid a 6" drywall spreader down the rows, wiggling it around to be sure I parted the loops before I made each cut. Slow, but guaranteed.
I double sealed. Plenty of latex applied with surgical precision, then when totally dry, a very thin film of thermo. Seamed one day, stretched yesterday. We finished about 6:30, then loaded all my tools, extra pad and stuff into the truck for an hours ride home in pouring rain. Working out of my pickup means anything important was double wrapped in plastic to stay dry. It rained while loading too. Miserable trip home. This job was 3x more labor intensive than I imagined..... and I knew it wasn't going to be an easy one.
Trying to straighten the rows and keeping the rows straight along the walls just took forever.
I turned under and hand tacked two edges against wood at the top of the stairs and a bathroom doorway threshold.. No way was I going to tuck in behind some tackstrip with this fat looped wool
$884 wasn't nearly enough for 46 yards of carpet. She rounded my bill to $950 and got two bags of cookies. That was nice.

 

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Instead of an ice pick, I shove drywall nails between the rows every one to two feet. Turning the carpet over, I wiggle each nail then pull it out. After removing the nail, poke a pencil in the hole and spin it, creating a nice dot...... After you're done, you have a nice row of dots to cut on with a square or straightedge.
The blue in the layout below is the landing's railing that overlooks the living room.
There were to roof beams to cut around where they met the floor..... Sort of like an A-frame home.... those were back killers, laying down to cut around.
I've done so few installs in the last couple of years, this job has me beat up. Ibuprofen is helping a little. Even with knee pads on, I've got a blister on my knee because there was a crease in my pants. Looks like an easy install from the diagram, but it was far from it.
Glad it's over, glad I survived, glad they're happy.... wished I'd finished early enough to get a check in the bank. Now, not till Tuesday...
...Happy Martin Luther King Day
Too dark, too late, didn't care to get photos last night, so here's some before photos.

 

[MSLI]

Yup, freehanded it. Kinda like an okie top cutter. I slid a 6" drywall spreader down the rows, wiggling it around to be sure I parted the loops before I made each cut. Slow, but guaranteed.

Nice ! Never thought of that before. Work is slow, everyone is staying put. Worked a few days last week, I’m hurting, big time. Even a measure job kicked my ass. It was a retirement home that has buildings sprawled out all over the place. I must have walked 3 miles or so. Good thing was the cheep lunch in their newly renovated cafeteria. Tuna sandwich, chips, banana, gateraid , water and dessert for 8.50

At one of the measures (for carpet only) a separate contractor was laying planks over a gypcrete slab. He obviously didn’t seal the slab as it looked like someone dropped a barrel of baby powder on the floor. What would you guys have done if you were hired to lay that floor.

 

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I'm eating a tuna sandwich as I type.

 

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Nice ! Never thought of that before. Work is slow, everyone is staying put. Worked a few days last week, I’m hurting, big time. Even a measure job kicked my ass. It was a retirement home that has buildings sprawled out all over the place. I must have walked 3 miles or so. Good thing was the cheep lunch in their newly renovated cafeteria. Tuna sandwich, chips, banana, gateraid , water and dessert for 8.50

At one of the measures (for carpet only) a separate contractor was laying planks over a gypcrete slab. He obviously didn’t seal the slab as it looked like someone dropped a barrel of baby powder on the floor. What would you guys have done if you were hired to lay that floor.

I'd try to find who poured the "gypcrete" product and get the right sealer.

 

[MSLI]

I'd try to find who poured the "gypcrete" product and get the right sealer.

I did a few installs in the past at this complex and ever time someone moves out (gets their Eagle wings) the renovation contractor sometimes removes the tackless, and that can damage the gypcrete. They would supply us with a blue sealer /primer before patching. But something tells me if the floor is flat, they probably ignore the excessive powdery surface and have at it with the newly chosen flooring.

 

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Speed is the name of the game....
...I've never played competitively.