Who's at fault?

[Darren Ramey]

Did a woven Stark install a few weeks back in a MBR. The kind of carpet that is just individual fibers, not loops really. Hard as hell to seam, much sealer was used. They still had a lot of work to do in the bath but they wanted to install a closet system after the carpet was in. I recommended they wait until construction was done but they didn't want too. The contractor said he would cover the floors. I said don't use the sticky sheets, just cover it in plastic.

I just recieved a panicked message on my phone. The contractor pulled up the plastic and most of the seam came undone. Something tells me he used the sticky stuff... and just kept pulling? I'm afraid to ask for a picture. I don't think it's fixable and it's $120 a yard material.

 

[C.J.]

Did a woven Stark install a few weeks back in a MBR. The kind of carpet that is just individual fibers, not loops really. Hard as hell to seam, much sealer was used. They still had a lot of work to do in the bath but they wanted to install a closet system after the carpet was in. I recommended they wait until construction was done but they didn't want too. The contractor said he would cover the floors. I said don't use the sticky sheets, just cover it in plastic.

I just recieved a panicked message on my phone. The contractor pulled up the plastic and most of the seam came undone. Something tells me he used the sticky stuff... and just kept pulling? I'm afraid to ask for a picture. I don't think it's fixable and it's $120 a yard material.

Unless there was an expectation or obligation for you to protect the floor after you were done, it’s not your fault. Regardless, you’ll prolly be expected to fix (or replace) it but they should be expecting to pay for you and any necessary materials.

Do you take before and after pics of your job so if it comes down to it you can document what the job looked like after you were done? Maybe any texts or emails back n forth about what kind of protection to use and what kind to not use? Even better is any back n forth communications about who is responsible for protecting the carpet while other construction is still going on.

 

[highup]

Did a woven Stark install a few weeks back in a MBR. The kind of carpet that is just individual fibers, not loops really. Hard as hell to seam, much sealer was used. They still had a lot of work to do in the bath but they wanted to install a closet system after the carpet was in. I recommended they wait until construction was done but they didn't want too. The contractor said he would cover the floors. I said don't use the sticky sheets, just cover it in plastic.

I just recieved a panicked message on my phone. The contractor pulled up the plastic and most of the seam came undone. Something tells me he used the sticky stuff... and just kept pulling? I'm afraid to ask for a picture. I don't think it's fixable and it's $120 a yard material.

I'd have to say the contractor learned something today.
Education is expensive.

 

[highup]

He'd also learn just how cheap a good quality tarp or drop cloth is. Ouch, that's gotta hurt.

 

[highup]

I'll add one more comment.
When warning contractors in a situation like this...... Say "no releasable sticky tape", then tell him the cost of the installation including materials, or tell him "be careful, the carpeting this room cast as much as your truck "
Then, when he stops laughing, say.
"That was not a joke", then walk away.

 

[DarisMulkin]

My quesstion would be how was the seam constructed, kind of tape, iron, etc? Maybe instructions call for the carpet to be handsewn were they read. Not placing blame but covering bases. I've never seen the sticky covering pull a seam apart before or heard of it.

 

[MSLI]

Cut pile Wilton trimming is extremely challenging. My first question Darren would be, was the warp chain intact or compromised during trimming. If the warping chain was intact and sealed properly, then you are off the hook. If it was compromised then your liability is also compromised. ….. However ! A diligently applied Latex ( not acrylic) can compensate for a partially damaged warp.
So ! All hope is not lost. If it can be proven some how, that the sticky protective plastic put undo pressure , outside the normal limits of this delicately designed and manufactured carpet, then responsibility would be on them.

Good Luck and where’s David when you need him or Nate But we do have master Daris !

 

[DarisMulkin]

However ! A diligently applied Latex ( not acrylic) can compensate for a partially damaged warp.

Amen to that brother. I can't get SBR latex here. They say it is a carciegen

 

[highup]

Amen to that brother. I can't get SBR latex here. They say it is a carciegen

Any of us older flooring guys, considering what we've been around all these years, would probably be required to wear a prop 65 wristband prior to entering California.

 

[Darren Ramey]

Crisis averted. I jumped to the conclusion that the sticky plastic had been used because I couldn't think of anything else that could have caused it. The seam had come apart in 3 fairly long spots. The only thing I can think of is that I left my KoolGlide on the T setting and it was enough to hold it together until I left. Fortunately, I sealed both sides separately because I was afraid that sliding them around to match that pattern would mess them up. The vast majority of the time I seal as I seam. Had I done that on this piece the yarn would have shredded when it pulled apart.

I just pulled it loose from the wall and went down the whole seam again with the KG on med this time. I told them to keep an eye out but I think it solved the problem. It went back together good as new.

 

[highup]

I accidentally hit the T button on a doorway seam a couple weeks ago. It was a heavy stock carpet the shop sold for a rental. This was a head seam in a doorway and I wasn't sure if the heat would do funky things. As I opened the pile to be sure the pieces were butted, I couldn't get the backing "shmooshed" into the hot adhesive. It felt like something was going terribly wrong. Nope, it wasn't heating correctly because it was on T Mode.

 

[MSLI]

I accidentally hit the T button on a doorway seam a couple weeks ago. It was a heavy stock carpet the shop sold for a rental. This was a head seam in a doorway and I wasn't sure if the heat would do funky things. As I opened the pile to be sure the pieces were butted, I couldn't get the backing "shmooshed" into the hot adhesive. It felt like something was going terribly wrong. Nope, it wasn't heating correctly because it was on T Mode.

And that’s why I don’t have one. I’m an old school iron boy

 

[highup]

And that’s why I don’t have one. I’m an old school iron boy

Oh, you'd like one. For patterned low profile, these are a dream. Repairs too.
Cut pile??? ......naw, I like watching the two pieces of carpet fall off the back of the iron and butt together as you move along.
With thin piles and patterns, you instantly know if they are together.
They call it a Kool Glide because it is.

 

[Darren Ramey]

I love the KG but it needs one of two things to make it perfect. For the love of all that is holy, move the lights to the top of the handle. I've been asking for this since they were released (I had the first one Fishman sold in NC). Barring that, at least make a beeping noise when the button is pressed and when it is time to move it. Maybe a different noise for T-mode as that is easy to forget about.

The second wouldn't require any redesign, and probably only cost a few cents per iron to implement.

 

[highup]

I love the KG but it needs one of two things to make it perfect. For the love of all that is holy, move the lights to the top of the handle. I've been asking for this since they were released (I had the first one Fishman sold in NC). Barring that, at least make a beeping noise when the button is pressed and when it is time to move it. Maybe a different noise for T-mode as that is easy to forget about.

The second wouldn't require any redesign, and probably only cost a few cents per iron to implement.

I can't believe they haven't done that 50 cent modification. 8 inches of wire, drill a hole in the top of the handle for the LED and tape it on place. $500 and they WON'T do the obvious modification.

Not all installers are 2 feet tall.

A few years ago I was gonna mod the shop's KG with a custom curved strip of 1/4" fiber optic...... a 50 cent item I could make, then sell for $25 and I bet you'd suck that up in a nanosecond.
....a long with 7500 other users.
ONLY THEN will they get concerned.
.....................hint.
Start a rumor about this $25 upgrade and see if they care.
Just a single "activation" light on the handle would suffice.