Why so few tacks in strip

[Ernesto]

Tommy just had one of those earlier this week, with the 1/4 round on top of the carpet. A former carriage house behind an old Victorian home which was converted into a duplex. When measuring, I questioned whether the 1/4 round was on top, but felt how far out the tackless came and decided it was not so. Apparently it was super wide strip, because my decision was wrong.

Tia

Ha ha, yea it can get ya. Last one I had like that was thirty years ago at least. I hope they've all been taken care of by now.

The carpet was a wormy looking fiber, low pile, kind of a precursor to the frieze. Plus reeeealy old dirty hair pad.

 

[Floorist]

1/4 round on top of the strip was the standard way around here for years. Ever see any plastic tack strip? I remember taking some up but never installed any.

 

[DCS]

When in doubt just buy the aluminum strip. Smaller than J pin and upcharge the heck out of it cus it lasts forevah. I like it along sliders and on top of my wall and wrought iron fence to keep the dogs from jumping over. ouch!

http://www.halexcorp.com/carpet_tack_strip_5.shtml

we used a lot of that in hawaii (termite proof) it does wear out though like nap lock does the pins get break off after a few installs

 

[Nick]

Back in them days when I was a young buck the old sarge made me miter the corners of the strip and we used the strip cutters that had razor blades. He had some crazy ideas. Now you can literally cut strip with sizzors. GoldenTouch was pretty hard to cut and darn close to 1/4 inch. If I remember the Japanese made it on ships offshore.

What was your count on the pins in your strip?

I still miter the corners , and use the blade cutters .

 

[highup]

I still miter the corners , and use the blade cutters .

......sure you do.
......but after installing the strip, you probably use a one part satin/finish instead of doing it the right way. ....stain, then two finish coats.

 

[TNT]

I still miter the corners , and use the blade cutters .

You're amazing! And made me think about (and ask about) this, as I couldn't recall ever seeing this. My determination: not necessary, no benefit. Prove me wrong?

Ha ha, yea it can get ya. Last one I had like that was thirty years ago at least. I hope they've all been taken care of by now.
The carpet was a wormy looking fiber, low pile, kind of a precursor to the frieze. Plus reeeealy old dirty hair pad.

Yeah, I try to be observant, but that did fool me. I once bought a duplex built in 1914, and had my first experience with old horsehair pad. Not sure when it was put in, but it still was in pretty darn good shape!

1/4 round on top of the strip was the standard way around here for years. Ever see any plastic tack strip? I remember taking some up but never installed any.

That's sorta what Tommy dealt with this week, but it was the 1/4 round that was plastic. He told the customer straight up that it would definitely not be salvageable. Fortunately, the paint touch-up on the baseboard was minimal.

......sure you do.
......but after installing the strip, you probably use a one part satin/finish instead of doing it the right way. ....stain, then two finish coats.

Lo, are you talking about touching up the base? That's the customer's responsibility, so who cares? Your post makes it sound like you're talking about finishing the tack strip ...

Tia

 

[highup]

Lo, are you talking about touching up the base? That's the customer's responsibility, so who cares? Your post makes it sound like you're talking about finishing the tack strip ...

Tia

I should be a fisherman............ you are so easy. Hook line and sinker.

I was jokin' to Nick about mitering his corners. If ya go that far, ya might as well stain them and add a few coats of Spar Varnish...... sanded between coats of course.

I do touch up when I finish a job to some degree at least. I hate putting furniture back if the base finish is not at least decent after I do my work.

If I cut carpet in the driveway, I usually hit it with the hose, then blow dry it with my leaf blower so the surface is spotless. I hate when the carpet backing gets soiled.

 

[TNT]

I should be a fisherman............ you are so easy. Hokk line and sinker.

I was jokin' to Nick about mitering his corners. If ya go that far, ya might as well stain them and add a few coats of Spar Varnish...... sanded between coats of course.

I do touch up when I finish a job to some degree at least. I hate putting furniture back if the base finish is not at least decent after I do my work.

If I cut carpet in the driveway, I usually hit it with the hose, then blow dry it with my leaf blower so the surface is spotless. I hate when the carpet backing gets soiled.

I'm really not very easy at all ... do you fish? My husband is a master fisherman. Beside the point.

Does Nick really miter his corners? Huh. I do get the joke on what you were saying about staining and varnishing tackless. Really, I'm not quite so friggin' dumb! It is sooo frustrating to Tommy when he gets a bump for scraping freshly painted base. Hey, the next time you lay the carpet in the drive and do your crap, you'd ought to just use OxyClean. It is so amazing! Much better than Windex!

Tia

 

[highup]

I'm really not very easy at all ... do you fish? My husband is a master fisherman. Beside the point.

Does Nick really miter his corners? Huh. I do get the joke on what you were saying about staining and varnishing tackless. Really, I'm not quite so friggin' dumb! It is sooo frustrating to Tommy when he gets a bump for scraping freshly painted base. Hey, the next time you lay the carpet in the drive and do your crap, you'd ought to just use OxyClean. It is so amazing! Much better than Windex!

Tia

Dang, I thought you'd fall for that too.

I know you're not dumb Tia. You hang out on the forums and 99.8% of people in the flooring profession don't give a RAtz A$$ Only us real pro's do.

I don't know, but I hope Nick is jokin. If not, we all have out 'issues'
................ and I have way more than most. ....yes even Tommy.

I don't hose off driveways, but since discovering how cheap it is to buy a 200 or 400 foot roll of 12 foot wide plastic sheeting, I do use it a lot to tape to a floor surface to keep the backing relatively clean.
Customers don't like seeing dirt and grease stains on their new carpet backings and neither do I. I really do try to keep the materials clean before delivery................. carpet or vinyl.

 

[Nick]

Somethin i said.? Don't do corners , but i do miter around round walls .

 

[DarisMulkin]

1/4 round on top of the strip was the standard way around here for years. Ever see any plastic tack strip? I remember taking some up but never installed any.

I knew the guys that invented the plastic strip. They thought they had a good idea for astro turf but it didn't work out as the points kept breaking off. This would have been back in the early 70's.

Daris

 

[DarisMulkin]

I don't miter the corners but I do the bay windows and for rounds cut a whole bunch of little pieces.
Never thought of the varnishing though it may work in the corner the cats use to keep the strip from rotting. I'll have to check into that, THANKS!

Daris

 

[highup]

I got a box of Powerhold and a box of Chinese. I'll count em in the morning.
....ya got me wonderin how bad it really is.

How much is a box of it and how many feet in it?

You started it and now yer gonna have to count like I did!

If ya have to ask how much............

Who makes the strip you buy? I think you said 64 pins?

Well, that old 3/8 inch thick stuff I tore out had 76 pins per 4 ' length
The Chinese stuff I sometimes use had 56 pins
The Powerhold had 53. Not real impressive, but the wood in this strip is good.

 

[Polestretch]

Who makes the strip you buy? I think you said 64 pins?

Well, that old 3/8 inch thick stuff I tore out had 76 pins per 4 ' length
The Chinese stuff I sometimes use had 56 pins
The Powerhold had 53. Not real impressive, but the wood in this strip is good.

High, What type of Chinese tackless are you working with? The shop had a boatload (humor) of boxes from a company called Fordham. It was pure trash! The bosses wife kept buying it cause it was the cheapest tack strip out there. I was having a heck of a time getting softcrap to stick on it. One day I compared it to an American tack strip! The angle of the pins was off several degrees! The bosses wife didn't care, just shut up and keep using it.
Last December, I went in for hernia surgery and got 6 weeks off. the boss had to install crapet while I was gone. We no longer carry Chinese tackless.

 

[Ernesto]

Who makes the strip you buy? I think you said 64 pins?

Well, that old 3/8 inch thick stuff I tore out had 76 pins per 4 ' length
The Chinese stuff I sometimes use had 56 pins
The Powerhold had 53. Not real impressive, but the wood in this strip is good.

Powerhold Extra wide 4ft 1 in has 64 to 66 pins depending on the gaps where the nail is set. Powerhold Plus (commercial) has like 99 pins.

I got some old 3/4 in x 4ft Chinese, no name in white generic box thats got 99 pins. But that because in most spots theres two pins sticking out in the same spot.

 

[DarisMulkin]

Powerhold Extra wide 4ft 1 in has 64 to 66 pins depending on the gaps where the nail is set. Powerhold Plus (commercial) has like 99 pins.

I got some old 3/4 in x 4ft Chinese, no name in white generic box thats got 99 pins. But that because in most spots theres two pins sticking out in the same spot.

Two pins in the same spot means double the hold don't it?

Daris

 

[highup]

Powerhold Extra wide 4ft 1 in has 64 to 66 pins depending on the gaps where the nail is set. Powerhold Plus (commercial) has like 99 pins.

I got some old 3/4 in x 4ft Chinese, no name in white generic box that's got 99 pins. But that because in most spots there's two pins sticking out in the same spot.

I checked a different random piece out of the box, it had no obvious misfires in it ............ just 51 pins.
It's Powerhold 1 X 1 wood strip.

Would you count yours again Stevo..................

If your numbers are correct, I want to ask Powerhold why they are screwin me............. and everyone elseover here. The plywood in the strip is good, but the pin count really really sucks.

I hate cutting small pieces for door trim and door casings because I lose a foot of strip on each side searching for actual tacks in the strip.

My box says:
Powerhold extra wide wood 1X1 tackstrip

Has a part number on it:

Stock number PH-321

Lemme know, would ya? I hate to think they have more than one version of 1 X 1 wood strip and are screwin some of is.
50 pins is bad........ really bad with todays backings.

 

[Ernesto]

Again??!! Hold on a few I gotta finish a couple bids.

 

[Nick]

A Bid . What's that ?

 

[highup]

A Bid . What's that ?

That's what I was thinkin.
Isn't bidding something a guy does to compete?
I hate competition and my customers know it, so the only question they ever ask is "when can you start? "