[jpmassey]

So I'm all excited about my carpet being installed and rush home after work to check it out. When I open the door to the basement and walk down the steps I start to see scratches all over my walls. The drywall had a small chunk out of it. The baseboards had been beaten up in a couple of spots. Then I walk into the theater and noticed the carpet had not been wrapped around and under the lip of my proscenium, it was just cut at the bottom. Same for the seating platform, the carpet was cut too short in areas and the cuts where sloppy. I was sooooo dissapointed!!!


-Any installers out there with advice?

-Anybody exerience this problem?

-How did they wrap around your lip?


I went with a reputable company so the carpet would be installed right and this is what I was met with.


Any advice for when they come out to look at the problems would be appreciated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

jmass

 

[Mntneer]

Take pictures now. Call their manager and have them fix the work.

 

[patrickwebb]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mntneer Take pictures now. Call their manager and have them fix the work.

Yes, exactly.

 

[Rayjr]

I would contact there manager as well and get them to redo and repair all the damage.

My Father inlaw has done carpet for like 35 years, and he was telling me how the trade has changed..most work is done very shoty now.


Here are some pictures of the carpet inlaying my father inlaw just did for my theater...risers to follow
www.avcmall.com/htroom

look at the carpet pictures.


any comments would be nice...good or bad


Later

Rayjr

 

[Ed B. 1979]

Rayjr - that two tone carpet job looks pretty sweet!


I don't know if i would trust an installer enough to do it though.

 

[garyfritz]

Actually the two-tone inlay job isn't THAT hard. Straight lines like that are downright easy. Installers do that kind of seaming all the time, just generally not with two colors of carpet.


My wife had some "creative" ideas of how she wanted to "landscape" the basement. One section has an area of green "grass" that she wanted inlaid with a curved, wavy border. The installers (all Hispanic, only one spoke any English at all) didn't quite get the picture at first. Finally I spoke to the lead guy and said "See this wavy chalk line on the concrete? That's where the edge of the green is supposed to be." He looked incredulous. "You want the edge to bend like that??" Uh-huh. Hilarious laughter. He spoke in rapid-fire Spanish to his crew. More riotous laughter.


But the lead guy talked to the boss, and said they'd have to charge $150 more for the curved border. No sweat, I said. (That was probably an incredibly good price for the job.) They proceeded to cut it and seam it together perfectly. I can post pictures if anybody's curious.


Jmass, if you went with a reputable company, then document the damage and wrongly-done areas, and demand they fix it. If they're really reputable, they won't argue. If they do, file a complaint with the BBB.


Gary

 

[jasplat88]

I think you should expect some scratches to the paint (especially flat paint)when carpet is installed----yes even using professionals. Now it just becomes to what degree is acceptable and what is just poor craftsmanship. It definitely sounds like in this case that they did a VERY poor installation. I would agree....take pictures and contact them ASAP.


As for under riser/stage overhangs (lips), I have seen installers staple and/or glue under the overhang....just like stairs. I have a more complex riser since I have multiple levels AND 10 (total) step lights plus outlets that need to be cut-out with VERY litttle room for error. I placed my carpet order today, and will let you know how my experience turns out.


-Jason

 

[patrickwebb]

Not to highjack the thread, but Gary, I would be interested in seeing pics of your wavy carpet, thanks.

 

[jpmassey]

Thanks guys for the replies.


Also, I forgot to mention that they carpeted over the outlet on my riser. And the carpet was just stapled to the face of the radius curve which looked VERY tacky with lumps and dimples.


They will be out Thusday to take a look and go over the problems. I guess thats what I get for not being there when they installed it.


Thanks,


Jmass

 

[CPanther95]

Quote:

Originally posted by patrickwebb Not to highjack the thread, but Gary, I would be interested in seeing pics of your wavy carpet, thanks.

Agreed

 

[majormojo242]

Quote:

Originally posted by jpmassey -Any installers out there with advice? -Anybody exerience this problem? -How did they wrap around your lip?

Can't really help you on the first two, but I just carpeted my stage last weekend so I can tell you a bit about that. I did it myself with some help and advice from a friend who was a carpetlayer for many years. My stage sounds much like yours, with a curved front and a lip of about 1.5 inches.


First we cut the underlay and stapled and glued the underlay to the top of the stage. Easy, nothing tricky there.


Next we did a test fit of the carpet over the underlay and made the cuts needed to go around the proscenium framing. We cut the carpet on the front with lots of excess - about 18 inches or more longer than the outermost part of the curve. Then we glued the carpet down to the underlay and let it set for a while. I suppose one could also use the tackless strips to help hold it in place.


What we did to wrap around the lip was to pull it over very tightly and staple up into the underside of the lip from the bottom. The stapler just barely fit between the floor and the lip, but the staples were good and tight. It worked well to have one person on top holding the wrap with both hands and the other person stapling in between. Wouldn't have wanted to do that part alone. We put the staples in every 3 inches or so to start.


As we worked along the curve, the excess carpet would start to bunch up, so about every 18 inches along we made a cut straight in towards the stage and that allowed the excess carpet to overlap a bit. Once we got the front completely wrapped and ensured it was even, we trimmed all the excess carpet off the lip by cutting against the vertical riser part. That also ensured that the top section was snug into the corner where the riser and lip meet. After that I went along and put in more staples, taking out every last wrinkle or bubble under the lip.


For the last part, the riser, we did much the same thing. Cut a strip a bit too large and fastened it with staples to the top of the riser. Once that was satisfactorily done, we trimmed the bottom off with a bit of extra to tuck in at the bottom. I was skeptical about just stapling that part, but the carpet has enough of a nap to it that they are not visible at all and most of the staples are hidden under the lip anyway.


Altogether, it took the two of us a couple hours. It looks very professional and I'm really pleased, especially since that was the first time I've done any kind of carpeting. It seems simple enough now, but if I hadn't had my friend helping I'm sure I would have botched it somehow.


Sounds like maybe your installer tried to cut the lip section to the exact length first, then stapled it in. Should have done it the other way, leave some extra until it is secured under the lip then trim away the excess. I can't see any reason there should be staples on the front, they should all be under the lip, back into the corner and hidden.

 

[AcroFlyer]

MajorMojo,


Thank you for that post ! I am at the point of deciding if I want to carpet my HT or have it done. I am pretty sure I could do it myself if I have the proper technique.


One question. How did you do the face of the stage and riser ? That is to say, after you did the bull-nose, did you just continue down the face or did you use another piece of carpet ? I hope I am being clear here (??).


I was thinking of doing the faces first, then the top with excess carpet like you explain. Do you think this would work ok after just doing it yourself ?


Any help appreciated.


Chris

 

[greighn]

Jmass,


I had my theater carpeted by Home Depot. They were easily a $1,000 less than any other place I could find for the exact same carpeting. Fortunately for me they did a great job.


Regarding the damage to the paint and walls, the salesman pointed that out to me in the contract that you can expect damage to moldings and walls and that they are not responsible. It also says that you should expect to have to touch up the paint after the installation. That said, I'm sure if the damage were severe (chucks out of the walls, whole walls needing to be repainted, etc.) I would have made a stink.


Make sure you check your agreement to see what exclusions were made with regards to this.


-Gary.

 

[thebland]

Well that sucks! I hpoe you withheld payment. Otherwise, I imagine they will fight on how to fix this! If you paid with Visa, I would call them immediately.


My guys did a great job but I paid thru the nose. I had a procenium, multiple floor outlets, four steps, area behind screen wall, a ramp and three levels in the room. It was a major amount of corners, lips, etc and I already had the room fabric'd. Fortunately no rips in the walls. They were warned not to do so ahead of time..It was an all day job.


Your guys should be able to di it, but they are going to really have to put forth the effort.

 

[majormojo242]

Quote:

Originally posted by AcroFlyer One question. How did you do the face of the stage and riser ? That is to say, after you did the bull-nose, did you just continue down the face or did you use another piece of carpet ? I hope I am being clear here (??).

Yes, your question is clear. We used a second piece for the riser portion. The carpet that wrapped over the lip was trimmed off and then any little wrinkles stapled flat under the lip. The second piece was about 6 inches "taller" than it needed to be. It was pushed up tight under the lip and and behind/against the edge of the top carpet. Once that was securely stapled on, the botttom was trimmed with just enough excess to tuck in.


I don't think trying to wrap a single piece of carpet under and down would work. You have to do two pieces to get a clean finish under the lip.


Incidentally, I found it really hard to find some plain black carpet. The stuff I got is actually automotive carpet for use in car interiors. Came in a 6ft width which was just right for my use.


It's nearly impossible to get a good photo of it, but here's what it looks like (click for a larger version). Please ignore the big stain on the old carpet, that's going to be replaced later on...
http://majormojo.com/ht/const/con-Pages/Image21.html http://majormojo.com/ht/const/con-Thumbnails/21.jpg

 

[AcroFlyer]

I appreciate the response MajorMojo....that helps me allot ! I was planning to try the two piece method but wanted to check with you since you have actually done it : ) .


One more thing if you don't mind...does the pattern in your carpet colors match ? I guess since you said you were having trouble finding black carpet, I just want to see if you tried to get the weave the same or if any texture is present that needed matching.


Thanks again,


Chris

 

[jeffleonard]

Ray Jr,


Nice job on the border in your theater. i did the same with mine, except it was out of necessity. My theater is almost 14' wide, and the carpet was like 12'. So, instead of a lot of excess, had them put in a 1' border. It looks great, and I tell my kids that they can't cross that line unless a grownup says it's ok.


JPMassey,


My remodeler had just finished painting our basement with a sand paint we specified. If anyone has ever used sand paint, you know how big of a pain it is. Very difficult to hide roller/brush strokes and almost impossible to touch-up, due to the texture. It sure looks pretty, though.


Anyways, I explained to the carpet store owner (who was my salesman) about the delicate paint job, and told the guys when they arrived to install to be extra careful around the walls.


They scratched up everything so bad, my remodeler had to repaint the theater, the kid's playroom and the workout room. He ended up billing the carpet company for the paint & labor. (around $500) They did pay up, but they wouldn't do anything until I showed them pictures and they came out and looked at it.


I would raise a little hell. You paid for professional installation, and got shoddy (or careless) work.

 

[majormojo242]

Quote:

Originally posted by AcroFlyer One more thing if you don't mind...does the pattern in your carpet colors match ? I guess since you said you were having trouble finding black carpet, I just want to see if you tried to get the weave the same or if any texture is present that needed matching.

No, there is no pattern in the carpet and no perceptible texture, grain or weave that needs to be matched up. Even if there were, the fact that the radius on the outer edge of the lip is larger than the radius of the riser would make it very difficult to get an exact match.

 

[AcroFlyer]

MajorMojo, your help is much appreciated !


Chris

 

[brickie]

I agree with Jeff.It's all about how much time and PRIDE the craftsmen put into their work.


brickie