Austin’s Best Carpet Stretching Service
Whether you’re looking to stretch a small room or through your whole home, I can do it. Carpet stretching can extend its life, improve its appearance and remove tripping hazards. People often describe carpets that need stretching as wrinkled, having bumps, wavy, buckling, rippling, or feeling loose. I use a power stretcher for all restretches and installations. Utilizing a carpet power stretcher will produce a much tighter stretch than using just a knee kicker or mini stretcher (crap jack). Carpet stretching can be simple in a square room. However, rooms with more than one door, closets, coves, furniture, custom built-in desk, shelves, and bookcases can become complicated. Stretching carpet in a hall may require remaking the seams going into other rooms.
Reasons for Carpet Stretching
Loose or buckling carpet is often caused by not having carpet stretched adequately when first installed. Some lesser-known causes of loose carpeting are improper cleaning, water damage, extreme temperatures, and humidity. It will react to the effects of heat (above 95°F) and cold (below 65°F) by expanding and contracting. Carpet installed in a home with no HVAC system can become difficult to stretch when it is cold out and will loosen after the carpet has warmed up. For this reason, it is essential to have the home temperature set between 65 and 95 during and after the carpet installation. When a home goes from cool to hot regularly, it will become loose. It can be put back in place if pulled back or removed due to foundation repair, construction, or flooding.
Improper carpet cleaning is a big problem in Austin, TX. After cleaning, the backing will break down and become loose if too much moisture is left. If the rug is saturated, it will cause delamination (separating the secondary backing from the primary backing). Delamination is permanent. There’s an additional risk of mold/mildew problems if the moisture is in the carpet for as little as 24 hours. For this reason, it is essential to have your flooring professionally cleaned.
Staircases
Unfortunately, the staircase cannot be re-stretched. It is tough to rip off and then put back without destroying the carpet. But I can put it back on when the carpet has just come off the tack strip on the top of the step.
Cleaning and Flooring Installation
Suppose you have plans to have your flooring cleaned. I recommend having this done after the repair. I recommend looking for a certified cleaner in the Austin area on the IICRC Locator (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification). If you’re looking for a flooring installer, I recommend a certified installer on CFI’s Find an Installer (International Certified Flooring Installers Association).
Call & speak directly to your repair specialist Sam for a free phone quote on your carpet stretching cost. No Middle Men!
100% Labor Guarantee
(ALL Photos are of work performed by Sam of Stitch Carpet Repair)
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (FAQ) about carpet stretching.
Yes, it is worth re stretching your carpet. If the carpet is in good shape except for the buckling, there’s no reason to go through the hassle and expense of replacing it. New carpeting is expensive in comparison to stretching carpet. The average cost for new cheap carpeting in a small room starts at about $800.
After, the carpet should always be stretched first then cleaned by a professional carpet cleaner if needed.
1: Improper installation of your carpet. Some carpet installers will use a knee kicker instead of a power stretcher. Carpet stretchers will produce a much tighter stretch than using a knee kicker. Why do carpet installers use knee kickers? Speed, an installer can kick in a room faster. And the costs for a kicker are $65, and a stretcher $523.
2: Improper carpet cleaning and over-wetting the carpet or going over areas too many times with cleaning equipment can cause delamination (separation of secondary backing).
3: Extreme wear and or just the age of the carpet. Carpet generally has a lifespan of 5 to 20 years, depending on the quality of the carpet.
4: Heat and humidity, extreme temperature changes can loosen the carpet over time.
It depends on the amount of furniture and the room’s layout, 20 min. to an hour per room is a reasonable estimate. The amount of time is not determined by the size of the room so much as the layout and the amount of furniture in it. Small odd-shaped pack rooms can take much longer than huge empty square rooms. Small hallways with many doorways and closets can also take some time to re-stretch when dealing with obstacles.
Buckled areas tend to get more wear from shoes and feet scuffing them. It is common to see wear or dirt marks after the carpet stretching. In most cases, the marks come out with carpet cleaning.
Maybe, small spots can be re-latex. But it can become costly to re-latex all the carpet. The two main reasons for this problem are improper carpet cleaning and manufacturer defects in some limited cases. That is why it is vital to use an experienced professional carpet cleaner.
If you’re looking to have your carpet stretched, it is essential to use somebody with lots of experience installing carpeting and repairs. They should have many before and after photos of various types of carpet repairs they have performed. A professional will have all the proper tools. A power stretcher must be used for all re-stretching and is essential for long-lasting carpets. Knee kickers and mini stretchers are not meant for stretching rooms. If you are in the Greater Austin area, Stitch Carpet Repair will be glad to help with all your carpet stretching needs.
Service Areas
Thank you for visiting Stitch Carpet Repair Austin, TX., your stretching, and patch expert. Here are some of my service areas. Round Rock, Steiner Ranch, Bee Cave, Lakeway, Buda, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Pflugerville, San Marcos, Taylor, Lago Vista, Elgin, Brushy Creek, Dripping Springs, Hutto, Kyle, Manor, San Marcos, Wells Branch, Wimberley, Travis County, South Williamson County, Hays County, and Surrounding Areas. For a free phone quote on the carpet repair cost, contact me at 512-800-0917