Carpet Tack Strip Replacement or Fix?

thin carpet is the problem.

install thicker carpet problem gone

On 2/16/2009 4:53 PM Mike Daniska spake thus:

One of my clients had this very problem. I ended up very thoroughly checking for sharp points through the carpet at a couple of doorways, and when I found them I punched them down with a small nailset. Solved the problem pretty well.

Just another reason to hate carpet altogether.

It seems to me that it should be possible to hammer the sharp points down into the carpet enough to solve your problem.

Don Young

BFH, and pound the crap out of it, at an angle toward the wall. That will reduce, but not eliminate, the chance of little feet and hands getting nicked. Thicker carpet (or better yet, replace the carpet with wood) is the real solution. Lotsa stuff lives in carpet, remember, even freshly vacuumed.

-- aem sends...

On 2/16/2009 6:15 PM Don Young spake thus:

It is, but see my other post; you need to use something like a nailset to do the job right.

"Mike Daniska" wrote

Ouch! Poor thing!

Yes, they used a tack too tall for your carpet. You can fix it with a brad nailer. Look for a small thin metal tool (4 inches or so is normal) with a slight 'cup' at one end (the brad fits in there) and a flat base at the other for hitting with a small hammer. Use this to bend them over at a slight angle towards the wall or if extreme, pound them in a bit more then bend towards the wall.

Mike Daniska wrote in news:00f1c603-bfb2-413b- snipped-for-privacy@x9g2000yqk.googlegroups.com:

Assuming the carpet install was new 3 years ago the possibilities are thin (econo) carpet and/or thin (econo) padding. Also could be installed bad. That all makes no difference at this point.

Until the carpet/padding is replaced, a quick hack solution to eliminate the safety hazard is to just pound it down with a hammer to flatten the tacks sideways. Hopefully it will still hold the carpet in place. If the carpet does come loose at some point, go to the Borg or a carpet store and look at the selection of carpet/linoleum binders and transitions to see which would suite your situation. If carpet is on concrete vs wood subfloor, it may cut your selection options or just make repair a bit more difficult.

as per David's post

I did the same thing nearly 30 years ago for the same reason..... I felt for, found and corrected ( bent slightly with pin punch & hammer) the offending barbs. I didnt have to "fix" all them only a small percentage.

The sloppy staple job on a very expensive custom couch sliced the top of my three year old's foot.....

he (now 25) still has the "double staple tips" scar on his foot & tells the story about how the snake under the couch bit him. :)

at a couple of doorways, and when I found them I punched them down with a small nailset

Hard to imagine that a small child would step that close to the wall very often....or is the problem strip along a doorway into a room? I tore up carpet in a guest bedroom, leaving the strip because I was undecided about whether to replace carpet or change to tile. Don't know how many times I stepped on the darn thing in my routinely-bare feet. I have never stepped on a tack strip with carpet in place.

If the problem is a doorway or a spot near the wall where she routinely plays, I would hammer the points down. Sure there wasn't anything else, like a piece of broken glass or a broken toy, that could have hurt her? I vacuum up broken glass very carefully, but still occasionally miss a piece because it can really fly when it shatters.

During toddler years, I would rather have carpet than wood, considering all the times little ones are likely to fall. A little stick from a tack is probably less risky that a knock on the head or broken teeth; BTDT.

Thank you everyone for the tips! The place in question is where the carpet in the living room meets the hardwood floor of the hall way, so it is heavily traveled. I think I will opt for the quick fix of hammering the points down, maybe thicker/better carpet in the future.

Thank you again! It will be a relief for my wife and I after I've nailed these suckers down ;-)

Mike

I am not a small child, but I have the problem with my stairs. I am barefoot pretty often at home, and my toes get stuck by the tacks.

The carpet is I guess pretty cheap and thin -- I'm sure that's the problem -- but it's good enough everywhere else. The whole house is one kind and color of carpet and I like that.

I took a hammer and went over every step on two flights of stairs, hitting them pretty hard, and I think I got most of them, but I've still been stuck a couple times.

I also try now not to stick my bare toes all the way up to the riser, so maybe I didn't get most of them.

If the problem were bad enough, I'd pay attention and go hit them down again.

rick rodgers had written this in response to

: I had the same problem and all I did was bend the nails over with a hammer. The carpet stayed in place ad no nails sticking up. RR

------------------------------------- David Nebenzahl wrote:

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Yeah, I wondered if the carpet on the steps would tear loose, but it didn't, anywhere.