Carpet seams can be a challenge for the DIYer who needs to either install new or fix damaged carpet. Improperly installed carpet looks so ugly. With the right tools and supplies, though, you can hide carpet seams and make your flooring look smooth and seamless.
Hide Carpet Seams Like a Pro
If your installed carpet has seen some wear due to traffic or incorrect installation, you don’t have to tear it up and get all new carpet. It is possible to repair it and hide carpet seams so your floors look nice again. You can hire a professional carpet layer to do this job, or you can do it yourself with the right tool, supplies, know how, and patience. You will need:
- Carpet seaming tape
- A seaming iron
- Glue gun and glue sticks
- A weight or something heavy
- A seam comb
If you are fixing a seaming problem, you will need to diagnose why your seams are coming apart. Typically that’s due to one of two problems: seam peaking and seam splitting.
Seam peaking is when seams are being forced upward due to pressure, and they form a little peak in the carpet. This will make an obvious line running the length of the seam. Improperly installed carpet will sometimes have many unsightly lines due to seam peaking. It’s usually the result of using too hot of an iron or too much force to stretch the carpet together.
The other common seam problem is seam splitting. This is when carpet seams tear apart, leaving a gap that exposes the floor underneath. Typically this happens as a result of long or hard use or because the carpet or seaming tape used to install were of poor quality.
If the problem is minor and the area doesn’t see heavy traffic, the best solution is to either re-glue or re-tape the damaged seam. You can do this by applying glue with a glue gun under the carpet’s seam and then weighing the carpet area down until the glue dries, usually for several hours.
If the problem is more severe or the carpet gets a great deal of wear and tear, it’s better to replace the seaming tape and re-seam the pieces of carpet together. To do this, remove the old seaming tape and then put the new tape underneath both pieces of carpet. Use a seaming iron to press the seams together onto the tape so that both pieces of carpet firmly adhere to the seam tape. Weigh down that section with weights or something heavy and allow it to dry and cool. When you remove the weight, comb through the seam with a seam comb to make the carpet look smooth and nice.
For smaller carpet problems, it’s often simple enough to repair and hide carpet seams yourself. Bond Products sells the items you need to get this and any other carpet problems you might have done. If you have questions about which products would be best to use, call us at 1-888-800-BOND. Our customer service department will be glad to assist you.
