Anybody ever have new carpet installed and have issues with the seam showing?

[MegaDisney]

We just had new carpeting installed in our living room. Because of the size of the room, it had to be installed in 2 pieces, with the seam running through the middle of the room (of course). I noticed it right away as soon as I checked out the room, but the installer is assuring us that it is no big deal and that the carpet will work itself together after we've walked on it for a while, but I don't know.

Now, I really have no reason to not believe him. He was hired by our contractor, and I know he has been in business in this area for over 20 years (meaning, I know we can track him down if need be!). He even offered to get us a second opinion, which was nice, I guess. Anyhow, I was wondering if anyone else was ever in this position and did everything work out for the best? I usut don't want to be dealing with this 6 months down the road, you know?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[mpls_mm]

Who puts a seam in the middle of the room? There is always a better place for it. I used to make my guys ask where the coach normally goes. Somebody probably ran short and did the stairs first. How many rooms were there? If you have the layout, I bet I can show you at least two other ways to lay it out. I have an 800 fax number. If it does not look good now, it will look far worse in 3 years.

 

[MegaDisney]

Ugh- this is why I asked!

We only had this room done, so far. We are also having stairs and a hallway done, but in a different carpet. So, the living room was the only room we had done in this particular (somewhat expensive!) carpet.

The room is 14 by 27. The carpet comes in 12 foot wide rolls (I actually verified this through the carpet store because I wanted to be sure- I was not here when it was installed so I didn't know how wide the roll was before he installed it). So, this is why he had to cut it. I don't know- do you think the guy is a bozo and made a mistake and is trying to cover for it? Like I said, this has never happened before so I don't know if what he is saying is BS or not. He's coming back later this week so if we have to do something now about this then this is the time to do it.

Thanks all for any advice.

 

[tazdev3225]

I'm not an expert but if you see the seam now it will probably get worse over time. My DD's apartment had a seam at the hallway/living room that was not only visible but a thread got caught in the vacuum and now it is a really big seam. My house had carpeting installed by the previous owner, it was all pieces seamed together that were left over from other jobs. We never realized it until we ripped the carpet up years later. If it was seamed properly it shouldn't be visible. Best of luck getting this resolved.

 

[clh2]

I would be LIVID if I were you, and I would want it fixed.

 

[mpls_mm]

On a 14x27, he could have laid a 12x27 and pieced in the 2x27. On a no traffic area he could have done a small piece and split it so that it was strips and you got a good deal, however, I would have put the 2ft section away from windows on the far side of the room. So it would have taken a 12x27 and a 12x9 to do it the cheap way. The expensive way would have been two 12x27's and a heck of a lot of waste. To end up with a middle seam he maybe got two 12x15's and did it that way. The seam never works itself together, it looks the best the first day, after that it gets matted and dirty and gets worse. I cant even say why he did it that way, unless he decided the roll should run the opposite way. How many yards did they charge for?

 

[lisah0711]

Ask them to come out and tell you what they think. If it an install problem, the installer should take care of it. If its something with the carpet it might the manufacturer who would take care of it. They have representatives from the manufacturer who will help with resolutions if it is there problem. They can also tell you whether what was done was in accordance with manufacturer standards.

You spent a lot of money on your new carpet so it should be to your satisfaction or at least a satisfactory explanation as to why it is not.

 

[java]

A voice on the other side. We had one in our bedroom in our new house. And I was told the same thing. And actually it did "blend" in. But ours was in a narrow section of the room- so I would guess it was about 6 feet across with the seam and really I couldn't see it after about a week.

Here's hoping yours does the same. By "seam" do you mean the bump?

 

[Buckalew11]

You could see the seam in my parents condo when they moved in. They ended up having it replaced.

I was told that you should never be able to see the seam by an experienced carpet man. He was "the best" and wasn't afraid to tell me that (or charge me for it!) He was right though. He did an excellent job.

 

[mpls_mm]

It depends on the carpet, a short pile patterned or berber will show the seam 9 ways to sunday. A thicker plush or frise will show less.

 

[RNMOM]

Yes, I was going to ask which type of carpet you have. I just replaced berber and the few seams we have you can't see at all. I have a longer plush but not a shag or friese. The berber was seamed all over the place and they showed slowly as it wore. This installer ran a huge long piece from the end of the family room through the dining room and to the back wall of the living room. It was all one piece! It was huge and they carried it in themselves. The other half of the living room was a separate piece.

There are probably as many ways to lay carpet as other things. I agree you should have the carpet store check it and deal with the installer for you. They guarantee it didn't they?

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

On a 14x27, he could have laid a 12x27 and pieced in the 2x27. On a no traffic area he could have done a small piece and split it so that it was strips and you got a good deal, however, I would have put the 2ft section away from windows on the far side of the room. So it would have taken a 12x27 and a 12x9 to do it the cheap way. The expensive way would have been two 12x27's and a heck of a lot of waste. To end up with a middle seam he maybe got two 12x15's and did it that way. The seam never works itself together, it looks the best the first day, after that it gets matted and dirty and gets worse. I cant even say why he did it that way, unless he decided the roll should run the opposite way. How many yards did they charge for?

I agree with the above. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the seam was run so that it would not intersect with a doorway. The seam should be out of the traffic path as much as possible.

One thing I'm wondering ... are there two seams? On a 14x27 room, if the length of the carpet is running the 14 way and the carpet is 12' wide, then there would be two seams with 27' -- two 12x14s and fill for the remaining 3x14. Now, if the carpet came 15' wide, then two 15x14 pieces would work with one seam, but then why not do a 15x27 and end up with a 1x27 waste?

 

[Chipmunk89]

We have berber carpet downstairs and you cannot see any seams. He did a wonderful job, but he was expensive.

 

[marybet]

We had to have new carpet after Hurrican Ivan. I used the same carpet store that I used when we built the house but did not get the same installers. The seams were very noticeable, he made a mistake in the bedroom and tried to cover it up. I called, the saleswoman came and looked at it and we got new carpet.

I questioned the original installer because I could see the seam before he left and was also told it would blend in, it didn't. Now almost 4 years later you can see all the seams that weren't replaced, but not the ones they fixed. If the seam is done right it will not show.

 

[MegaDisney]

First of all, thank you very much everyone for your information. I knew I could count on the DIS! Second of all, the carpet is a berber, so from what I'm reading here and research I've done on my own it seems like this is a bad issue to have with this type of carpet in particular. Wonderful!

What we have done is called the store that sold us the carpet, and they are sending someone over to look at this install. They guy they are sending has installed this particular brand before so that's good news. I just want to know if this is a carpeting issue or an install issue.

Also, I'll try to post a pciture too. Thanks again everyone!!

 

[missypie]

Deal with it now!!! We ordered very nice carpet from Expo. We had the upstairs done about a week after the downstairs, just so we could move furniture around. The downstairs crew did a FABULOUS job....I absolutely cannot find the seam. A different week, a different crew....my kids could do a better job than the other crew did upstairs. Seams showing everywhere. Looks like a jigsaw puzzle. We had them come back and they smoothed it a bit but then we got sick of having the furnture out of place and "settled." Seven years later, it still bugs me and now the carpet that was supposed to last 20 years is pulling away from the wall in the upstairs hallway.

 

[RUDisney]

Seven years later, it still bugs me and now the carpet that was supposed to last 20 years is pulling away from the wall in the upstairs hallway.

This is the reason you have it taken care of now. It'll bug you forever and only get worse over time. A good installer will not leave visible seams no matter how the carpet is laid.

Raise some heck to get it fixed.

 

[missypie]

RUDisney, just saw your tag about losing a baby tooth at 19....are you, by chance, a Chinese gymnast?

 

[RUDisney]

RUDisney, just saw your tag about losing a baby tooth at 19....are you, by chance, a Chinese gymnast?

Wouldn't I like to be that thin and flexible!

 

[missypie]

Wouldn't I like to be that thin and flexible!

They made the 70 lb diver not eat dinner for a year to maintain her weight...if you'd do that, you would at least have the "thin" down!