I have a question about carpet stretching?

J Town Girl · ‎06-13-2011

Have any of you ever had someone come in to stretch your wall to wall carpeting?

20 years ago when we purchased our house we put in very good padding and a good grade of carpeting. However I am now seeing two spots in the hall where the carpet is starting to buckle.

I have been looking into having a carpet installer come in to stretch the carpet and then re-attach it to the baseboard. Although the carpet is otherwise in good shape I am wondering if it is worth it. Since it is now 20 years old I am thinking maybe we should just put all new carpeting down.

I guess either way it is going to be a hassle. I'm not sure how much furniture has to be moved in order to stretch a carpet, but I know putting new carpet down is just going to be so difficult. Our house isn't that large so we don't have an area to store all the furniture during the installment.

As you can imagine my husband is in favor of just stretching and not replacing but he did say he will leave that decision up to me.

So my fellow forum members, what would you do if you were in my situation?

I thank you for any and all suggestions.

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

The only time we have had carpet stretched is when it was new when they installed it. We only have carpet in the bedrooms which is 14 yrs old. I noticed ours looks like it needs to be stretched in the master bedroom but not paying for that. We will buy new carpet or install engineered wood floors when we pull it up. I know this carpet would have lasted a lot longer if the loser had not installed a cheap pad. What we bought was supposedly out of stock & they replaced it with what they used which they said was of equal quality to what we bought but was not.

KLm · ‎12-03-2010

If the carpet is in good condition I would ask for an estimate for the time and cost to have it stretched. Pending that information, I'd make my decision. I'd especially do that if I were fond of the color 😊.

I don't even know if anyone does this anymore or how difficult it would be to find someone. Maybe Lowes or home depot, or even one of those service finder companies I see on tv all the time.

Good luck.

3suwm5 · ‎06-15-2016

We had carpet in the hallway stretched about 3 years ago. It came out nicely and it was a very small cost. It wasn't any kind of hassle for us, as we didn't have any furniture in that space. I don't know how old the carpet was, as it was there when we bought the place. At least 8 years old, I'd guess.

We now live in a house that is only 2-1/2 years old. The carpet is buckling everywhere, that started in just under a year after we purchased the place. There are only 2 of us living here and 1 is gone to work everyday. I don't like carpet, I'd take it out right now, if I could justify the cost this soon. Either way, we will have to get it stretched or replaced before we sell.

Scooby Doo · ‎03-14-2010

JMO, but after 20 years the carpet would be replaced with something updated and clean. There's 20 years of stuff embedded in all that fiber.

I replace my carpeting about every 10 years. I've been told that's the average lifespan of carpet.

I don't have anywhere to store furniture either while it's being replaced. It only takes one day to do several rooms. So I pick a day, usually in early summer when the weather is dry, and put everything outside either in the garage or carport. The installers can move a lot faster that way. Then I move the furniture back in later in the day.

sissel · ‎08-13-2010

I had it done once because I was selling the house and it was expensive. I only had a hallway & 1 room done. I would get a price quote and you may figure out to just replace the carpeting if you want to stay in the house. It's expensive and the only reason I did it was because I needed to sell the house.

circles · ‎03-10-2010

I had carpeting that was 11 years old and it really needed stretching in all the rooms...so i had it taken out and not replaced....

CelticCrafter · ‎03-09-2010

Our bedroom carpeting is 15 years old has developed a few wrinkles in it.

We have decided to replace it rather than try to find someone that will come out to restretch it.

We were thinking that if we did find someone, we would have to be the ones to move the furniture in and out and it's just too heavy for the two of us to do.

I know we will probably pay a little extra to have them move it when it's installed but worth it to us.

Tigriss · ‎03-12-2010

If you are handy, you could probably stretch it yourself. There is a tool with teeth that grabs the carpet and you pull towards the edge where you bang it down with a mallet onto the carpet nail strips. Home Depot, Lowe's or YouTube may be of help. I'm sure there are how-to videos on YouTube. If you watch a few, you may realize that you can do it yourself. As for the furniture, it can be moved room to room as each room is finished. It isn't like tile or finishing hardwood floor where you can't put anything on it until it is dry.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

A couple of years ago, I had a new floor installed in my bathroom. The installer said my hall carpet outside of the bathroom area needed stretched an he did it for no extra cost.

Sometimes carpet will buckle if it's old and the backing comes away from the fibers. If this happens, it should be replaced. Stretching will tear the carpet.