Pro tip: always check your tack strip before laying carpet. Learned that the hard way.

I was doing a job in a basement last month, like a 12x15 room, and I just assumed the old tack strip was good. So I laid the carpet, stretched it, everything looked perfect. Then three days later the homeowner calls me saying there's a bubble near the door. I go back and find out one of the strips had a broken tooth that let go. Took me two hours to fix it and I had to trim a whole new piece. Now I spend 10 minutes checking every single strip before I start. Has anyone else had a tack strip fail on them like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

bettyhunt1mo ago

Yeah man, tack strip failure is the worst kind of surprise. I've had one pop loose on a staircase landing before and it made the whole carpet buckle up like a tent. Now I run my hand along every strip, especially near doorways and edges where people step the most. Also check the concrete nails - sometimes they're rusted out or not even driven in all the way. Takes five minutes of looking and saves you a headache later.

jordan1341mo ago

Flipped the carpet back and replaced every bad strip before it became a problem again.