|
|
|
Dear NH,
We have lived in our mobile home (double-wide) for over three years. We are having a problem with our carpeting. In almost every room we have areas where the wall to wall carpeting is bunching up. One ripple in our living room is so large my two year old trips over it daily! I was told that the walls were probably built right over the carpet. Can I still tighten up the carpet if the walls were installed over it?
NC from Oxford, NC
NC,
First things first, let's find out if the carpet is indeed under the walls. If the carpet is not under the walls, you should be able to lift a corner of the carpet off the mounting or "tackless" strips that are normally installed around the perimeter of the room. Grab the carpet near the corner with a pair of clean pliers and give it a firm upward pull. If it does not lift, it may indeed be under the walls. Try pulling at all the corners, since it would probably only be under interior walls, not exterior walls... and maybe not all the interior walls, either!
You can use a sharp utility knife to cut the carpet free along any walls where necessary. Then it can be restretched. Make sure that the carpet under the walls is trimmed back enough so it doesn't show, even if you have to go back and do a second trimming! Tackless strips will have to be installed along all walls that don't already have them. These nail-embedded strips grab and hold the carpet in place after stretching.
I don't have any specific articles on the NH site concerning stretching carpet yet, but the tools are available for rental at most any rent-it center and the folks there can give you instructions. It is more difficult to explain (without pictures) than it is to do. They will be able to supply you with a special carpet cutter also, which is the easiest way to trim the excess carpet around the edges of the room as you stretch it.
NH
Have a small home repair question for THE NATURAL HANDYMAN? Just click on this URL www.naturalhandyman.com/aitikia/aitikia.htm. For more home repair information, visit his growing index of original home repair articles and quality links at THE NATURAL HANDYMAN... www.naturalhandyman.com .
Get a monthly home repair wake-up call with the free Natural Handyman Newsletter! Tips, hints, links, and surprises, delivered right to your Emailbox. To subscribe today, click on the following url, or cut-and-paste it into your browser www.naturalhandyman.com/newsltr/newsltr.htm
The Natural Handyman Site Directory
Home Repair Articles www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/iip.htm
Home Repair Links Library www.naturalhandyman.com/links/hrps.htm
Bookshop www.naturalhandyman.com/bookshop/bookfr.htm
NEW!! Find A HANDYMAN www.naturalhandyman.net
Please read the important copyright and disclaimer information is located at www.naturalhandyman.com/copyright/cr.htm.
To subscribe, check the newsletters you wish to receive, enter your email address and then click Subscribe.
Each month one TDS reader will win $100 just for telling us your favorite time or money saving idea. It could be you!
Click here to share your idea.
Recent winners are:
- Matt from CO
- Joan from CT
- Joanne in New York
- Barbara from CT
|
Money problems? Struggling with credit card debt? What you need to know about bankruptcy? Trouble repaying student loans?
|
Sign up for our free weekly eNewsletter Surviving Tough Times.
Looking for an answer to a frugal living question? Click here to ask a
Dollar Stretcher Stretchpert!
Copyright 1996 - 2012 "The Dollar Stretcher, Inc." All rights reserved unless specifically noted.
Contact the Dollar Stretcher at:
Dollar Stretcher
PO Box 14160
Bradenton FL 34280
Voice 941-761-7805
Fax 941-761-8301
"The Dollar Stretcher, Inc." does not assume responsibility for advice given. All advice should be weighed against your own abilities and circumstances and applied accordingly. It is up to the reader to determine if advice is safe and suitable for their own situation.
| About Us | Privacy Policy | Writer's Guidelines | Sponsorship | Media | Contact Us |
Dollar Stretcher Community
Forums
Blogs
Also In This Week's Issue
In The Dollar Stretcher Community
Reader Favorites
Newsletters
Email
Print
Contact Editor
RSS Feed
Share
Leave a Comment
