Week 12 Carpeting Installation & Maintenance

 Weekly Summary 

In this week's readings and learnings we went through an overview of the different carpeting installation methods available as well as the assortment of techniques for maintaining the installed carpeting in its set place. 

Types of Carpet Installations 

 The first on site task that has to be done is utilizing a thorough floor preparation involving the removal of existing flooring while making sure a clean and level surface is left underneath. If there is damage to the original subflooring then repairs need to be made. Another task is moisture testing to assess and mitigate potential issues of corrosion or formations of mold and mildew. Accurate measurements of the layout must also be done to align everything properly. Techniques for installations involving stretch-in’s, the process of securing carpeting to the floor typically needs a power stretcher. A power stretcher is a tool that tightens the carpet across the floor of the room resembling that of a vacuum cleaner. First the carpet must be attached to the tack strips along the walls, leaving an overlap of material along the edges of the walls. The power stretcher is then used to extend and tension the carpet, pulling it tight and eliminating wrinkles. After the overlapping material is cut precisely and the ends of the carpet are edged to the correct lengths.

 Double glue-down installation has both the substrate and the carpet glued to provide adhesion to their surfaces. Direct glue-down installation only has the substrate glued so the carpet can be laid directly on top. Advantages of double glue-down rolling traffic is that it increases the stability and durability due to the added layer of glue securing the carpet and is typically seen in commercial settings. Advantages of direct glue-down carpeting are the quicker and cost-effective abilities that come with it. Advantages of using adhesives include their ability to allow for easy removal and replacement of individual carpet tiles, making installation faster and less labor-intensive, and lessening the overall labor costs making it cheaper.

 Free-lay carpet installations usually are limited by shifting of the material by movement which can make the surface uneven. They can also be limited by the lack of adhesives which leads to less stability over time. The advantages of free-lay carpet installations is its easy replacement of damaged material as well as its simplified maintenance, and flexibility in  its overall design. Because the orientation of the pile yarns absorbs light and changes the appearance of the carpet, directional lay of pile yarns in a carpet has a significant impact on the quantity of light reflected from the surface. When shadows are inlaid in a single direction, the surface's texture is altered due to the shade that results. The light that reflects off a carpet can change or improve the environment in which it is intended to be used, depending on how the fibers are laid. 

Maintenance  

  When pretesting cleaning products it is always important to make sure their effectiveness and safety are adequate before it is released to the public to be used on different materials. This allows manufacturers and consumers to make sure that what they are buying is compatible with the materials they are disring to clean. The use of pretesting also helps to make certain a product's safe compatibility with other materials and surfaces to meet quality standards and minimizes risks of unwanted results. The advantages of restorative cleaning techniques is its ability to get deep-seated stains out of materials with hot water extraction. The disadvantage of this method is the shrinking and extended drying durations that can take more time and negatively affect the material. For dry cleaning, it avoids water damage and is safe for fragile materials. But its disadvantage is that it uses chemicals that could be bad for the environment. For wet cleaning using water-based solutions, it is safe and environmentally acceptable for most materials. The disadvantage is it might not be as successful in removing some more severe stains.