Carpet not gripping at all (felt-backed...)

[smp50]

I bought some cheapo basic carpet: http://www.carpetright.co.uk/range-sark-carpets.html

And the room was already set up with grippers and a "recycled felt" underlay.

I've been trying to fit it yesterday and today but can't get it to take to the grippers at all. There are indentations left in the bottom of the carpet where the pins have obviously been stuck, but they're not holding it at all and it lifts back off without resistance or tearing. My knee kicker doesn't seem to do anything, I'm not sure what's supposed to happen - in the videos they just lay the carpet out and give it a kick into the wall and it's fixed solid onto the gripper.


Also, while I'm here, the carpet is covered with creases and folds, very sharp ones - might this settle out or has the plasticky backing perhaps been cracked and damaged?

thanks...

 

[jadzy]

Is the underlay much thicker than gripper, so lifting the carpet backing off the gripper?

Are the gripper spikes all laying flat, so not digging into the felt backing? Pushed down from the last carpet that was on them?

creases and folds sounds like either a lot of slack in the carpet that needs to be stretched out, or the recycled felt underneath isn't laying flat. Need to get it fixed at the edges else it will just keep moving with anything on top of it

 

[smp50]

Is the underlay much thicker than gripper, so lifting the carpet backing off the gripper?

It's higher than the gripper, but I can't quite say by how much. It's nominally 10mm but is rather soft and probably uneven.
http://www.tradepriced.co.uk/envirofelt_42_carpet_underlay.html

Are the gripper spikes all laying flat, so not digging into the felt backing? Pushed down from the last carpet that was on them?

The gripper is all new and newly-installed, pins look ok. In fact, if I press down on the carpet at the edges I can feel them coming right through! But still it just lifts off with no resistance when pulled up. I know how it's meant to feel from an old carpet I removed in another room, it really tore it to pieces pulling it off the grippers. In this room before there was just carpet with some kind of foam backing, no underlay and no grippers, with the carpet cut to shape and nailed down at the edges, straight into the floorboards.

creases and folds sounds like either a lot of slack in the carpet that needs to be stretched out, or the recycled felt underneath isn't laying flat.

It's definitely the carpet itself, it peaks up along creases, creases which were visible as soon as I started unrolling it. It's like it's all just too stiff, it's not floppy and heavy like old carpets I've taken up - those ones would fall back into place if released and you'd never know they were moved. But this feels a bit like one of the layers in the carpet is able to crack and be permanently damaged, rather than just folding back and forth. When I unrolled it, it kept about two feet of "curl" at the ends, like a stiff roll of lining paper or something.

Need to get it fixed at the edges else it will just keep moving with anything on top of it

I wonder if it's worth taking it up, removing the gripper rods, removing the underlay, and then relaying the carpet flat onto the floorboards like the old one was. It's not very thick carpet, though, so that does feel pretty hard (I just tried some on floorboards elsewhere). Come to think of it, this room I'm in now also just has carpet nailed down with no underlay. I got used to it, it's very hard but then so am I

 

[jwinnette123]

Is the underlay much thicker than gripper, so lifting the carpet backing off the gripper?

It's higher than the gripper, but I can't quite say by how much. It's nominally 10mm but is rather soft and probably uneven.
http://www.tradepriced.co.uk/envirofelt_42_carpet_underlay.html

Are the gripper spikes all laying flat, so not digging into the felt backing? Pushed down from the last carpet that was on them?

The gripper is all new and newly-installed, pins look ok. In fact, if I press down on the carpet at the edges I can feel them coming right through! But still it just lifts off with no resistance when pulled up. I know how it's meant to feel from an old carpet I removed in another room, it really tore it to pieces pulling it off the grippers. In this room before there was just carpet with some kind of foam backing, no underlay and no grippers, with the carpet cut to shape and nailed down at the edges, straight into the floorboards.

creases and folds sounds like either a lot of slack in the carpet that needs to be stretched out, or the recycled felt underneath isn't laying flat.

It's definitely the carpet itself, it peaks up along creases, creases which were visible as soon as I started unrolling it. It's like it's all just too stiff, it's not floppy and heavy like old carpets I've taken up - those ones would fall back into place if released and you'd never know they were moved. But this feels a bit like one of the layers in the carpet is able to crack and be permanently damaged, rather than just folding back and forth. When I unrolled it, it kept about two feet of "curl" at the ends, like a stiff roll of lining paper or something.

Need to get it fixed at the edges else it will just keep moving with anything on top of it

I wonder if it's worth taking it up, removing the gripper rods, removing the underlay, and then relaying the carpet flat onto the floorboards like the old one was. It's not very thick carpet, though, so that does feel pretty hard (I just tried some on floorboards elsewhere). Come to think of it, this room I'm in now also just has carpet nailed down with no underlay. I got used to it, it's very hard but then so am I

 

[Petest67]

Did you put the gripper round the right way? (pins angled towards the wall)

Felt back carpets have a special gripper with a velcro type top. Cost alot more than normal, thats why most shops don't supply them

 

[foxhole]

You don't mention the use of the carpet bolster which is essential for a secure fit?

 

[smp50]

Did you put the gripper round the right way? (pins angled towards the wall)

Felt back carpets have a special gripper with a velcro type top. Cost alot more than normal, thats why most shops don't supply them

Yes the pins are the right way around...

I discovered the velcro gripper - yes it's about 40p/m compared with 15p/m for normal gripper. Not too bad, still.

You don't mention the use of the carpet bolster which is essential for a secure fit?

I used an equivalent tool to tuck the carpet down between the gripper and the skirting. That's pretty much all that's holding it down.