Carpet Repair Basics III

In article #2, I defined the carpet construction methods of woven and tufted. I then gave you a brief explanation of how to determine a tufted carpet's length or width just by looking at the secondary backing, and how to determine the lay of the nap.

Now that you can determine all those things, here are the step-by-step procedures on how to do a small bonded insert where you could repair a burn mark from a cigarette or spark from a fireplace.

Cut Pile Repair
Small Burn Repair, one inch wide by two or three inches long

• On the installed carpet, use your favorite row finder to separate the rows of yarn in both the length and width of the carpet into a rectangle. Let the row finder follow the path just like through a cornfield. It is easy along the length, a little more difficult across the width, but it can be done — be persistent. I say rectangle instead of square because a square piece can fit four possible directions with only one of them correct. A rectangle can fit two different ways with one of them correct. By using a rectangle, you reduce the chances of the repair having the nap lay facing the wrong direction. Many students ask and want me to demonstrate using a cookie cutter, which I do on cut-pile carpet. How many degrees are there in a circle? That's right, 360—and only one of them is the correct direction. So that perfect circle could conceivably fit 359 wrong directions till you find the right one. That is why I like rectangles. However, cookie cutters can be faster.

• With the rows separated, use the action knife to freehand cut the carpet between the rows of yarns. Can I suggest you limit yourself to one cup of coffee on days like today to reduce the hand shakes? Can I also suggest you always use a sharp blade? Dull blades can cause you to make mistakes and cut where you do not want to cut. Change blades frequently.

• Pull out the damaged piece and place blue painters tape on the back, covering its entire back. Using a pencil, make an arrow on the tape to indicate the lay of the nap of the carpet.  

• Using your duckbill scissors, cut off the tape sticking out over the edges of the damaged piece.

• On the donor piece, separate rows of yarn just like you did on the installed carpet, making it the same width as the damaged piece, but a little longer.

• Use your action knife to cut the donor piece between the rows or use your duckbill scissors. Cut the carpet as close as possible to the base of the yarns without damaging them.

• Transfer the blue tape from the damaged piece to the back of the donor carpet, keeping the arrow in the direction of the nap lay.

• From the back, use the blue tape as a template to freehand cut the donor piece to length. A trick I have found is to lightly score the backing with the knife, then use scissors to finish the cutting as needed. Be careful not cut face yarns that you want on the donor piece. 

• Using your scissors, cut the donor piece to the exact size.  

• Dry-fit the piece. Does it fit? Trim the backing edges until it does.

In my next article I will give you the instructions needed to make your repair permanent by using hot melt glue to adhere it to the installed carpet. And after that I will give you step-by-step procedures how to perform pile grafting on Berber style carpet.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Violand started his 32+ year floor covering career in the cleaning and restoration industry. Let Mark show you how to repair carpet professionally and profitably. His reputation precedes him as Northeast Ohio's "go-to" floor covering inspector, working for carpet, resilient, wood and laminate manufacturers and floor covering retailers and distributors, along with consulting carpet installation contractors. He still performs carpet repairs on a regular basis.