When Do Carpet Seams Show?
Carpet rolls are usually manufactured in three sizes: 12-foot-wide rolls, 15-foot, and sometimes the oddball 13-foot-six-inch.
So, what’s that mean for O’Fallon, Glen Carbon and surrounding town homeowners? If you have any room or space to carpet that’s larger than 15 feet in either dimension, you’ll have carpet seams in at least a couple places.
Is it “acceptable” for carpet seams to show?
So, are carpet seams a big deal? Yes and no.
First, it’s important to understand that seams will never be totally invisible. Second, it’s just as important to know that some carpets will hide them better than others.
Third, and most importantly, remember that a good carpet installer will be able to install carpet in exactly the way that renders the seams as invisible as possible.
How is carpet installed for “almost-invisible” seams?
Installing carpet to minimize visible seams comes down to the size and foot traffic of the space. With low foot traffic, you can consider shaggier twists with loose pile, meaning the seams will blend better over time after the carpet’s installation.
For high-traffic areas where shag carpet isn’t safe or practical, your Belleville-area carpet installer can cut and place carpet in such a way that the seams stay off to the side or run up to staging in the space that help camouflage them. Be sure to talk to your installer about where you plan to put what furniture.
Unacceptable seams
Even though seams are inevitable, a carpet installed where seams are not flush with each other—or cause gaps between pieces of carpet—are unacceptable. If you see this kind of seam on a new carpet installation, you are fully within your right to point it out and get it corrected.
Do be aware of “seam peaking”
What is seam peaking? This is where the seam is set, but then the carpet gets stretched as installation continues. Carpet pieces are pulled as seams are made elsewhere around the room. Then, when two pieces lift to create a “peak” into the seam, the exposure can be alarming for a homeowner in the middle of a carpet install.
Seam peaking can be minimized by a trained professional. For that matter, avoiding and correcting seam peaking is one of the easiest ways to tell a professional carpet installer from someone who’s…not.
Seam peaking will usually improve on its own over time, too, though it does need professional correction to go away entirely. This natural correction happens because a carpet is actually at its highest level of tension at install. Over time, with vacuuming, foot traffic and the rest, the carpet will stretch and the seam will slowly come back together.
When looking at carpet installations for any room larger than 15 feet in either dimension, seams will be an inevitable part of the process. Give us a call to look specifically at your space, and we can map out how seams can be best blended in your home.
