Do you use a KoolGlide for repair work?

[Jack May]

If not, how are you currently doing your repairs, and do you see a KG purchase in your future?

John

 

[Doug D]

voted no as I don't have one, but would like to get one someday.

 

[Scott Rogers]

careful using them on Oly Berber. on 2 different occasions I have had them melt the carpet. If there is any metal under the carpet this can happen, IE. (pad staple, tackless nail etc.)

 

[sweendogg]

I have the burns that come from hot melt iron repairs.. ouch.. We are still leary of making full seams with the koolglide.. simply not the same as a hot melt. But slowly I'm learning with this new iron. And yes it makes repairs heck of a lot easier.

 

[Stevea]

Kool Glide is an excellent tool for repairs and seaming.

Here is a repair on a CGD Spike Proof Carpet that had some of the seam loose and some still intact, so we just repaired the part that needed to be repaired. The main seam had approx. 23 feet of seam to repair.

The use of double sided tape makes this a great repair job and easy to do.



For those with concerns about the seam holding together, it is widely accepted and endorsed by a lot of big name installation houses as well as Manufacturers of carpet.

We helped set up a trial for a large installation house in Atlanta, 20 tools and 600 full rolls of tape. After 3 months they loved the system. They also said it saved a lot on labor, cost a little bit more on supplies but the savings in labor more than made up the difference. They also said they could tell the seams were put together better.

This tool just works great, IMO.
SA

 

[sweendogg]

Yeah we know, karastan and Jim Walker was pushing it as my Karastan Certification. Jim obiously as the spokes person for sinch technology is pushing it. Our testing has not been so great yet and its hard to justsify playing with the tape so much. We do intend on implementing it wide scale as soon as i'm confident in seaming with it. And we do use for repairs. With Orcon closing its carpet side, I'm sure we'll be going more towards the koolglide.

 

[hogjowl]

I have no bone in this debate. I have both a Koolglide seamer and a standard one. I just started using my KoolGlide seamer on some restretches I have been doing and really like it.

I haven't had to stretch a seam that was made with a KoolGlide yet, so I don't know how that would go, but what problems have you had with making full seams with it?

 

[sweendogg]

I don't think there is really a debate but just experiences being shared. We have had it fail when we were seaming two pieces of Karaloc backed Woven wool. And just noticed that the tensile strength is less than that of properly constructed hot melt seam. We have had some limited success with action back but I havn't attempted alot with the iron to really speak to its ability to stretch with. We still have four or five cases of hot melt to burn through before I need to worry about the koolglide. I'm slowly putting it through its paces and when it works, it works well.

 

[Harry Myers]

Sween the Kool glide works great on wiltons and velvets. I like to use a hotmelt tape when using Kara loks and Axminster. Also I do use the Seamer Down now on every one of them. The glue on the sinch tape is a great urethane adhesive.

 

[Stevea]

Great point Harry makes about the urethane adhesive, this stuff sticks to about everything. Combined with the kool sticks for a glue gun, it will hold very well on a seam. Add the SDN and it really pulls them together.
Harry knows this stuff well.

SA

 

[sweendogg]

Yeah we have had success with the smaller loops and velvets, but the thick karaloc's are a PIA. You have to use the medium to high setting on the Pro model to get good adhesion. I need to order the glue sticks for the system. We have been using the Orcon sticks and have worked very well for us but I think the Kool Glide glue sticks will be more compatible. Any suggested online suppliers?

 

[Harry Myers]

Orcon is a low melt temperature stick . The kool sticks are even lower.I think you will like them. I personally know Jim Walker we are both CFI master2 installers I am in the resource guide they hand out at Woven goods and Pattern seminar. I contributed alot to that book. Jim is actually a really good guy . He is not a spokes person for Kool Glide. ROBERT VARDEN another master2 is. Jim endorses what is good for installation work. Just as he does the seamer down now.

 

[Joel D]

Yes I use it for every seam now and love it. Used it today on an installation job then a repair.
Honestly I dont always seam seal like I should but doing it more and more.
Im a little slow with the glue gun
next toy is the sdn i read it sucks the glue up into the backing
www.thefloorpro.com

amazing time saver on patches. i sometimes stall a little cause i feel funny getting done so fast

 

[Jack May]

i sometimes stall a little cause i feel funny getting done so fast

Don't worry Joel, the consciencous soons gets over that

Did that myself for a while. But honestly, by the time you take up the offer of a cuppa tea/coffee/hot chocolate and a bikkie, spend a little time chit chatting which most of them appreciate and then throw in some good old customer education on how to care properly for their carpet, generally, the time slips by and you've spent as long as the next guy BUT you've only worked half the time and half as hard.

John

 

[hogjowl]

I have to work with mine a bit more before I learn how to seal the seam with the sticks first. I tried doing that last week and the glue dried so fast that it was hard to get the seam together because of the dried glue glob on the one side of the seam. Of course, the heat gun melted the globs, but the dry side of the seam didn't want to lay together with the sealed side, so I had some gap issues.

Did anybody even understand what I am trying to say?

 

[Stevea]

Marty,

That is not a problem, simply work the seam as you would and them put pressure on the seam with a knee kicker or whatever, it will go together without gaps. I seal the edges with a glue gun bead and let it set up and it will work doing it this way, with the Kool Glide Sticks.

It is a great way to do a butt seam on a Berber and not have frayed edges showing also.

Hope that makes sense.

SA

 

[hogjowl]

Yeah, it makes sense. Everything just seems to dry so much faster with the KG that I just have to get used to it. With the old glue gun and seam sealer, I had more time to correct things.

 

[Joel D]

Marty, it sounds like you might be putting more glue on the edge then you need to. Get the gun nice and hot and run the bead fast along the edge, you can barely see it but someone here had a video and thats how he does it I have a tendency to gob to much on but its not necesary.

I have to admit with a dense carpet like i installed today i might have to go back to the regular iron for long seams i just couldnt see what i was doing but its still a great tool.

 

[Stevea]

I am not sure if I am not understanding what is being said but when you make a seam, you have control over the seam. You can push the edges together; you can lift both sides, even after sealing and match the edges. This is a great way to make seams, even end seams, door way seams for repairs and just a regular seam.

I am not talking about woven good holding I am just talking about being able to lightly manipulate the seam with use of Kool Glide and use of Kool glide glue sticks.

Sorry if I am missing something.

SA

 

[sweendogg]

Yeah we have never had a problem manipulating the seam after activation. But it sounds like rather than buttering the edge, you are trying to run a bead right next to the piece of carpet. Have you tried using a seam sealing tip on the guns? If you use this type of tip, you seal the edges like you would with latex on both side of the piece then when you have them right next to eachother under the tape, they reactivate and weld to eachother. We do this with both hotmelt and Kool glide seams or the few that we have tried and on action back and lower cutpile wool, it welds the edges very well.

 

[Stevea]

David,

Sure, it is a great tip and does the job well. Just sharing another way of doing it for other circumstance but it also works well in general. As you say, the tip will work well also.

For some that may not know what David is referring to, here is a shot of the tip used for sealing with hotmelt

Many times, especially on repairs, the method we were talking about works where more conventional sealing does not work or work as well, IMO.

SA

 

[sweendogg]

Yup thats the tip.. And yest on some repair like your videos have shown, there has been merit to applying the glue bead to the edge.