Repairs

[XTREME1]

I do a ton of restretches but shy away from repairs. I have my orcon cookie cutters(different sizes just came in) and the Koolglide how much are you guys charging and how are you promoting the service?

 

[Jim Martin]

I don't do to many of them ...during the walk threw if I see a problem I offer to do it and price it by the size.....I can honestly tell you that you will not like the cookie cutter.......those kind are the industry's biggest piece of crap that they make.....

The absolute best ones are the ones with the serrated edges...Problem is that from what I am understanding it is a discontinued item....and hard to find.......But if you find one...(which are much more spendy then the ones with the P.O.S blades that hang down)..they last forever and the cuts are prefect for inserts..................

 

[XTREME1]

I got the crappy one on ebay from an address in Aptos, Calif............. Very curious

 

[bonesheal]

I find repairs easier than restretches. My estimates are based on $100/hr.

 

[Andrechelle Cermak]

We do quite a bit of repair work. I LOVE it! Charge based on amount I want to make per hour, plus supplies used. I prefer a knife over a cookie cutter.

 

[sweendogg]

cookie cutter is great for small spots on level loop carpet.. atleast the good crain size... I think its still made.. let me see. most residential and carpets over pads we prefer to cut the patch by hand. For restretches.. I typically charge about $75.00 per wall if it straight and a more if I have to deal with replacing transition metals, or deal with abnormal circumstances. So full restrech is about $150 for most smaller rooms.

Repairs are dependent on what we are doing. Like said earlier, try to base around 100 an hour or so.

 

[Jack May]

Kool Glide.
Carpet Awl.
Stanley Knife.
Duckbill Knapping Shears.

and $100/hr average charge out. Maybe add in a good eye and a patient disposition!!

Sure you can buy a lot more and there's more than that in my tool box, but for small repairs, they are the main tools used.

I too LOVE repairs and have re focused a lot of my energies to just do that area of work.

John

PS I HATE cookie cutters. They indiscriminately cut tufts. If you can learn to cut between rows/tufts, you WILL end up more a better less noticable repair.

 

[harryhides]

Greg, you need to go into our Gold Mine, the Nitty Gritty section and start reading in the Carpet Repair section.

I never use the cookie cutter.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

My oldest son, Jeremy, has been an installer for years. His trucks have every tool I've ever seen in the trade....but no cookie cutters. His repairs are always invisible.

 

[XTREME1]

I have been doing repairs but always had problems with sizing my cuts and had problems just seaming in smaller repairs hence another KoolGlide.. I do a ton of restretches(installers around here just knee kick in)
I am certified for repairs and reinstall but that don't mean shit

Thanks guys I am going to go to the nitty gritty

 

[bonesheal]

Don't know what I'd do without my Kool Glide.

 

[sweendogg]

Hurt your fingers alot with a conventional iron doing small repairs.. thats what you would be doing.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

I don't have a kool-glide. I would like one though. For small repairs I use seaming tape as backing and use a hot melt glue gun and seam the piece in that way. It is very easy. I do quite a bit of stretch work. Stretch work is a pita and imo is hard work. I am decent, but I usually have another guy that is a retired carpet installer help on larger jobs so I can get the job done faster. It just takes a lot of time to tie carpet in and cut off the extra carpet. I usually cut from the back with a carpet razor, tie the carpet in, and then move down and repeat.

 

[sweendogg]

You ever heard of a wall trimmer?

Sheesh hard work! :mrgreen: I've been doing it since I was five.. and that ain't lie or stretch of the imagination. I started when I was a young in handing tools, picking up scraps, moving the tail, Then tucking, then trimming and tucking... Cleaners have it made!! No 80 to 100 lb rolls of pad, No 500 lb cut rolls of carpet. ..

I was busy enough with cleaning over the last month I lost my monkey knuckles.. I have been doing install the last week and now I got bloody knucles with my monkey knuckles on the return. Atleast I worked my way to the front of the stretcher.. Now I just to have to get a kid to move the tail for me! :|

 

[Nate The Great]

You ever heard of a wall trimmer?

Sheesh hard work! :mrgreen: I've been doing it since I was five.. and that ain't lie or stretch of the imagination. I started when I was a young in handing tools, picking up scraps, moving the tail, Then tucking, then trimming and tucking... Cleaners have it made!! No 80 to 100 lb rolls of pad, No 500 lb cut rolls of carpet. ..

I was busy enough with cleaning over the last month I lost my monkey knuckles.. I have been doing install the last week and now I got bloody knucles with my monkey knuckles on the return. Atleast I worked my way to the front of the stretcher.. Now I just to have to get a kid to move the tail for me! :|

Took the words right out of my mouth D. I rather clean then install any day of the week. I remember learning to pound strip in a closet. I also learned how to patch walls at the same time.

After trimming the excess, get one of these.

x]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yitgOy-YGDMx]

 

[bonesheal]

You ever heard of a wall trimmer?

I have one, but I can't possibly be using it correctly. I'm not even sure I'm pointing it in the right direction.

 

[Nate The Great]

You ever heard of a wall trimmer?

I have one, but I can't possibly be using it correctly. I'm not even sure I'm pointing it in the right direction.

y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OmLbcqduFMy]

 

[bonesheal]

You ever heard of a wall trimmer?

I have one, but I can't possibly be using it correctly. I'm not even sure I'm pointing it in the right direction.

t]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OmLbcqduFMt]

You da man. I am using it correctly, it just doesn't look nearly as smooth when I do it.

 

[tim]

I have the same trimmer but it seems to get carpet fibers jammed in the blade and I usually need someone keeping tension on the peice that has been trimmed off. i think I need to adjust the height but I dont know which way I should adjust. I hate powerstretching, especially to a tile transition. People dont want a metal transition and cutting the carpet in a clean, straight line along the tile is something I cant do! Cleaning is fast, easy money. Stretching and repairs I do very reluctantly! I took Barry Costa's class and am certified but I need to follow a good install guy around for a few weeks!

 

[Willy P]

http://www.carpetpatch.com/default.asp

 

[bonesheal]

http://www.carpetpatch.com/default.asp

I have George Grijalva's version of this, but I like the way Steve's let you cut past the square.

 

[ACE]

I have the same trimmer but it seems to get carpet fibers jammed in the blade and I usually need someone keeping tension on the peice that has been trimmed off. i think I need to adjust the height but I dont know which way I should adjust. I hate powerstretching, especially to a tile transition. People dont want a metal transition and cutting the carpet in a clean, straight line along the tile is something I cant do!

A straight edge is a handy tool. Tile transitions can be a PIA especially when the tack less is lose. I learned the hard way that tiles crack when tapped with the stair tool.

I was talking to a friend in KC that dose mostly apts. He said they way they do patches is to put standard seam tape down, place the patch then run iron hot and dry over a soaking wet towel. Anyone else using this method?

 

[Nate The Great]

What a name for a top cutter. Pretty cool design. I guess it must be a Canadian thing......


d]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dsSbvmNjEYd]

 

[bonesheal]

What a name for a top cutter. Pretty cool design. I guess it must be a Canadian thing......


p]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dsSbvmNjEYp]

Oh my god did I need a Butt Buddy yesterday! I've always been afraid of cutting the seams to stretch, so I bend over backward to avoid it. Yesterday it was obvious that I had to break the seam to get the wrinkles out. To make it worse, it was one of the nicest carpets I've worked on--a level loop with a cut loop pattern throughout. Thanks to my Kool Glide I made it look pretty good, but with a Butt Buddy and a Kool Glide together I may never have to develop actual carpet repairing competence!

 

[Mikey P]

If anyone needs a brand new serrated cookie cutter for $80 send me a PM.

 

[Bill G. Martin]

wow, Steve A's gizmo looks great....anybody really used one? Here in Florida, floors are concrete and nailing into concrete could be intersting.

Bill in central Florida

 

[bonesheal]

wow, Steve A's gizmo looks great....anybody really used one? Here in Florida, floors are concrete and nailing into concrete could be intersting.

Bill in central Florida

It will come out way better if you turn the carpet over. Put a board under it and nail into that. I only cut from the top if I would have to break seams to get to the bottom.