Broadloom comes 12 ft or 15 ft wide. Room width against roll width tells us where a seam has to fall.
We run the pile the same way through connected rooms so the color does not shift at the doorway.
We match pad density and thickness to the carpet backing. Soft pad flexes the backing until it delaminates.
New tack strip around the room, and a reducer or a metal edge wherever carpet meets hard surface.
Good broadloom is judged at the perimeter. The carpet should hook onto the tack strip and tuck cleanly into the gully against the base, with no ripple heading out into the room. That only happens if the field is pulled with a power stretcher rather than kicked in with a knee kicker. We stretch, hook, trim, and tuck the whole perimeter, then check the seams under raking light. Call +1 240 751 5542.
We measure the rooms, then draw where each breadth lands and where seams fall.
Face weight, twist, and fiber for the traffic, with pad density matched to the backing.
Old carpet, pad, and tack strip come out. We check the subfloor and reset any loose boards.
New tack strip and pad, seams closed with iron and tape, field stretched, edges tucked.
A knee kicker positions carpet. A power stretcher tensions it. Skip the stretcher and ripples show up within a year.
We keep seams out of the walking path and run them with the light, not across it.
Overly soft pad lets the backing work against itself until it delaminates. Density matters more than plushness.
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Potomac Carpets did an excellent job from start to finish. The team was professional, punctual, and helped us choose the perfect carpet for our home. The installation looks fantastic!
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We had a wonderful experience with Potomac Carpets. They offered a great selection, answered all our questions, and completed the installation on time. Our new flooring looks beautiful.
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Broadloom is cut from a roll, and the roll comes 12 ft or 15 ft wide. Your room does not care. That mismatch is the whole reason seams exist, and it is why two rooms with identical square footage can need very different yardage. A long narrow room may run seamless. A square one of the same area may need a full extra breadth.
We draw the layout before anything is ordered: where each breadth lands, which way the pile runs, where the closets and the hall take their fill pieces. Pile direction stays consistent through connected spaces, because reversed pile reads as a different color under the same light. If the carpet has a motif, the match adds yardage on top; see patterned carpet installation.
Carpet does not simply get laid down. It gets tensioned. A knee kicker nudges it into position at the edges, but the field has to be pulled with a power stretcher braced wall to wall. That tension is what keeps the carpet flat through years of traffic and humidity swings.
Seams are made, not found. We cut the edges straight, lay seam tape underneath, and melt it home with a seam iron so the two backings become one. Placement is deliberate: out of the main path, running with the window light instead of across it, and away from the doorway you look through most.
Old carpet, old cushion, and old tack strip all come out and go on the truck. Then we look at what was hiding under there. Squeaks get screwed down, and a soft or stained subfloor gets shown to you before we cover it.
New tack strip goes around the perimeter, fresh cushion goes down, and the doorways get a reducer or a metal edge cut to the finished height. For the room-by-room version of this in an occupied house, read residential carpet installation. Ballpark first? Try the flooring cost calculator.
Only if the room is narrower than the roll. Broadloom comes 12 ft or 15 ft wide, so a 17 ft room takes a seam somewhere. We choose where it goes rather than letting the layout decide for us.
Cut pile reflects light differently depending on which way the yarn leans. Run two breadths in opposite directions and they look like two different colors. We keep the direction consistent through connected rooms and note it on the layout.
No. Density does the work, not thickness. Most residential carpet wants about a half-inch pad in the eight-pound range. Pad that is too thick or too soft flexes the backing at the seams and can void the carpet warranty.
Sometimes it does. Squeaky subfloor, water staining, or a soft spot shows up once the old carpet is out. We stop, show you, and price the fix before we lay pad over it.