Guidelines for the installation of Axminster Carpets

1. Receiving Axminster carpet.

 

Lano’s carpets are delivered in fully sealed wrappings. The vast majority of our shipments arrive at their final destination in perfect condition. However, occasionally they sustain damage in transit. Most typically is forklift damage, when in inappropriate lifting attachments are used at some transfer point en-route. Therefore, should any Lano roll arrive at its final destination showing any sign of damage to its wrappings, this fact should be assumed to indicate that the carpet inside the wrapping is also damaged.

This should be investigated prior to signing for the carpet, and the delivery papers should be clearly marked to indicate that any apparent carpet damage existed prior to acceptance of delivery. This is the only way in which the customer or Lano can then seek compensation from the carriers or port handlers. Signing for the carpet as damaged does not require a full investigation of the extent of the damage at the time delivery – only a noting of the fact that unspecified damage existed. The extent of the damage should however be documented and communicated back to Lano as soon as it is possible. This entails fully unrolling the carpet and taking photographs and making diagrams which note dimensions of damaged areas.

 

Damaged carpet, which is not signed for as damaged, exposes the customer to significant loss, as Lano’s freight insurance does not cover such a scenario. The onus is on the party receiving the carpet to examine the material at that time.

 

2. Storage of Axminster carpet.

 

Lano carpet is typically shipped with a breathable fibre inner wrapping, and a scaled, airtight and watertight outer polythene wrapping. Should it be necessary to store the carpet prior to installation it is generally acceptable to leave the carpet in all its wrapping. However, if the storage area is excessively hot, then even for this short period the polythene wrapping should be opened, as there is potential for the carpet to sweat inside the wrapping.

 

Should the carpet need to be store for periods in excess of two months, we would recommend that the polythene wrapping be removed, and that it be laid flat, no more than 2 roll high, in a location free from excessive heat, humidity or sunlight. It should of course be protected from excessive dust or other contaminants. The ideal storage conditions are 10- 25° C – (approx. 50 – 80°F) and no more than 75% relative humidity.

 

The carpet should be shipped to the installation site at least a day prior to installation, to allow it to become acclimated. Carpets which are brought from a cold storage area to a warm installation sight will initially be stiff and difficult to stretch appropriately.
If installed in this condition, they will likely stretch and expand under subsequent stress from foot-traffic, thus requiring significant re-stretching and potential impact to design resolution.

 

3. Floor preparation before the installation.

 

The quality of the carpet installation is largely determined by the quality of the sub floor over which the carpet is laid. Concrete sub floors should be level, sufficiently cured and free of oil and dust. Wooden sub floors should be structurally sound, level and free of moisture, oil and dust.

 

4. Installation of Axminster carpet.

 

Whilst there are several methods available for the installation of Axminster carpet (tackless and padding, direct glue-down, double glue-down) our experience has shown that for best pattern matching the tackless method is recommended. The installation method depends greatly on the experience of the carpet installer to achieve satisfactory results and performance, and therefore Lano cannot guarantee pattern match on direct or double glue-down installations.

 

4.1. Tackless and padding installation.

The carpet is installed over a separate padding and fastened, under tension, to strips of tackless which are installed around the perimeter of the area being carpeted.

 

Tackless should be installed leaving a space between the tackless and the walls of just slightly less than the thickness of the carpet. Architectural tackless is required any time the carpet is being stretched a distance of 2 meter or more.

 

Carpet should be laid out and seamed prior to kicking on to the tackless. It is imperative that a power stretcher be used to achieve sufficient tension in the carpet.

 

Seams should be made using either hand sewing or hot melt tape.

 

4.2. Direct glue-down installation.

Carpet is adhered directly to the sub floor.
Direct gluing of any carpet type exposes the carpet to levels of wear and compression far in excess of that seen in carpets installed over commercial padding. Tests show that wear in directly glued carpets can be up to 40% greater over a period of one yearn when compared to carpet over pad. Lano therefore recommends that any specified intending to directly glue a Lano carpet give appropriate consideration to this fact.

 

4.3. Double glue-down installation.

A separate padding is glued to the floor and the carpet is glued to the padding.
Various manufacturers produce specific padding for use in double glue-down installations and the manufacturer’s instructions should always be followed in relation to adhesive spread rates and trowel type used in adhering the pad to the sub floor.

 

5. Cross-seaming Axminster carpets.

 

Cross seaming Axminster carpet requires a number of unique steps, which, if carried out correctly, will protect against the prospect of any failure of the seams under heavy traffic, or standard maintenance and cleaning.
When a cut is made across the width of an Axminster carpet, rows of the pile material can fray away from the exposed cut edge. Where two such edges are to be joined in a cross seam steps must be taken to ensure that the cut edges are fully sealed.
It is not enough to simply apply a latex sealer to the carpet backing at this point.

 

6. Selvage edges.

 

Selvage edges must be trimmed prior to fabricating any side seams. For direct glue-down installations the carpet edge will be sufficiently sealed when the requisite seam dealer is applied. For double glue-down of tackless and pad installations the trimmed carpet edges should be sealed by means of a narrow bead or seam sealer applied to the exposed cut face.

 

7. Bowing.

 

In the manufacture of Axminster carpet some bowing always occurs. Bowing up to 5 mm in a 4 meter wide carpet is considered within industry standards. Installation of carpet over tackless and padding affords the carpet installer plenty of opportunity to straighten any bowing that may be present. However, when carpet is being glued down, care needs to be taken to ensure that stretching and pattern alignment can be carried out before the adhesive sets up.

 

Lano thoroughly inspects all carpet before it is released for shipping, and thus it is assumed that a experienced fitter of Axminster carpets should be able to stretch the carpet properly in order to achieve an installation with patterns matched and straight. The carpet should be fully laid out in the area to be carpeted and surveyed to determine if any bowing is present before proceeding with the installation.

 

8. Carpet borders.

 

Field carpets should be seamed and stretched to correct tension prior to being attached to border carpet. The field carpet can be held in place, under tension, by means of stay tacks inserted through the carpet into the floor. Seams in border corners should be mitre cut, unless separate end caps are used. Care should be taken to ensure that corresponding corners are mitred at the same point in the design. It is critical that all preceding directions on seaming techniques be followed in order to ensure the strength of all border seams.