Carpet Wrinkles: What It Means and How to Fix It

“After just a few months, your new carpet has developed enough waves to host a surf competition—good luck finding your Shar-Pei among the waves.”

Returning Carpet Wrinkles and Waves

You already had the installer back to remove the carpet wrinkles. He pulled out his trusty knee kicker and in a few minutes the ripples were gone. Unfortunately within a few weeks the carpet wrinkles started to appear again.

The installer returns again and pulls on the edge of the carpet. He tells you that there must be a problem with it. The back will come off.

The dealer files a claim with the manufacture stating that the back of the carpet is delaminated. But is it?

The manufacturer sends the Weinheimer Group or another certified carpet inspector to your house. They might find that the carpet wrinkles are due to manufacturing delamination. Yet, it is more they will find that the carpet wrinkles are an installation or site related problem.

What Causes Carpet Ripples

Carpet wrinkles, ripples, buckles, whichever term you choose to use, will rarely occur with a properly stretched carpet. Properly stretching a carpet involves more than just kicking it with your knee. It is also more than using a stretcher head with a spike on one end. Proper stretching requires the proper use of a power carpet stretcher.

A carpet must be properly power stretched during the original installation. You should not end up with carpet wrinkles if the following steps are taken during the installation.

Steps For A Wrinkle Free Installation

• 

  All furniture will be out of the room.
• The existing tackstrip needs to be checked to ensure it is in good condition. It should have the correct gully between the tackstrip and the wall.
• Cushion needs to be installed so that the pad seams do not line up with carpet seams. The cushion should normally be no thicker than 7/16”. Too thick of cushion can cause carpet wrinkles.
• Tubes are run from one-side-to-the-other-side of the room. These tubes are attached to a stretcher head with lots of teeth and a long handle for leverage. The power is the carpet installer pushing down on this leveraged handle.
• Use the power stretcher, not a knee-kicker. Stretch the carpet 1% to 1½% in each direction in each room. The four way stretch method is to be used. Stretchers with a spike on the end are not to be used.
• A knee kicker will be used only to set the starting wall. It also makes adjustments in conjunction with the power stretcher. The knee kicker is used for small areas where the power stretcher will not fit.
• Edges of carpet that will be placed under a metal strip should be sealed with
• seam sealer adhesive to resist raveling. Exposed edges fitted to a hard surface
• flooring should also be sealed.
• The carpet needs to be installed to the specifications of the carpet manufacturer and/or the Carpet and Rug Institute. The CRI is the standards that most carpet manufacturers adhere to. When installed to these standards, you will rarely have carpet wrinkles. This is true unless there is site-related damage such as flooding, severe pet damage, or improper cleaning. Another cause could be a manufacturer-related backing problem.

Properly Re-stretching Carpet to Remove Carpet Wrinkles

So the installer didn’t properly stretch the carpet the first time, carpet wrinkles developed and now the carpet needs re-stretched. This time the following should happen.

Steps To Properly Remove Wrinkles

• 

  All furniture will be out of the room.
• The carpet is taken up from the tackstrip around the entire room
• The existing tackstrip needs to be checked. It must be in good condition and have the correct gully between the tackstrip and the wall.
• Seams between joining rooms may need to be taken apart.
• The cushion needs to be checked to ensure it is installed correctly. This ensures that the pad seams do not line up with carpet seams. The cushion should normally be no thicker than 7/16”. Too thick of cushion can cause carpet wrinkles.
• Tubes that run from one-side-to-the-other-side of the room. These tubes are attached to a stretcher head. The stretcher head has lots of teeth and a long handle for leverage. The carpet installer pushes it down.
• Use the power stretcher, not a knee-kicker. Stretch the carpet 1% to 1½% in each direction in each room. The four way stretch method is to be used. Stretchers with a spike on the end are not to be used.
• The carpet may need some remodeling as the wrinkled carpet will likely be stretched past some doorjambs or other areas.
• Carpet edges should be sealed with seam sealer adhesive. This is especially important for edges placed under a metal strip to resist raveling. Exposed edges fitted to a hard surface flooring should also be sealed.

Properly installed or corrected carpeting ensures your Shar-Pei won’t disappear into the wrinkles. If you’re unsure, contact TW Group Flooring Inspectors. They can determine if your wrinkled carpet is due to manufacturing or installation issues. They are the premier certified carpet inspectors in Oregon and Washington and authors of the Carpet Inspectors Handbook.

Carpet and Rug Institute Installation Standards 2011

Terry Weinheimer Technical Advisor

Terry Weinheimer is one of the flooring industry’s most experienced and trusted authorities, known nationally for his work in floor covering inspection, product performance evaluation, education, and technical problem solving. With a career spanning more than 60 years, Terry has helped shape modern standards for flooring inspections and consumer‑focused flooring education.

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