Wrinkles and buckles in carpet can create trip hazards, accelerate carpet wear, and cause the carpet to delaminate (the carpet may start to fall apart by rippling or losing fiber). Proper carpet installation techniques and carpet stretching greatly reduce the potential for buckling and wrinkling.

Steps that can be taken prior to and during carpet installation to prevent it from becoming wrinkled or loose are:

1. Carpets should be acclimated to the environment before being installed.
2. It is mandatory that the carpet is power stretched using power stretchers, not kicked with a knee kicker. Carpet must be properly stretched and hooked onto the tack strip.
3. Use the correct carpet cushion. The cushion that is too soft (low density) and too thick will allow excessive flexing of the carpet, resulting in wrinkling or loose carpet.
4. Tack Strip has required that tack strip be a minimum of one inch wide and 1⁄4 inch thick. Sometimes two tack strips are required to provide additional shear strength and secure attachment of the carpet.

Wrinkles, bubbles, and buckles usually do not occur with properly stretched carpet. If buckles do occur, stretching with a power stretcher will correct the situation.

Carpet stretching steps:

• First, we remove furniture or move it to the one side of the room.
• Detach the carpet from tack strips. Staples that are attached to the pad of the flooring must be removed before lifted from the subfloor. Compromised staples and tack strips are razor-sharp and can cause damage to anyone not wearing protective clothing and gloves.
• We make sure that all tack strips are firmly attached to the floor. Tack strip pins should be at the proper angle and free of rust.
• Verify that carpet padding (cushion) not damaged and has not wrinkled under the carpet.
• Verify there is no carpet delamination.
• If necessary we cut the seams open at all doorways.
• Using a power stretcher we stretch the carpet in each room. At SteamLine we always using power stretcher and not knee kickers. Although knee kickers are useful installation tools they designed not for stretching, but for positioning carpet. Knee-kicker can’t produce enough power to stretch carpet and prevent future wrinkles.
• Stretching one room and leaving a connected room or hallway not re-stretched will likely cause wrinkles to reappear.
• As the carpet is repositioned with power stretching some doorways and floor vents will require pieces to be seamed into the carpet.

Tools required to perform proper carpet stretching: power stretchers, knee-kickers, seam strips, seam iron, tackless strips, seam rollers, slotted blade knife, staple gun, awl, hammer, and more.
Power stretcher is the most important tool. Power stretcher is secured against a wall at one end and gripping surface on another end. Stretcher head grip and push the flooring to remove any wrinkles. Power stretcher is essential and can utilize much more force than a person alone.
Knee kickers are designed for positioning carpet. Carpet knee-kickers are used to position and move the carpet into place.
Slotted blade knife is used to separate the flooring around the edges, making it possible to pull by a technician.
Hammer and awl can be used to separate carpet pile from the tack strip.
An industrial staple gun is an important tool in carpet stretching process and is typically used to secure carpet back in place.