Installation Guide

Version 1

Contents

Section 1: Sub Floor.......................................... page 2

Section 2: Delivery, Storage & Handling....... page 2

Section 3: Site Conditions............................... page 3

Section 4: Installation........................................ page 3

Section 5: Finishing............................................ page 9

NOTE: Please read all sections thoroughly before beginning any installation. If in doubt, please contact Ulster Carpets.

Main Office Telephone: +44 (0)28 3833 4433

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This installation guide is copyright of Ulster Carpets Ltd

edge, at any point across the subfloor. If a wooden sub-floor is not flat we recommend installing plywood of at least 6mm in thickness.

1.4 Good Condition:

1.4.1 Solid sand and cement / Calcium Sulphate (Anhydrite):The subfloor must be sound with no friable areas and free of laitance. Check the surface is not breaking up, as this will affect the bond strength of the installation.

1.4.2 Timber:Test the timber sub-floors for vertical movement, which should be less than 5mm. This can be checked ideally using a laser set level at opposing sides of the floor and then by walking across the floor measuring any deflection. It may be possible to strengthen the sub-floor by using plywood of a suitable thickness that is securely fixed to the sub-floor.When installing in a listed building please observe the relevant regulations when evaluating sub-floor preparation. If this does not allow for remedial work you must inform the client of the potential problems with any of the above.

2 - Delivery, Storage and Handling

Delivery must be carried out using a suitable vehicle that protects the carpet during adverse weather conditions. The vehicle must be clean with no sharp protrusions that may damage the carpet. Do not leave carpets in a delivery vehicle overnight particularly during cold conditions.The storage facility must be dry and clean and preferably in a temperature controlled environment. Store the carpet on a flat surface preferably off the floor. Do not store over battens or racks without a flat surface as localised stretching can occur over these items, which will be very difficult to remove during installation and carpets should not be stacked more than 3 rolls high.Obviously sometimes due to building design, carpets have to be bent so keep this to a minimum by loosely rolling the carpet and re-moving the cardboard inner pole to reduce

These guidelines are designed to complement the current British Standard BS5325 and any other relevant standards.

NOTE: The final responsibility for the installation lies with the installer who should be suitably trained and knowledgeable with commercial carpet installations.

To achieve a commercially acceptable installation the following guidelines should be followed and if in doubt ask prior to cutting or gluing the carpet.

Commercial installations benefit from either double stick on a suitable underlay or direct bonding to the sub-floor as carpet will relax over time with usage that can result in ripples and movement of pattern alignment. Wheel traffic usage would benefit from the carpet be-ing bonded to the sub-floor. Stretch fit instal-lations are generally more suited to areas less than 50 sq meter with a foot fall of maximum 10 people.

1 - SUB-FLOOR

The sub-floor must be clean, dry, flat and in good condition.

1.1 Clean:Remove all contaminates such as old adhesive residues, paint, oils, waxes etc as these will adversely affect the adhesive used for the new installation.

1.2 Dry:Always test the floor, solid or wood for moisture levels according to British Standards. As a guide solid floors should be less than 75% RH, tested with a hygrometer or 14% on wood floors tested with a suitable spike type meter.

1.3 Flat:Ridges and undulations in a sub-floor generally cause premature wear to the carpet. High spots can be ground off and undulation filled. Ceramic tile grout lines are a particular problem, as the grout line will eventually mirror through the carpet. As a guide, British Standards tolerance is a maximum 3mm gap under a 2m long straight

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applying and placing carpets into the adhesive. The selection of underlay is your decision but if the installation fails due to a problem with the underlay this may void the warranty.Clean the floor using a vacuum to remove dust and debris even though you may have prepared the sub- floor the day before. Adhesive will not adhere (stick) to dust. As above, acclima-tise the underlay and rolls of carpet for at least 24 hours in the room / area to be installed and keep the temperature and humidity with-in acceptable tolerances even overnight when temperatures can and do drop to low levels.There are two methods around the perimeter / fixed objects with double stick installations. Either fix ripper around the walls or leave a 6mm gap between the underlay and the wall for a tuck finish. There are two types of gripper, the normal type with spikes or blind gripper without spikes. Blind gripper allows you to apply adhesive up to the walls.

4.2 Direct stick to the sub-floor:

The prepared sub-floor is the base to which the carpet will be bonded to, so ensure the surface meets all of the criteria in section 1.

4.3 Underlay and gripper preparation (Stretch Fit):

After checking the flatness and dryness of the floor, ensure there are no pipes near to the surface that could be damaged by fixings. The gripper rods should be of suitable strength so that the pins do not bend or move in the plywood when under pressure. The gripper rods should be fixed leaving a consistent gap of 6mm to 8mm between the leading edge of the gripper rod and the wall, with the pins pointing towards the walls. This is to ensure that the car-pet is secured between the gripper and the wall which will give a clean edge, it will also ensure the edge of the carpet is not lifted off the pins during normal regular vacuuming. The position of the gripper rod also helps with securing the carpet when stretching. After fixing the gripper rods vacuum the area to remove any dust or debris that is disturbed during the fixing of the gripper.

creases. Please plan to allow more acclimatising time where the carpet needs to be bent so that the carpet can relax.

You should plan to allow at least 24 hours with the carpet unrolled for acclimatising and relaxing of the carpet particularly during colder weather conditions. Allowing the carpet to relax can be a vital point when aligning patterns. Do not unroll the carpet and start to fit as the tension from being rolled tight could have an effect on the alignment of the pattern. Storing in unheated steel containers will require more acclimatising time.

NOTE: If the carpet is being delivered by a 3rd party carrier then it is important to check for damage. Any sign of damage to the wrappings, should indicate that the carpet inside is also damaged and the POD should be signed with damage noted. Signing for the carpet without noting damage effectively means that the delivery is accepted in good condition and limitsUlster’s ability to seek compensation from the carriers.

3 - Site conditions

Always check the ambient room temperature and humidity which should be maintained at a constant level, ideally between 18°c (64.4°f) and 22°c (71.6°f) with a relative humidity, between 45% - 65% prior to, during and for at least 24 hours after the installation including through the night. This is very important to allow the adhesive to cure correctly. Allowing the heating to be turned off could result in the carpet moving and lifting off the adhesive, which will have stability issues once the heating is used again. Once the adhesive has cured which can be up to 48 hours (see glue manufacturer’s instructions) the carpet should remain stable.

4 - Installation

4.1 Double stick on underlay:

The selection of underlay is vital to stability and longevity of the installation. PU types of underlay tend to be less effective when aligning patterns and the bond to the surface of the underlay requires good management when

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If there is a potential problem when installing outside of normal office hours you may wish to consider loose lay or stretch fitting until a definitive answer can be given. Loose laying or stretch fitting will allow for any adjustments without destroying the carpet.

Ulster Carpet recommends unrolling and dry laying the carpet rolls for at least 24 hours prior to final installation procedures. Refer to the roll sequencing detailed in the control sheet and seaming plan diagrams. Dry laying allows the carpet to become acclimatised and relaxes the weave to the climate of the room and allows the installer to become aware of the carpet design and proper sequencing. Once carpet is dry laid (not glued), you can determine the longest pattern repeat, the pattern match, and the constraints of the room to be installed.

NOTE: Ulster carpets are woven with synthetic and jute backings. With this in mind it is not always possible to shrink the carpet by wetting. It is important to always work to the longest pattern repeat and stretch those rolls that have a lesser repeat to ensure a pattern match. Carpet is a textile that will have been manufactured within acceptable tolerances and different rolls may be slightly different in pattern repeat so please check. Ulster Carpets have placed the carpet on their control floor bed and have evaluated the alignment and ability to achieve a satisfactory installation.

NOTE: If there is a risk of dust migration mainly from floor boarded sub-floors we recommend laying a paper felt, covering the whole of the floor area prior to fitting the underlay. If the gripper rods are going to fixed with nails the paper felt can be laid out to the walls with the gripper being fixed on top.

We recommend using a suitable underlay for the installation. The underlay should be capable of supporting the carpet so that when walking over the carpet and underlay the underlay does not collapse eliminating the support. On flat areas lay out the underlay either up to the gripper rods or overlapping and cutting if the wall is not straight. Fix the underlay around the gripper edge with either staples or adhesive (spray or double sided tape) never fix to the sub-floor along the joins of the underlay. Once the second and subsequent lengths are laid out (which should be laid in the opposite direction of the previous length) - this will ensure that if there is a slight difference in thickness from side to side of the underlay the two joining edges will be of the same thickness eliminating any ridges - fix the joins with a cloth type single sided tape. Do not use packing tape or similar tapes as the adhesive can dry out over time leaving a loose tape that could create a crunching sound when walked over. Tapping the joins will stop the underlay moving in the middle of the area and also stop dust migration through the join. We recommend laying the underlay at right angles (90º) to the lay of the floorboard and direction of the carpet although in practice on long runs the underlay can be laid in the same direction as the carpet.

4.4 Carpet:Unroll and dry lay all of the carpet rolls making sure the sequence / roll numbers are as per the plan. Ulster Carpets make a number of quality control inspections but please check there are no faults that have been missed or if there has been any damage caused during transport or storage. If you find faults or damage that you consider may be a potential problem do not install and contact Ulster Carpets for advice.

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4.5 Joins:Ulster Carpets recommend joining the carpet together along the seam to give strength, which is important with commercial installation where water extraction cleaning will generally occur at regular intervals.We have assumed the position of the joins has been previously discussed with Ulster Carpets and the end user. Selvedges on Axminster weaves may require removal so check by pushing the two edges together and assess the gap between the rows of tufts on each side of the join by separating the tufts. If there is a gap of more than one row of tufts you should consider removing one of the selvedges. One selvedge may be wider than the other so consider removing this edge. Never overlap edges and cut from above as this will in most cases have created shearing of the fibres.

Once done push the edge together and re-check the gap. If there is still a gap greater than one row of tufts cut off the other selvedge. Any cut edge along a join must be sealed with a suitable edge sealer to prevent fibre loss (fraying). The same applies to Wilton weaves although there will not be a selvedge edge.Once you have prepared the edges for heat seaming lay a suitable heat seam tape under the join ensuring the tape is placed equally at each side of the join. It is also advisable to place a movable thin board such as plywood or hardboard of around 1m in length under the tape at the start point. This will prevent the tape adhering to the underlay and prevent damage to the underlay. It will also reduce stop dips along the join created by top pressure during seaming. The board should be designed with a webbing or string attached to the leading edge so that it can be pulled along the join in front of the heat seam iron.

After placing the tape and board apply tension to both pieces of carpet. Leave a gap at the start position for the heat iron to be placed under the carpet. The reason is that once a join is produced the join will be firmer than the rest of the carpet which will be difficult to stretch to the same degree as the rest of the carpet and could result in an alignment situation with the pattern. We recommend working in the same direction as the lay of pile.

NOTE: Make sure the join edges are tight together before starting the heat seaming. Leaving a small gap and then stretching two edges together can result in peaking when the tension pulls away from the join. Warm up the heat seam iron using a setting of between 2.5 to 3. Never turn the iron on full as this will over heat the glue that has been known to break down with normal walking on the join. When at the right temperature place the iron under the carpet on top of the tape, make sure the board is placed over the gripper spikes to ensure the glue is correctly melted at this point. Allow a few seconds for the glue to melt and then push the iron along the join to the same length or shorter than the iron base so that there are no cold unmelted areas of the tape. After moving the iron place the two edges together making sure you do not trap any fibres in between the joins. Apply downwards pressure to ensure the adhesive comes into contact with the carpet. You should always finish rubbing the fibres in the same direction as the pile direction of the carpet this is so that the fibres do notset in different directions. Once done use either a seam weight recommended (special purpose type or a flat board) or roll a flat (not spiked) roller over the join to make good contact between the tape and the carpet. Continue along the whole length of the join pulling the board along.

If the pattern does not freely match use the following method(s); first start by trying to stretch the pattern into register using either a knee kicker or a power stretcher. If successful, hold the tension and seam as above. If the sub-floor is wood you can use stay tack at regular intervals along the join, stretching as required. Alternatively start the join in the middle of the length bringing into register the

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stretching. Set the spike depth on the stretcher by placing a spare piece of carpet, pile side against not over the spikes and apply finger pressure with care so as not to puncher your fingers. Adjust the spikes until they are long enough to go into the weave but do not come through.

Stretching sequence diagram:

NOTE: If the spikes penetrate the carpet they will damage the underlay and paper felt if used allowing dust migration through the holes. You will also damage the knee kicker spikes leaving a burr which could pull out tufts when lifting the stretcher.

Step One: Start stretching in one corner (normally the furthest point away from the door) by cutting a triangle off the carpet to allow the corner to lay flat into the corner. Now crease the edges against the skirting board to reduce the lifting pressure when hooking onto the griper pins. With the stretcher square to the wall kick the stretcher and at the same time apply downward pressure on the carpet to hook onto the spikes, lift the stretcher keeping your fingers on the carpet that has just been hooked onto the spikes. Move the stretcher sideways, approximately the width of the stretcher head and place down, keeping it square to the wall. Kick the stretcher moving your fingers along applying downward pressure to hook the carpet onto the spikes. Repeat as above for approximately 300mm

pattern along a short length of approximately 1m. Now heat seam this section with the board underneath and then remove the iron. Allow this section to set and then using a stretcher move the pattern onto the next 1m. Once you are satisfied that the pattern can be moved into register, place the iron under the carpet after moving the board and seam the next section removing the iron.

Repeat this method along the whole join returning to the middle to seam the second half. This will obviously take slightly longer but the effort will produce a good join.

Tip: After moving the seam weight or using the flat roller agitate the fibres with the flat of your hand to align the fibres and to ensure they are at the same height as the surrounding area prior to the fibres cooling and setting in position.

NOTE: Not all heat seam tapes are suitable for woven carpet. We recommend consulting the relevant heat seam manufacturer and in any case always carry out a test join on a spare piece of carpet to check for the bond strength.

4.6 Stretching:Position the carpet ensuring the pattern is balanced against all of the walls or along a focal point wall. Using a string line will visually help with keeping the pattern in a straight line. You should allow at least 50mm up each wall so that the carpet can be stretched in all directions.To achieve good tension the carpet will need to be stretched in all directions and not just across or along the area. After positioning the carpet cut off the excess allowing 50mm up each wall. Longer excess will reduce the ability of the carpet to hook onto the spikes during

Step 1Hook onto the cornerfurthest away from the

door

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Step 2Temporary stretch across the width to

opposite corner

Step 3Starting at the first corner, hook carpet

along the wall

Step 4Temporary stretch

along the length from the start corner

Step 5Starting at the first

corner, hook the carpetalong the length wall

Step 6Temporary stretch toopposite corner form

the start corner

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Step 7Stretch the length

starting in the left handcorner

Step 8Stretch carpet

starting in the righthand corner

Step 9Stretch the carpet into

doorway

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__

Check tension, adjustif required

_

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Step Five: Now go the corner along the length wall on your start corner. Cut a triangle off the carpet to allow the carpet to lay flat in the corner. Crease the carpet for at least 300mm along both walls and place the stretcher square to the width wall. Now kick the stretcher and at the same time apply downward pressure on the carpet to hook onto the spikes. This is only a temporary stretch to help you keep the pattern parallel to the wall.

Step Six: Go back to the first corner and place the stretcher next to the first section hooked on along the length wall at approximately 15º pointing away from the corner. Place your fingers on the last section of hooked carpet and kick the stretcher moving your fingers along the wall. Always keep your fingers on the section that has just been hooked onto the pins to reduce / prevent the carpet lifting off the spikes when stretching the next section. Move the stretcher along the wall by the width of the head of the stretcher placing at 15º as before and kick the stretcher moving your fingers along applying downward pressure to hook onto the pins. Repeat as above for approximately 1m and then crease the carpet against the wall to set onto the pins.

Step Seven: Repeat as above to the opposite corner where you may have to lift the temporary stretched section if there is excess carpet. During the stretching if you find there is a diagonal ripple behind the stretcher stop and lift this section of carpet and re-stretch. Ripples are normally created when you have applied inconsistent tension along the wall. The temporary stretch has been your guide to consistent stretching.

Step Eight: Now go to the diagonally opposite corner to your start corner and cut off a triangle to allow the carpet to lay flat into the corner with the stretcher placed in line between the two diagonal corners stretch the carpet onto the gripper. You will only need to kick the stretcher once as this is a temporary stretch. You can now stretch the carpet as above beginning at the opposite corner to the temporary stretch which should be along the length wall of the carpet.

and then crease the carpet against the wall with a stair tool (bolster), this will help to set the carpet onto the pins. Go back to the start corner and working away from your first section hook the carpet onto the gripper pins as above.

Step Two: Now go across the width of the carpet to the opposite corner and cut a triangle off the carpet to allow the carpet to lay flat in the corner. Crease the carpet for at least 300mm along both walls and place the stretcher square to the length wall. Now kick the stretcher and at the same time apply downward pressure on the carpet to hook onto the spikes. This is only a temporary stretch to help you keep the pattern parallel to the wall.

Step Three: Go back to the first corner and place the stretcher next to the first section hooked on along the width wall at approximately 15º pointing away from the corner. Place your fingers on the last section of hooked carpet and kick the stretcher moving your fingers along the wall. Always keep your fingers on the section that has just been hooked onto the pins to reduce / prevent the carpet lifting off the spikes when stretching the next section. If you find the carpet tends to lift off the gripper spikes cut some relief cuts every 150mm along the wall to within 5mm of the gripper, do not over cut. This will reduce the tension of some stiff carpets and helpto stretch onto the gripper pins. Move the stretcher along the wall by the width of the head of the stretcher placing at 15º as before and kick the stretcher moving your fingers along applying downward pressure to hook onto the pins. Repeat as above for approximately 1m and then crease the carpet against the wall to set onto the pins. Repeat as above to the opposite corner where you may have to lift the temporary stretched section if there is excess carpet.

Step Four: During the stretching if you find there is a diagonal ripple behind the stretch-er stop and lift this section of carpet and re-stretch. Ripples are normally created when you have applied inconsistent tension along the wall. The temporary stretch has been your guide to consistent stretching.

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Pull the carpet approximately half way back and apply adhesive. If in doubt please consult the adhesive and underlay manufacturer for suitability. Apply the adhesive using a B2 / 2mm x 6mm trowel to an area that can be covered with the carpet within the open time and leaving approximately 100mm to 150mm away from the marks (edge of carpet). As a guide an area of approximately 3m in length should be considered although with a number of installers on the project, larger areas can be considered as one team can be applying adhesive whilst the other team can be placing the carpet into the adhesive. Open times will vary depending on the temperature and humidity within the area. Open time is to allow for excess moisture to escape. As a guide, touch the adhesive with your fingers after approximately 10 to 15 minutes to see if there is any tack on the adhesive and to ensure the adhesive will transfer to your finger (wipe adhesiveoff your fingers before touching the carpet). Once the adhesive has reached sufficient open time (laying the carpet in too soon will trap moisture under the carpet, delay the initial grab and elongate the curing time. Too long will prevent transfer of the adhesive to the back of the carpet.) place the carpet into the adhesive and smooth any wrinkles out with your hands. Check the pattern alignment against the string or laser lines. If adjustment is required use the re-stretcher. This tool will adjust / move small sections at a time. This may appear to take some time but you will be able to control the pattern alignment to a much finer degree than a knee kicker. This method is far better than using a power stretcher that tries to move larger sections and cannot always align the pattern as easily. After aligning the pattern, use a glider or roller (maximum 20KG) running across the width before the length to reduce stretching the carpet.

NOTE: If there are any bows or skews in the pattern only apply adhesive to an area of approximately 2m in length. This will allow you to move the pattern in line more easily. Too large an area will create too much grab and restrict the ability of moving the pattern. Once you have aligned this first section the rest of the carpet length will be much easier to align.

Always stretch the length of the carpet (this is the length of manufacturer which may not be the longest wall). Work towards the temporary stretch and then stretch the width of the carpet starting at the opposite corner to the temporary stretch. Do not stretch into the door bar at this time. Check the room is under tension by pinching the tufts between your thumb and finger and pull upwards.

Step Nine: If there is correct tension the tufts / carpet will ping / pull out of your fingers. If however you find a section that is slightly loose lift this section off the grippers and re-stretch with the stretcher square to the wall. You can now stretch into the door bar. Cut the carpet with a 5mm excess and using a stair tool or tucking knife, start in the middle of the door bar with the stretcher square to the bar and stretch the carpet, at the same time using your tucking tool push the carpet into the door bar. Work each way from the middle and then push the carpet fully into the bar. Pushing the carpet into the bar and then stretching does not always give sufficient grab on the spikes of the door bar.If you are going to join the carpet in the doorway and not use a door bar always stretch away from this join as it is difficult to tension if working towards the doorway.

4.7 Glueing:Having determined which roll has the longest pattern repeat (assuming they are not all of the same length) this is your starting roll length. Do not stretch this length. Check that you can achieve a satisfactory pattern match on the adjoining roll widths by using stretching equipment. Always use a string line or laser line to check pattern alignment in both directions. There are three main stretcher types, knee kicker, power stretcher and seam / re-stretcher (double head). The seam re-stretcher can be used as a skirting board stretcher but is generally used for moving carpets when aligning patterns on glued down installations. These stretchers give intricate adjustment capabilities when aligning patterns.

Accepting you can align the patterns, mark along the edges of the starter roll.

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5.0 Finishing

On completion of the installation, remember to allow adhesives time to cure and keep traffic to a minimum for at least 24 hrs. Use of protective coverings should be limited, Ulster do not advise the use of plastic, non breathable based products but alternatives such as plywood should be considered if required.Also remember to leave usable carpet off-cuts with the client unless otherwise determined and dispose of packaging and inner carpet tubes. Ensure that any surface protrusions are trimmed off and that napping shears are used on seams where necessary.

4.7.1 Second and subsequent rolls:To ensure a good seam it is necessary to trim off the selvedges (not face yarn). To ensure the underlay is not cut when removing the selvedge, we suggest placing a cutting board (thin plywood or hardboard) between the carpet and the underlay. All cut edges require sealing to prevent fibre loss along the seam. After application press the sealer into the bottom edge of the fibres avoiding over application at the top of the fibres.

After cutting off the selvedges and sealing the edge, pull the two edges together (the carpet re-stretcher can be used for this purpose). Apply the adhesive as above using another installer to pull back the edge of the first roll whilst the adhesive is applied underneath. Before pressing the carpet into the adhesive lay the scrim tape and after allowing the appropriate open time, lay the carpet into the adhesive, aligning the pattern as above. Now place the glue gun under the join (the glue requires pre-heating whilst applying the adhesive to the underlay) and pull backwards ensuring sufficient adhesive is applied to the tape. Whilst pulling the glue gun backwards fold the two edges together to avoid trapping any fibres.A flat roller, seam weight or both should be used to apply pressure to ensure the carpet is pressed into the glue. We do not recommend using a spiked roller, as they have been known to damage the fibres. After moving the seam weight along the join, rub with the flat of your hand over the join ensuring the fibres are all facing in the same direction. Finish by gliding or rolling over the carpet width first. Repeat on all widths, then cut the edges approximately 5mm high and tuck into the gripper or gap left by the underlay.Open edges or doorways should be protected using a suitable profile that entraps the edge of the carpet.

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Ulster Carpets Castleisland Factory CraigavonNorthern Ireland BT62 1EET: +44 (0)28 3833 4433E: marketing@ulstercarpets.com W: www.ulstercarpets.com