Showerthought: Why do people insist on stretching carpet in the wrong direction?

I was at a job last week in a living room and the homeowner had already tried installing some cheap carpet themselves. They stretched it parallel to the longest wall, but that made the seams open up after 2 days. I had to rip it out and redo it stretching perpendicular to the traffic path. It's just basic physics with the backing and the pile direction. Has anyone else dealt with customers who think they know better about seam placement?

2 comments

2 Comments

torres.drew19d ago

60 bucks says they watched a YouTube video from someone who doesn't install carpet.

the_kelly19d ago

Oh man, YouTube is the real culprit here, I swear. My last job had a guy who watched a 5 minute video on how to lay carpet but missed the part about the backing grain (you know, the little arrows on the back?). He ended up with a seam that looked like a snake after a week. Had to pull it all up and start fresh, same deal with the traffic path direction.