Used to cut carpet from the back side until I did it wrong on a $400 install

I was always taught to cut from the back with a hook knife. Worked fine for years, carpets came out okay. But last spring I had this job in a new build house outside Austin, had to do a custom cut around a weird angled closet. Flipped the carpet like normal, made my cuts from the back. Put it in place and realized I was about 2 inches short on one side because my measurement was off. Client was standing there watching too. Had to patch it with a seam and it looked terrible. That's when I started cutting from the face side with a straight blade. Way easier to see what you're doing and make adjustments on the fly. Has anyone else switched to face cutting and had better luck?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma_reed2616d ago

Face cutting sounds like a RECIPE for disaster if you ask me. One slip with a straight blade and you've got a visible gash in the carpet that you can't fix, plus you're way more likely to hit the pad underneath. I'll take my chances with the hook knife from the back even if I have to redo a cut sometimes.

julia28616d ago

One slip with a straight blade and you've got a visible gash in the carpet" - wait, you've never had a hook knife skip and tear a bigger chunk out of the backing? I've seen that ruin way more carpet than a straight blade slip ever did.