Buckling Lees Commercial
This report was commissioned by the management company and the installer stretched in
this Lees Commercial carpet.
CLAIM STATISTICS FOR THIS INSPECTION
PROBLEM REPORTED: Buckling
PROBLEM FOUND: Buckling
SAMPLES: Carpet
PERSONS PRESENT: Inspector & Commissioner
THE CARPET
MANUFACTURER: Lees Commercial Carpets
404 Anderson St.
Glasgow, VA 24555 2801
800 523 5647
STYLE NAME & NUMBER: Sisal Craft
COLOR NAME & NUMBER: Not Given
NUMBER on BACKING: Not Applicable
FIBER: Nylon
ID METHOD: Chemical
FIBER COLOR: Multi-Color
CONSTRUCTION: Conventional Tuft
YARN STYLE: Level Loop
SQUARE YARDAGE: Not Given
BACK SYSTEM: Fusion
PRIMARY BACKING: Unibond
SECONDARY BACKING: Thermo Plastic
INSTALLATION STATISTICS
TYPE LOCATION: Commercial
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Office Building
DATE INSTALLED: 1993 or 1994
METHOD: Stretch-In
CUSHION: Rubberize Jute
SUBFLOOR: Concrete Slab
AREA INSTALLED: Hallways, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Floors
USE & MAINTENANCE STATISTICS AT THE TIME OF THE INSPECTION
LITERATURE RECEIVED WITH PURCHASE: Not Determined
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 1000
TEMPERATURE: 73.1°F - 22.8° C RH 60%
VACUUM TYPE: Professional Service
VACUUM FREQUENCY: Nightly
ENTRY-MATS: In the Downstairs Lobby
SOIL: None Noticed
HEATING TYPE: Heat Pump
COOLING TYPE: Heat Pump
CLEANING: Professionally Cleaned By
METHOD: Spin Pad
TYPE OF CHEMICAL: Neutral pH
TREATMENTS APPLIED: None Reported
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS REPORT
Assess the problem reported and make a determination of the responsible parties.
SITE CONDITIONS & GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
This is three-story office complex that comprises over 264,000 square feet.
Sixty-four different businesses rent office space and they collectively have approximately
1000 employees. Furnishings and maintenance were very good.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION MADE TO THE INSPECTOR
Performance of this carpet has been satisfactory except for the need to have it
re-stretched every six to nine months. The reason for the frequent restretching is due to
buckles or ridges afterwards. Restretching services have been provided by the
dealer/installer of this carpet. There has been modest wheel traffic from common package
delivery services like UPS and Fed-Ex.
It is the theory of this commissioner that restretching this carpet every six to nine
months is excessive. Therefore, an independent third party assessment was deemed
necessary.
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM AREA BY THIS INSPECTOR
This independent field investigation centered around a hallway on the third level
in the section of this complex that lies furthest from the street. Ridges and/or buckles
that measured from a half to one inch in height were found next to the baseboards. Carpet
in these areas was lifted up with modest effort and the holes made by nails from the
tackless strip did not indicate that adequate stretching had been done.
The backing of the installed carpet and a remnant appeared to be without defects. There
were no indications that excess moisture, improper cleaning, or any other detrimental
effect was present in the installation.
ON-LOCATION FIELD TESTING
An ultra-violet light was used to draw a reflection from substances with
fluorescent dyes. Yellow reflections will come from most urine stains while blue or
lavender reflections will come from inappropriate detergents. The results of this test
revealed that there were no reflections.
Numerous moisture tests were performed using a Delmhorst Moisture Sensor that would
indicate the presence of moisture locked-up in same compounds mentioned above, but there
were no moisture readings either.
THE ISSUE
The questions that I have been asked to address are, is the frequency of
restretching normal for this carpet; and if not, what is the problem.
GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING THE ISSUE
The LEES Unbind Installation Procedures for Stretching in Unibond Carpet and the
CRI104 Commercial Installation Standards are the guidelines for evaluating the issue.
INDUSTRY STANDARDS & DEFINITIONS
Concerning power-stretching, the CRI104 says:
11.8 Power Stretching - Carpet must be power stretched and firmly hooked onto the
trackless strip at the starting walls and on the trackless strips in the surrounding area.
The use of a power stretcher is mandatory.
Before power stretching, make certain that hot melt tape seams are cool to the touch. A
four-way stretch is to be used (See Figure 2).
Tufted carpet with a synthetic secondary back should be stretched 1%-1 1/2% in width and
length. For woven and other constructions follow the carpet manufacturer's recommendations
for the method and amount of stretch to be applied. Tufted carpet with a jute secondary
back should be stretched "drum tight."
According to LEES, they say this about installation of Unibond Carpets:
It is Lees' position that an area larger than 400 square feet should feet should not be
installed in a stretch-in application. Our recommendation for those areas would be either
an attached cushion or double-stick installation.
THE INSPECTOR'S ANALYSIS
LEES Unibond backing is not like conventionally tufted carpet in that the backing is made
with a thermo-plastic instead of a latex compound. This makes stretching and/or
restretching more difficult. Successful installations often require experience with this
type of product. The preferred method of installation would have been to use the direct
glue down or double stick method as in the case of unitary back carpet. In addition, given
the amount of the carpet involved, stretching the hallways does not comply with LEES
specifications. However, other LEES Unibond Carpets that have been installed in hallways
have been known to only require restretching every two or three years. The difference is
likely found in the degree of compliance with the CRI104 commercial installations
standard. The likely reason this carpet buckles in a much shorter period is due to a lack
of compliance those standards.
When carpets have been properly power stretched, the holes made by the nails of the
tackless strip are elliptical, not round. The reason behind this is that the force needed
to stretch a carpet at least 1%, warps the holes where the carpet attaches to the tackless
strip nails. It is a common practice not to power stretch residential installation
although, the residential installation standard, CRI105 does require it. Commercial
stretch-in installations are normally adequately stretched, but hallways present special
problems in both the length and width.
- The poles on a power stretcher are generally not long enough to cover the entire length
of hallways. Therefore, a devise called a 'deadman' is needed in order to have a base for
the power stretcher to push against. A deadman is commonly handmade and is not found in
stores. It is uncommon to find one of these devises even among commercial installers
unless they have received special training.
- In addition, the poles on power stretcher are also too long to fit in the width on most
hallways. Therefore, another special devise called a 'hallway' stretcher is necessary.
Hallways stretchers are hard to find in stores that sell installation supplies, but can be
special ordered with little difficulty.
Although, both the 'deadman' and 'hallway stretcher' are both rare and the restretching
every six to nine months is not common, the reason this carpet is not performing like
other products in the market place is due once again to its unique backing. Therefore, in
order to achieve better performance, total compliance with the CRI104 is essential.
CONCLUSION
From a professional opinion, based upon background information, observations, and
field-testing done at the time of the inspection, the frequency of restretching for this
carpet is not normal due to errors made by the installer in stretching and restretching.
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