Delamination at Carpets Edge

This report was done for the carpet dealer and because there was a repeating pattern every three feet, trimming the edge would destroy half the carpet.

THE CARPET

FIBER/ ID METHOD: Nylon-Chemical

FIBER HUE: Multi-Color - Pattern

CONSTRUCTION: Tufted Cut Pile

YARN STYLE: Velvet

BACK SYSTEM: Conventional Tufted

PRIMARY BACKING: High Density Polypropylene

SECONDARY BACKING: Polypropylene

THE INSTALLATION

LOCATION TYPE: Commercial

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Restaurant

METHOD: Stretch-In

CUSHION: Jute

SUBFLOOR: Concrete

USE & MAINTENANCE INFORMATION AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION

LITERATURE RECEIVED WITH PURCHASE: None Reported

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 75

TEMPERATURE: 71.1°F - 21.7° C RH 58%

VACUUM/FREQUENCY: Upright, Nightly

ENTRY-MATS? Yes

SOIL: Slightly Soiled

HEATING TYPE: Forced Air Gas

COOLING TYPE: Electric

REASON FOR COMMISSION

The carpet’s primary and secondary backings has reportedly separated.

THE REPORT

Site Conditions and Geographical Information

The carpet was installed in a single-story building located in Orange County. The inspection was conducted just prior to opening. The maintenance of this facility was good.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION MADE TO THE INSPECTOR

The dealer reports that the carpet was power-stretched and seaming adhesive was used on all seams. No problems were noticed until a few weeks after the installation.

According to the store manager some repairs on lines of missing yarn were made. Visits had been made by the manufacturer’s representative. The overall condition of the carpet had worsened with time.

Carpets are cleaned every other week with a truckmounted carpet cleaning machine. The carpet tool reportedly used was a drag wand.

DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM AREA BY THIS INSPECTOR

The carpet in question had a multi-colored pattern that repeated every three feet. Except for the gaps in the seam, the pattern match and panel widths were approximately close to 12 feet. The open seam lacked its original edge to indicate whether seam adhesive was used.

The secondary-backing of a remnant was easily pealed apart on the selvage side beyond where the pattern should match. The edge on the other side of the remnant were found to be much stronger. Latex appeared to be sparse on the selvage side.

The majority of the beverage-area seams had gaps of missing yarn at the time of the inspection. These gags had irregular widths from near flush to one half inch. Seam ran across the direction of traffic.

The back room had similar seams near the main entrance and ran the width of the carpet. Mildew was noted on the tackless strip in the northwest corner of the back dining room.

ON-LOCATION FIELD TESTING

Numerous moisture tests were performed using a Delmhorst Moisture Sensor. This test would indicate the presence of moisture and no moisture was detected in the trafficked areas of the carpet.

Delamination Test, ASTM D3996, was performed on remnants at PROFESSIONAL TESTING LABORATORY INC. of Dalton Georgia. The results were as follows:

3.5 5.4 5.2 Ave. 4.7

THE ISSUE OF THIS REPORT

The question that I have been asked to address is what caused the seam failure in the carpet in question.

GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING THE ISSUE

Seam failures can occur when:

1. there is a problem inherent in manufacturing

2. cleaning has over saturated a natural fiber backing causing shrinkage

3. there is a failure in the installation systems

4. extraordinary foot or mechanical action has been rendered to the carpet

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Delamination is defined in the Flooring Covering Dictionary as "The separation of layers on laminate through failure within the adhesive or at the bond between adhesive and laminate."

THE INSPECTOR'S ANALYSIS

Whereas the delamination test by Professional Testing Laboratories indicates that the carpet does not have an over-all delamination problem, the amount of selvage required to get into the strong part backing is beyond the boundary to make the pattern match in 12 foot widths. Since the pattern match does match, the failed seam likely included this weak section of the backing.

CONCLUSION

Seam failure in the carpet in question is due to weak edge inherent in manufacturing based upon observations.