Replies

1. 
   Dez | Aug 24, 2002 09:30am | #1

   Rez,

   Half inch pad...half inch block under the base when you nail it. That simple! Good luck, Dez

1. 
   Snort | Aug 24, 2002 08:03pm | #2

   Since most homeowners haven't picked out their carpet by trim time, and the popular Berbers can be thiner than other piles, my contractors have us hold the base up 3/8" from the underlayment...shoe looks mighty funny on carpeting...;-)

1. 
   JeffBuck | Aug 25, 2002 01:50am | #3

   I'm with bucksnort.....I use the fat end of a shim. Pretty much 3/8th.

   Carpet doen't really need any lift at all.....it would tuck just fine if the base was set tight.......set's a little flatter with a little lift though. Jeff.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......

1. 
   rez | Aug 25, 2002 02:23am | #4

   Okay, 3/8" it is. Just in time too. Getting ready to secure it down. Thanks y'all.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.

2. 
   Snort | Aug 25, 2002 02:44am | #5

   We've had problems with this, or I wouldn't be typing...you can't tuck carpet under stuff(baseboard, doors) that has/have been set tight to the floor...it's one of the reasons I look at prints and specs...know the floor coverings, I make make a special point to check this stuff out , I've been made to look like a monkey before, and as a baboon, I resent that...IMHO the best job for the homeowner (this is where I work from) is toto sit all floor incorporating trim UP...we get representative tile (grout under the jambs and casing if there's a gap) carpet, I've never seen...point is, this ain't always a pat answer, I push this one til we all know what;s going on...

1. 
   JeffBuck | Aug 25, 2002 02:53am | #6

   BB...I agree...mostly. Lifted base is better. Doors set after tile is better.

   But...I cleaned/repaired/layed carpet for too long too long ago. I just put that in as an after thought......remembering once that a friend asked where to rent a jamb saw. The dude that was gonna replace the carpet in his house told him he absolutely had to have a gap to tuck......and the old carpet was laid on top of worn hardwood...with the base set tight down. Told him to get another carpet layer and have them tuck tight and cut..........Done!

   So...for new const and new remodeling....you are 100% correct. If someone's thinking about tearing out the old green shag and getting a nice blue pile.......not a problem.

   Jeff.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......

2. 
   Snort | Aug 25, 2002 02:59am | #7

   Yer right...

   and yer a strange dude...

3. 
   rez | Aug 25, 2002 03:42am | #8

   Ok, I'm back to 1/2". Mainly because I already had it set up for 1/2" and did some stuff with the window that I'd have to take out and reset, so I can live with an eighth+- sometimes.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.

2. 
   Redfly | Aug 28, 2002 06:26pm | #11

   Just a comment - I think it's very important to determine (if possible) the particular pad and carpet the owner is planning to install.  If you use a 3/8" shim and the carpet is the plush type with a 1/2" pad, there is a little 'valley' created at the base, which is particularly hard to clean.  The result, especially wth light-colored carpeting, can be a dirty band around the room at the baseboard.

   With a typical plush carpet and pad, the total ht of the carpet pile is about 1".  When using this type of carpet, I hold the base 5/8" of the floor, which seems to work just right. 

1. 
   Snort | Aug 29, 2002 12:31am | #13

   Red, you are right...and we always ask the carpet supplier what they want for a height. Thing is, lower piles are in, I'll bet I haven't done a house with plush in the past 4 years...and if there's a big bump at the base, furniture sits funny, too...

1. 
   Redfly | Aug 29, 2002 05:02am | #14

   Don't see much plush around here anymoe either, but rather a wide variation of textures and styles.  A recent client used a 'carpet' made of woven sticks with 1/8" rubber pad beneath.  Very difficult to base, since there was no consistent thickness to use as a baseline.  We actually ended up scribing the base and cutting to within a lite 1/16" of the stick rug.  Ended up OK, but what pain in the #*%&!

2. 
   Snort | Aug 30, 2002 01:11am | #15

   Sounds like an extra, Cahching!

3. 
   Redfly | Aug 30, 2002 06:57am | #16

   you know it's funny, I never really knew how to spell cahching onaccounta its more a feeling than a word, but you may be right!

   or maybe kah-chinnnngggg!!!!!!!!

2. 
   rez | Aug 28, 2002 05:45am | #9

   OK Dez, I give up. How'd you get a handle like Dez?Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.

1. 
   Dez | Aug 28, 2002 10:48pm | #12

   'Cause Rez was taken...LOL 

   Truth is: It's short for dezertryder...my true passion. Used to race motorcycles CC as a hobby.

2. 
   EricS | Aug 28, 2002 05:33pm | #10

   Ask the guy who's supplying/laying the carpet. I always thought 1/4 - 3/8" until I asked the guy who was going to lay the carpet in my family room and he said the tack strips left room to tuck between themselves and the baseboard.