Given the current pandemic and my need to prepare a child's bedroom I decided a DIY flooring was the only option. The cheapest option appeared to be a felt back carpet. I figured if it didn't go well I could call in a proper fitter and lay a quality carpet when restrictions are lifted.
There are a number of old threads about laying felt back carpet on underlay. They recommend a gripper product (Floorworks 007) which is essentially a gripper rod without spikes but a hook tape instead. The micro-hooks hold the felt back securely whereas spikes require a mesh backed carpet to hook into and will just tear felt back carpet. I figured an underlay would add a level of comfort to an otherwise basic floor covering.
I found online guides which indicate felt-back with the proper gripper is easily used by DIYers and basically blaming the Belgians for introducing felt-backs and undermining the carpet laying trade. My conclusion is they are right. I found the gripper but from only ONE online source unless I wanted to buy a mile of the stuff. A couple of carpet dealers told me they recommended using regular gripper with felt-backs which from what I can gather is a recipe for disaster.
I fashioned a simple tensioner from some 'spike' gripper I took up (felt back does not need to be stretched, merely tensioned). Laying the carpet was very easy - although I needed to raise the gripper by 3mm to align with the top of the underlay and use longer nails - why is it gripper only comes in one thickness (height) ?
Conclusion: The carpet trade have little interest in providing gripper rods appropriate for the job. DIY with felt back is easy using the right gripper. The right gripper for felt-back is not the regular stuff and the proper stuff is hard to get/expensive for what it is. I had to buy almost twice as much as I needed for my job but figure I will be able to sell on my surplus easily. My only concern is the environmental afterlife of my polypropylene carpet when I eventually pull it up and ditch it although I note progress with the ISOPREP project which plans to recycle this material.
There are a number of old threads about laying felt back carpet on underlay. They recommend a gripper product (Floorworks 007) which is essentially a gripper rod without spikes but a hook tape instead. The micro-hooks hold the felt back securely whereas spikes require a mesh backed carpet to hook into and will just tear felt back carpet. I figured an underlay would add a level of comfort to an otherwise basic floor covering.
I found online guides which indicate felt-back with the proper gripper is easily used by DIYers and basically blaming the Belgians for introducing felt-backs and undermining the carpet laying trade. My conclusion is they are right. I found the gripper but from only ONE online source unless I wanted to buy a mile of the stuff. A couple of carpet dealers told me they recommended using regular gripper with felt-backs which from what I can gather is a recipe for disaster.
I fashioned a simple tensioner from some 'spike' gripper I took up (felt back does not need to be stretched, merely tensioned). Laying the carpet was very easy - although I needed to raise the gripper by 3mm to align with the top of the underlay and use longer nails - why is it gripper only comes in one thickness (height) ?
Conclusion: The carpet trade have little interest in providing gripper rods appropriate for the job. DIY with felt back is easy using the right gripper. The right gripper for felt-back is not the regular stuff and the proper stuff is hard to get/expensive for what it is. I had to buy almost twice as much as I needed for my job but figure I will be able to sell on my surplus easily. My only concern is the environmental afterlife of my polypropylene carpet when I eventually pull it up and ditch it although I note progress with the ISOPREP project which plans to recycle this material.
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