What causes the carpet to buckle/wrinkle?

There are mainly 4 reasons for the carpet to buckle/wrinkle;

  1. Installation fault
  2. Extreme traffic
  3. Water damage
  4. Quality issues

Installation Fault

Installation related issues are the highest-ranking causes of a carpet buckling. Wall to wall carpets does come mostly with a latex backing which needs to be properly acclimatized and stretched. The acclimatization (min./max. 65-95º F / 18-35ºC) part is generally meet if you already occupy the property and you have adequate room temperature before, during and after the install process (at least 48 hours before, during and 72 hours after completion). The failure with the acclimatization process is usually with subdivisions where the builder fails to heat up the property and the carpet is installed below required room temperature settings. Or the carpet is not allowed to acclimatize for the environment it needs to be installed.

Extreme Traffic

You must really work hard in your home to achieve this cause. But I ensure that I have seen it. Wearing shoes with heels is one of the reasons as well. Expending certain sections on the carpet’s backing causes delamination. Like pool tables. Another cause is shifting heavy furniture on your carpet quite often. Like 2-3 times in a year. Over a period of 5~7 years, the buckling will become visible. The difference between a proper installation and the wrong installation takes 5~7 years to become visible. That’s the reasons why big-box stores are offering a 1-year labour warranty. Wondering about our labour warranty? Click here!

That extra movement and stretching will cause over time the latex adhesive to fail and separate the primary backing from the secondary backing. Once this occurs, it can be still stretched in most cases but may leave (depending on the conditions and scale of separations) a visible line will remain that may not become invisible but over time with regular foot traffic and vacuuming it will be definitely easier on the eye.

Water Damage

The water damage will cause basically the same delamination. This type of damage can be also caused by extensive carpet shampooing and steam cleaning or DIY carpet cleaners. If the right amount of water is not applied and retracted at the same time, the residues of the water / moister could cause the latex adhesive to disintegrate. The same applies if the wrong cleaning agents are used. Please always use a professional carpet cleaning company with IICRC certified technicians and ensure that they use their own water supply. Not from your own tap.

Quality issues

It is always advisable to get the right carpet for the right application. Most flooring companies will be more than happy to provide you in the right direction. Upselling is not always the wrong thing as in most cases to meet your expectation it is the only option.

Especially for high traffic areas like stairs, hallways, dining and living room areas are subjected to show aging sign 10 times more than your low traffic area like the bedrooms.

If you use office chars with the roller legs, please use a plastic floor mat to protect your carpet.

Cost and process to re-stretch your carpet

Regardless of where the buckling is, in most cases, the entire carpeted area needs to be stretched in order to remove the wrinkles properly and permanently. Some sections can be locally treated. An easier/quicker solution means either “no satisfaction guaranteed” or to repeat the carpet stretching overtime again. Stretching the carpet involves pretty much installing your carpet all-over again minus bringing in the carpet, underpad, etc. Therefore the area/room has to be empty. No furniture, no obstruction. So the tension can be carried out equally on all sides. As the carpet is stretched, your carpet will shift and some areas may end up short. In this case, some seams and/or patches need to be made to fill up these gaps. The cost depends more so on the carpet type and complications. For one-bedroom only, the labour cost would be starting from $199 +HST to usually $350 +HST. Each additional room would range from $80 +HST to $140 +HST. In some cases I.e. larger rooms, basement rec room, etc. the cost can vary from $0.74 +HST to $1.49 +HST per sq ft. Stairs, hallways, furniture moving will be subjected to an extra cost.