Carpet Measuring for Best Seam Placement

Carpet Measuring for Best Seam Placement

Layout and Seam Placement

The knowledge of a few basics of measurement and layout are a must for the sales representative, installer, consumer or other individual that is measuring rooms for the installation of a new carpet. It is equally important for the inspector, for you will be called upon to determine the amount of yardage required for a defective installation, confirm that the amount of yardage purchased was the amount installed, and in some situations you will need to confirm that the seams were properly located. The following is one method of measurement and layout and not the only way.

Measuring and Diagramming Procedures

Tools and supplies

  • Graph paper to layout (draw) the diagram on. For a standard installations 1/4 inch grids. On larger installations you may prefer to use 1/8 or 1/16-inch grids.
  • Pencil - preferably a #2.
  • Ruler to assist with the drawing of accurate lines.
  • Yardage Guide or pocket calculator to determined the amount of floor covering.
  • Tape measures should include a 25-foot or longer retracting tape measure and for larger installations a 100-foot steel or steel reinforced cloth tape. If you chose to use a cloth tape measure remember to check it regularly for accuracy as they can stretch. An electronic measuring device can be used but requires a great deal of practice and careful use for exact calculations.
  • Awl for holding one end of the tape measure in place.)
  • White chalk for marking areas.

Important Measuring and Calculating Points

While bidding an installation often requires that the calculations be made from a blueprint, whenever possible do your layout of the actual room where the product is to be installed as changes often take place between the time a blueprint is drawn and the room is completed.

Before starting the layout drawing it is helpful to know the width that the floor covering is available in or in the case of an already installed floor covering, the width installed. Most carpets are 12′ wide (some carpet is manufactured in 13′6″ or 15′ width).

With a carpet style that has a design the pattern will repeat at regular intervals. You will need to know the type and size of the pattern match. The pattern should be matched so that the design will be uniform no matter which direction the installation is viewed from.

Some carpets have a sculptured pattern that is produced during the tufting or weaving process and a second pattern that is printed on. With this style of carpet the printed and sculptured patter may not line up. In this situation you may only be able to match one of the patterns and it is generally advisable to match or monkey-match the printed pattern.

Drawing Your Layout

  • Using a pencil and graph paper, layout the room sizes accurately showing placement of all doors and the correct relationship of all rooms to the other.
  • You may find the lay out easiest when each square on the graph paper represents one foot. On larger installations you will need to use smaller grids and/or use a multiple for each grid such as one grid square equals two feet. (The multiple should be noted on your paper to remind you when doing your lay out or calculating the yardage).
  • Start with an outside wall that is common to joining rooms.
  • Start with the longest adjacent wall or dimension in an installation so that you can tell right away if you are going to run out of space on the paper and need to use a smaller grid or multiples of grids.
  • Remember to measure into the doorway where the seam will be made. When carpet is installed in joining rooms, the seams are generally constructed so they will be under the door when it is closed.
  • If you have both a baseboard and a quarter round, measure up to the baseboard or you may end up short.
  • On long measurements you will find it helpful to anchor the end of the tape measure with an awl.
  • After taking a measurement, either free hand (with a steady hand) or using a rule draws the line of the wall that the measurement represents. Be sure to take note of the placement of your first line so that the entire layout will accurately flow on your paper

Figuring Your Cuts

  • Add three inches to each cut.
  • Figure all main cuts so that the carpet nap lays in the same direction in all connecting rooms. Be sure to pay special consideration to the placement of the seams in relationship to the traffic pattern.
  • Seams should be kept to a minimum and away from areas subjected to pivoting traffic and should not run perpendicular to the openings in doorways.
  • Whenever possible, the main traffic should run along instead of across the seam.
  • To reduce seam visibility it is preferable to have major seams run into instead of across the main light source.
  • Figure all fills and other partial cuts from a single piece in order to avoid unnecessary seaming.
  • Adequately identify all cuts on the diagram to avoid leaving out or duplicating the amount of material required for the job.
  • Double-check your mathematics to avoid shortages and overages.
  • An accurate layout and measurements will allow you to determine the amount of material required for a proper installation. In the case of a new installation it will make the installation go smoother.

If the Material has a Pattern

  • If the material has a pattern match you must compute the yardage to allow for making the match. If you require two or more lengths of carpet that are to be seamed side by side, you need not figure a match on the first cut but must figure it on each subsequent cuts. As an example, your first cut is 20′6″ long and the carpet has a set-match of 3′ (lengthwise repeat) you will need to figure your cut at the next highest multiple of the repeat, which in this case would be 21′. 7 x 3′ = 21′
  • If the pattern is a drop-match, you can estimate the multiples of the repeat plus 1/2, 1/4, or whatever the multiple of the drop-match is.

Vocabulary

  • Pattern Match Lining up patterned carpet in such a way that the design element is continued across seams, making the finished installation appear uniform and cohesive Patterns must be matched in the same way as they appear on the carpet itself, either in a set match or drop match.
  • Repeat indicates the distance between identical design elements in sheet goods. The most widely used is an 18″ repeat, with range from 3′ to 54″. Common are 9″, 12″, 13 1/2″, 27″, and 54″ repeats (9″ and 12″ repeats usually found in small block or tile designs).
  • Drop Match: Each corresponding pattern element drops down a certain distance, such as a quarter or half pattern repeat in length, instead of simply repeating horizontally across the width as in set match. A quarter repeat is referred to as a quarter drop-match and a half repeat a half drop-match, etc.
  • Set Match: In a set-match the design is positioned or set, side-by-side so that it is located on a straight line across the width of the carpet.
  • Set Match (In relation too resilient): Geometric sheet goods with the pattern design matching straight across the sheet from edge to edge.
  • Monkey Matching: Monkey matching is a type of pattern matching where the overprint pattern must be matched and the tufting pattern allowed to fall wherever it may be.