PSA: Stop stretching carpet across doorways before the tack strip goes in

I've seen three jobs this month where guys laid the carpet over the doorway and stretched it tight, then tried to shove the tack strip under the edge after. All three ended up with ripples right at the door because the carpet couldn't relax into the strip properly. I learned this the hard way on a 1,200 square foot house in Phoenix back in 2018, had to redo four doorways after the homeowner pointed out the waviness. Do you install your tack strip first and then stretch into it, or do you have a different order that works better?

3 comments

3 Comments

noahgreen18d ago

Yeah tack strip first always, saves a ton of headache later.

linda_reed17d ago

Wait, @noahgreen, have you actually tried glue down at the doorways before? Glue holds great in high traffic spots, but you gotta prep the subfloor right or it'll peel up anyway. Tack strip is still the way to go for keeping the carpet tight across the whole room.

hannahcraig18d ago

Heard of a guy who learned this same lesson running a commercial space and apparently he just skipped the tack strip altogether in those spots. Used glue down carpet at the doorways instead and said it held up way better because the glue isn't fighting the stretching tension. I mean idk if that's standard practice but it makes sense to me since my biggest headache is always getting the stretch just right over the strip.