Glue-down vs. stretch-in on a tricky concrete slab, I went with glue and it was a mess

I had a job last month in an old house near downtown Austin where the concrete slab was really uneven. The customer wanted carpet in their basement living room, about 400 square feet. I stood there looking at the floor thinking, do I glue this down or try stretch-in with a pad? The slab had these high spots and low dips you could see with a straightedge. I went with glue-down because I figured it would hug the floor better and not ripple. Man, I spent the whole day fighting the carpet to lay flat in those low spots. The glue was grabby and the carpet was thick, and I ended up with a few wrinkles I had to work out with a knee kicker. Next time on an old slab, I think I'd do a self-leveling compound first or just go stretch-in with a heavy pad. Has anyone else had better luck with one method on uneven concrete?

2 comments

2 Comments

sage_park610d ago

You spent the whole day fighting it?" That sounds like an actual nightmare.

the_miles9d ago

Yeah, a whole day of that sounds brutal. I read somewhere that even short-term fight or flight mode can mess with your sleep for days. Hope you got some real rest after that mess.