Reattaching carpet to tack strip in basement

Hello,
I recently had a sump pump installed in my finished basement, which required me to remove the carpet 4' from the exterior walls and remove the old tack strip so they could jackhammer the floor. The carpet remained folded back / rolled up for about 4 months. After having everything put back together and the subfloor cleaned up, I rolled the carpet back and, not surprisingly, it is sitting anywhere from 1/2" to 3/4" away from the drywall. I was quoted $150 to restretch the carpet in two rooms, one room being a 10' by 12', and the other being 14' by 20' (20' at its longest, that room, the family room, is kind of like a fat L shape). I'd like to attempt to reattach the carpet myself, as my local True Value will rent me a power stretcher and kneekicker for $50 for a day. I have seen various people say a power stretcher will keep the carpet stretched properly for a longer time. Would it be necessary due to the short length that I need to stretch the carpet? and for the family room, there is a seam that runs along the 14' wall about 2' back from that edge of the carpet. Are the seams easy to tear with a power stretcher or are they pretty durable?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer these questions!

 

Welcome to the forums! Does the carpet stretch over a hole where the sump pump is? I would recommend a power stretcher. Whether or not you have the expertise to stretch the carpet uniformly, I don't know. It takes practice. Not wanting you not to experience it, since this is a DIY forum, I just think having all the rooms stretched for $150 would be cheap.

 

I have to agree with Larry on this one.

It's not hard to do but it's not a piece of cake. The knee kicker is a lot harder to use than it looks. If the seams were glued properly then they they should hold together.

 

Luckily where the sump pump is located, we had new carpet installed in that room. I went through home depot and they would not stretch my old carpet due to liability, but the contractors who came offered to come back and do it for $150. I figure I'll give it a try at least, and if i cant hack it then I'll give them a call.

 

After you replace the missing tack strips, you will need to power stretch the length first and set it. Then stretch the width. It's a $50 error if you have trouble and can't get it stretched properly. The key in concrete is that the tack strips will hold when the stretch is applied. Sometimes, the wood in the tack rots in contact with the cement or the gripper nails rust out from moisture. If upon inspection, it appears the tack is in serviceable order, give it a try. Stretch from the center of a wall first and work out from there. Make sure the stretcher grabs the backing of the carpet or you risk pulling fibers out of the backing. And as the case with any DIY first time project, practice up on your four letter words so you have appropriate descriptors when little annoyances crop up.

 

Thanks for the advice, appreciate everyone's quick replies!

 

Just don't overstretch the carpet. I would suggest that you stretch it just enough to get the wrinkles. If you stretch too much, you could cause wrinkles in other areas.