Designer Series Installation Guide

Installing natural fiber broadloom

Thank you for choosing our Designer Series to help complete your design vision. Coastal Style is a design-driven leader in the flooring industry, passionate about creating innovative and fashionable natural fiber flooring with a clean, sophisticated aesthetic.

Receiving your new carpet

To protect your rug from damage in shipping, we roll it with the face of the rug on the inside. When you receive the rug you should open it, unroll it, and re-roll it in the opposite direction with the face on the outside. Leave it rolled up in the room where it will stay, allowing the rug to acclimate to the humidity and temperature of its new environment. After 24 hours, you may unroll the rug and put it in place.

Planning the location of your carpet

Natural vegetable fibers are quite absorbent and will shrink and expand with changes in humidity. Therefore, all of our Designer Series products are for dry indoor use only. We do not recommend the use of our products in bathrooms, kitchens, basements or other damp or humid environments.

Exposure to direct sunlight is a factor to consider when placing a rug in a room. Fabrics and fibers, no matter what they are made of and no matter if or how they are dyed, will change to some degree if exposed to direct sunlight all day. Any rug placed in a sunny location should be turned regularly.

Installation Instructions

Direct glue-down procedure

The direct-glue-down procedure is the best method to use for wall-to-wall installation of our Designer Series natural fiber floor coverings. This procedure provides for the least amount of movement that can result from temperature and humidity fluctuations. When using this method, we recommend using our Floor Covering Adhesive #045 because of its low water content. Other adhesives can cause the carpet to expand and contract, forming wrinkles. We cannot honor claims for installations that do not use Floor Covering Adhesive #045.

Surface Preparation:

The floor must be clean, dry, and free of grease and dust. All concrete slabs must be thoroughly cured and free of hydrostatic pressure, excessive alkali, and moisture. All cracks, holes, and depressions should be filled and leveled with a high quality latex patching compound or floorstone.

Installation Procedure:

º Remove all shoe moldings, quarter rounds, and threshold stripping if possible. All rolls and cuts must be opened at room temperature for at least 24 hours.
º If the room to be carpeted is large, it may be necessary to seam two pieces of material together. All seams should be made before installation begins. (See “Preparing a seam for direct-glue-down application” at the end of this section.)
º Apply adhesive to the floor by using a 1/8 inch V-notch trowel. Spread evenly over the entire floor surface. If the surface area of the floor to be covered is large, it may be necessary to install the floor covering one section at a time in order to prevent the adhesive from drying. note: Our Floor Adhesive #045 has an “open” time of approximately 15 minutes depending on the room temperature. If a “skin” forms over the adhesive and the adhesive is no longer tacky, it has been allowed to dry too long and the material will bubble when installed. (If this happens, bubbles may be removed by injecting adhesive with a syringe underneath the loosened surface).
º Carefully apply the carpet over the adhesive and smooth the material using a six-inch-wide hard roller to distribute the glue evenly.
º Once the entire carpet has been installed (but not yet cut into the room), it is necessary to roll the entire surface with a 75-pound roller. This will secure the bond of the material to the adhesive and will eliminate wrinkles.
º Allow the carpet to adjust to the adhesive for approximately two to three hours before cutting it into the room to fit the perimeter.
º After the carpet has set, carefully cut around the room’s perimeter using a razor knife or sharp pair of shears. Apply clear contact cement to the cut edges on the side and back of the sisal to prevent unraveling.
º Secure the floor covering in all doorways, around fireplaces, etc., by applying a bead of clear contact cement to the edge of the material. The contact cement will also help prevent the carpet from raveling. Threshold strips should be placed in all doorways.
º Replace all shoe moldings, quarter rounds, and threshold stripping.

Preparing a seam for a direct glue-down application

Although a seam that is made by butting two selvage edges together is the most durable type of seam, it is also quite visible. For this reason, many owners choose to make a seam that is less durable but more pleasing to the eye.

To make a less visible seam, carefully trim the selvedge edges, following the yarn that runs the length of the material by using a very sharp pair of shears. Do not use a carpet knife for this procedure. In most instances, the yarn that runs the length of the material is straight. If this is not the case, use a chalk line to create a straight line to follow for your cut. After making the two straight cuts, butt them together. Fold each cut edge back (away from where the seamed joint will be) approximately five to six feet. Apply Floor Covering Adhesive #045 to the exposed floor in this ten to twelve foot area by using a 1/8 inch V-notch trowel. Fold down one of the cut edges into the adhesive. Apply a thin bead of seam sealer or clear contact cement to the cut edge where the latex backing meets the fibers. If the bead is too thick or too high on the fiber, the cement may bleed through onto the surface. After applying the bead of contact cement, fold down the other cut edge so that the two cut edges are butted together as tightly as possible. It may be necessary to work the seam together in some areas. Roll the seam with a carpet tractor to push the floor covering into the adhesive.

For surfaces other than concrete, when the seam is finished, we recommend securing it in place by stay-nailing it until the adhesive dries and the entire installation is complete. Nail approximately six inches from the seam on both sides, and continue in this way for the entire length of the seam. NOTE: Cross seams (or head seams) should be handled in the same way. However, length seams should be used whenever possible. Cross seams require cutting against the grain of the material. They are more visible and far less durable.

Installing over a rug pad

Most of our broadloom carpets feature a natural latex backing that provides a light padding between the carpet and the floor. We strongly recommend the use of the direct-glue-down installation method. We do not recommend installation over padding, but if you must install over a pad, we suggest that you use the following method. Installing natural fiber broadloom Surface preparation: Floors must be clean, dry, and free of grease and dust. All concrete slabs must be thoroughly cured and free of hydrostatic pressure, excessive alkali, and moisture. All cracks, holes, and depressions should be filled and leveled with high quality latex patching compound or floorstone.

Installation procedure:

º Remove all shoe moldings, quarter rounds, and threshold stripping if possible. All rolls and cuts must be opened at room temperature for at least 24 hours.
º If the area of the room to be carpeted is large, it may be necessary to seam two pieces of material together. All seams should be made before installation begins (see “Preparing a seam for an installation over pad” at the end of this section).
º Install an architectural tack strip, type “D”, around the perimeter of the room. We recommend using type “D” tack strip because of its shorter pin length and greater width. • Be sure that the tack strip is not placed flush against the wall. Leave enough space so that the cut edge of the material can be tucked snugly between the tack strip and the wall.
º Use a firm, dense pad. We recommend a 40-ounce hair and jute pad, or a pad made from recycled fibers. Foam pads may crumble over time.
º Our Designer Series floor coverings may be stretched using either a power stretcher or a knee-kicker. The floor covering will stretch more along its length than across its width. Be sure to stretch the material evenly in all directions and lay flat on top of the rug pad.
º Stretch broadloom to fit tightly between tack strip and wall. If mouldings have not been removed, use a chisel or stair tool to tuck broadloom under moulding.
º Replace all shoe moldings, quarter rounds, and threshold stripping. Threshold strips should be placed in all doorways.

Preparing a seam for installation over pad

Hand-sewn seams are the best method of seaming carpet pieces together when installing over a pad. When making a hand-sewn seam, only selvage edges can be used. Be certain that your installer is qualified for this procedure. General guidelines for sewing seams: Turn the two pieces to be seamed so that the face of the carpet is down and the latex backing is up. Butt together the two selvage edges to be seamed. Place a long, firm pole under the two selvage edges so that they are off the floor. This will make it easier to sew the seam. Use a #18 braided or Irish linen thread with a 3-inch needle. For a less noticeable seam, be sure that the color of the thread closely matches the color of the material. Begin sewing the two selvage edges together using shallow, tight stitches approximately 3/8” apart, running the needle and thread into and out of the yarns of the selvage edges. Keep the thread taut at all times. After sewing the seam together, brush a thin, even layer of multipurpose latex on the back of the carpet, covering the entire length of the seam within 1” on both sides of the selvage edges. This band of latex will reinforce the hand-sewn stitches of the seam. Do not continue with the installation until the latex has dried completely. Avoid using cross seams. They are not durable and they lack strength. However, if a cross seam must be made, we recommend using either heat-bond tape or pin tape with a good latex adhesive seam-sealer. A straight edge is essential for stable and invisible cross seams, so be sure to use a chalk line. Planning the location of your carpet

Natural vegetable fibers are quite absorbent and will shrink and expand with changes in humidity. Therefore, all of our Designer Series products are for dry indoor use only. We do not recommend the use of our products in bathrooms, kitchens, basements or other damp or humid environments.

Exposure to direct sunlight is a factor to consider when placing a rug in a room. Fabrics and fibers, no matter what they are made of and no matter if or how they are dyed, will change to some degree if exposed to direct sunlight all day. Any rug placed in a sunny location should be turned regularly.

Go to our Sisal Rug Collection