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That job at the old church in Austin taught me a lesson about tack strips
Last spring I had this carpet install at a church off South Congress in Austin, built back in the 1950s. The old concrete slab had this weird uneven patch near the center aisle where they must have patched a crack years ago. I laid my tack strips like I always do, but when I came back to stretch the carpet the next morning, three of them had popped loose. The concrete had a fine layer of dust I didn't fully vacuum up and the adhesive just didn't bite. Had to pull the whole row, grind the area with a cup wheel, and re-set them with a heavier duty mastic. Which brand of tack strip glue do you guys trust for old slabs with questionable prep?
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blakem139d ago
Used to swear by PL400 but that old slab dust taught me the hard way.
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garcia.laura8d ago
That dusty slab caught me off guard too when I first started. PL400 still has its place but now I tape off everything and use a small foam roller instead of a caulk gun for the heavy stuff. The key is keeping a wet rag handy to wipe any squeeze-out before it skins over. And for dusty concrete, rough it up with a wire brush first then blow it clean real good.
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piper_burns7d ago
Cant believe you just laid strips on dusty concrete without hitting it with a wire brush first. That's a rough way to learn that lesson.
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