Debate: Stretch-in vs glue-down for thick commercial carpet - what's your go-to?

I had a job last month at a small office building in Arlington, about 1,200 square feet of 50 ounce loop pile. I was stuck choosing between stretch-in with a good pad or glue-down direct. The customer wanted it soft underfoot but the traffic was going to be heavy. I went with stretch-in because I figured it would feel nicer and last longer with the right pad. But now I'm seeing some rippling near the seams after just 3 weeks, and I'm wondering if glue-down would have held up better. Have you guys had better luck with one method over the other for high-traffic commercial spaces?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade321d ago

I had a restaurant lobby do the same thing. Next time I'm trying glue-down.

dylanwilliams1d ago

Hold up, you might want to double check that plan. Glue-down is usually for sheet vinyl (like in a bathroom or kitchen), not for LVP or LVT planks which is what most restaurant lobbies use these days. @jade32, I made that mistake once and ended up with a nightmare to fix (the glue was a pain to scrape off the subfloor). Most click-lock or loose lay LVP is the way to go for commercial spaces, since it can handle expansion and contraction way better than glue-down can in a big open room.