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Seeing more installers skip the tack strip at doorways and it's making me nuts

I was at a job in Columbus last month helping a buddy with a bedroom and office setup, and I noticed he just ran the carpet right up to the door frame without any tack strip under the transition piece. He said it saves time and the transition holds it down anyway. But I've seen that approach fail three times in the last two years where the carpet starts bunching up after a few months of foot traffic. The tack strip is what keeps the carpet stretched tight and prevents those ripples near the door. I always spend the extra 10 minutes to cut a piece and nail it right at the threshold. Has anyone else run into this shortcut causing problems later on?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan3691mo ago

Call me crazy but is a little bunching at the doorway really that big of a deal? I've got a rental property where the carpet at the front door has been loose for like two years and nobody even notices except me. Seems like a lot of worry over something you step on for half a second. Plus tack strips are a pain to cut and nail in those tight spots with the door casing in the way.

james_campbell121mo ago

Yeah but that's how most little problems turn into big expensive ones down the road.

diana_black15d ago

Oh come on, ryan369, I gotta disagree with you here. That little bunch at the doorway is like a trip hazard waiting to happen. If a tenant or their kid catches a toe on that loose carpet and falls, you're looking at way more than just a pain-in-the-neck tack strip job. Plus moisture from outside gets under that loose spot and before you know it the pad's all moldy and the whole carpet's ruined. Yeah, tack strips in tight spots are annoying, but a couple hours of swearing at it beats a full carpet replacement.