Rant: that fancy seam tape I bought was a total waste

I dropped $80 on some high-end seam tape from a supplier in Atlanta, thinking it would make my joins look perfect every time. Turns out, it didn't stick worth a damn on the backing of this medium-density carpet I was installing at a condo near the lake. I ended up having to rip out two full seams because they separated after I stretched the carpet. Lost about 30 minutes of labor plus the cost of the tape itself, so maybe $150 total down the drain. Regular heat bond tape would have worked fine, I just got suckered by the marketing. Has anyone else found that specialty tapes are more trouble than they're worth?

2 comments

2 Comments

terrywilson1mo ago

Did you check the moisture content of that carpet before you laid it? I've seen high end tapes fail every time on carpet that's been sitting in a damp basement or near a lake house with no climate control. The backing soaks up humidity and nothing sticks right.

ericb661mo ago

I read somewhere that lakefront humidity can really mess with adhesive bonds, so @terrywilson might be onto something there. High-end tapes just don't seem worth the headache compared to the old reliable stuff.