Unpopular opinion: I saw a new hotel in Denver using glue-down for all their hallways and I think it's a bad call.

I was doing a repair at the new Summit Suites downtown last week and noticed they glued down a high-end wool blend in every corridor. The manager said they chose it for a 'solid feel' and thought it would last longer than stretch-in. But after 6 months, I already saw three spots where the seams were starting to lift from the heavy cart traffic. In my view, a good stretch-in with a power stretcher handles that rolling weight way better and lets you fix a damaged section without tearing up the whole run. What's your take on glue-down in high-traffic commercial spaces?

5 comments

5 Comments

wilson.olivia1mo ago

Remember that big office refit my buddy worked on? They glued down a fancy patterned carpet in the main walkway. Looked amazing for about four months. Then the daily coffee cart and mail trolley started their work. They ended up with a visible depression track along the route and a seam that split open like a zipper. The fix was a huge mess because they had to cut out a whole tile section and try to blend in a new piece.

lewis.gray1mo ago

Ugh, that's why you never glue down high-traffic carpet.

mileslane1mo ago

Man, that reminds me of my old apartment. Landlord glued cheap carpet right over the concrete slab. Every footstep echoed like a drum, and you could feel every single seam through your socks. Worst part of that whole place.

the_oliver21d ago

Bring up the moisture issue nobody's talking about too. That concrete slab underneath always has some vapor drive, and glue-down traps it underneath the carpet instead of letting it breathe through the pad like a stretch-in does. Over time that moisture breaks down the adhesive and you get those seam lifts and bubbles even without heavy traffic. @lewis.gray nailed it about glue-down in high traffic spots, but for Denver's climate swings with all our freeze-thaw cycles, that trapped moisture is gonna cause even bigger problems down the road.

jordan_hill21d ago

We did a glue-down in a retail shop once and had the same seam issues within a year. For us, stretch-in held up way better with less headache.