If you work in the flooring industry, you have probably noticed a growing trend: Folks with hardwood floors have begun to use custom rugs and carpet runners to create aesthetic, functional hybrid floor schemes that feature the best of both carpet and wood. Here at Hotmelt.com, we've noticed too, and in the interest of helping you stay on top of industry trends, we have put together this little blog for you today with some resources on how to install custom rugs and carpet runners – and the hot melt products that will work best to help you get the job done.
If you haven't seen it already, there is a great web site for a rug shop out in Chicago called Olson Rug, with some awesome pictures and ideas for custom runners. They're describing their own work process, but the page reads as a step-by-step manual of sorts – perfect for those that want spruce up their home's floors all on their own.
After you've checked out the page and devised your own plan, you're going to need products to make sure those custom runners look good and that all of your carpet seaming is neat and professional, so we've got a lineup of products to highlight today that can help:
The Gun: Of course, any project requiring hot melt means starting with a solid gun. We suggest checking out one of our sturdiest, most cost-effective hot melt guns – the Surebonder Pro2-220. It's got all of the features you demand from an industrial hot melt gun, but it's configured (and priced) in such a way that you'll get maximum value and capability for your investment.
The Nozzle: So that you can get just the right amount of glue for the job – whether it's small dabs on trimmed carpet sealing or larger blobs for custom runner templating, check out the Surebonder T Nozzle (3" and 2"). It's perfectly compatible with the Pro2-220 hot melt gun we recommend in the above paragraph, and keeps you in complete control.
The Hot Melt Glue: Who knew that the hot melt world had a glue specifically for carpets? Well, we did – and now you do, too. The Surebonder 708 Carpet Glue Sticks are the perfect adhesive for your flooring jobs – they're flexible enough for carpet backing, but rigid enough to prevent "smiling," and best of all, it they won't crack in cold temperatures.
Maybe you are ready to take hold of this trend and jump feet-first into the custom runner business, or maybe you are just searching for a good alternative method of carpet seaming (because who wants to spend their day hammering thousands of nails?) No matter your motivation, these three products have you covered.