Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our carpet repair services, what to expect from a repair, and how to look after your carpet afterward. If your question isn’t here, give us a call — there’s nothing we haven’t seen.
General & Booking
Most carpet damage is repairable. The two main methods are patching (cutting out a damaged section and fitting a matching piece in its place) and stretching (re-tightening loose, rippled carpet). Between them they cover the large majority of issues — burns, stains, pet damage, fraying, holes and ripples. Replacement only really makes sense when the carpet is so worn or aged that a repair won’t hold, or when damage is spread across most of the floor. If we think you’re better off replacing it, we’ll tell you. You can see the full range of what we do in our Carpet Repair Service Guide.
The easiest way is to give us a call or fill out the enquiry form — often we can get a quote back to you the same day. A description and a few photos of the damage help us give you an accurate idea up front. For some jobs we’ll confirm the final scope once we’re on site and can see the carpet, the wear, and what’s available to work with.
We work throughout Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast. You can see our coverage on our service areas page.
Most repairs are done in a single visit. The exact time depends on the type of repair and the size of the area — a small patch or a doorway is quick, while stretching a whole house or doing multiple patches takes longer. We’ll give you an idea of timing when we quote.
Carpet Patching & Donor Carpet
Yes. Patching is one of the best ways to deal with almost any localised damage, or a stain that won’t come out. We cut out the damaged section and fit a matching piece in its place, secured to blend in as naturally as possible with the carpet around it.
When everything goes right, you get an invisible patch. How well it blends depends on a few things: the age and wear of the surrounding carpet, the pile direction, the lighting, the carpet type and colour, and how clean it is. Because we usually take the patch from an unworn area like a wardrobe, it can look a little newer than the worn carpet around it at first — but it settles in with time, and a clean helps it blend. Darker carpets tend to hide a patch better than light ones. We always set realistic expectations before we start.
We almost always use carpet from somewhere in your own property, because it gives the closest possible match. Even carpet with the same name and colour will sometimes differ if it’s not from the same roll, so a “matching” piece ordered new rarely matches as well as your own does. Usually we take a piece from a wardrobe and restore that area afterward.
Yes. If there’s no offcut available, we source the piece from a hidden or behind a divided area, like a wardrobe, sometimes small pieces tucked behind a step, or excess tucked under the skirting — and restore that spot as discreetly as possible. We can also stretch carpet to create a little excess. The goal is always to take what we need from somewhere you won’t notice, and we won’t leave the donor area in a worse state.
Burns, pet damage, permanent stains, rips, holes, tears and moth damage are all commonly handled with a patch. If the damage is too widespread for the carpet available, we’ll talk you through the options. For the specific damage types, see our articles on burns, pet damage, stains and moth damage.
Carpet Stretching
Carpet is installed under tension, anchored onto the nailed timber strips (smooth edge) around the room. Ripples form when that tension lets go and the carpet gives in places or by delamination — where the backing separates from the carpet. Common causes are general wear, poor original installation (not stretched tight enough), heavy traffic, dragging heavy furniture, sun damage, or office chairs(with wheels). There’s more on this in When Do You Need Carpet Stretching?
Done right, a re-stretch should last for the life of the carpet. It can bubble again if heavy furniture is dragged across it or the carpet is damaged (water, an office chair with no mat, and so on), but under normal use it’s a long-term fix.
It’s much easier and gives a better result with the area cleared, so we recommend that where you can. If clearing it isn’t possible there are usually ways to work around the furniture, and we can move what’s necessary for an extra charge — but a fully cleared room always gets the best outcome.
After. It’s hard for cleaners to do a good job with ripples and bubbles through the carpet, so stretch first, then clean.
If a ripple has been there a long time, it can leave a mark even once the carpet’s pulled tight — similar to folding a piece of paper and unfolding it: the crease line stays for a while. It improves with time and plenty of vacuuming, and often it’s partly a build-up of dirt along that line, so a clean helps too. With heavy delamination or very worn carpet, some marking can remain — we’ll let you know if we expect that.
Stains, Burns, Moth & Pet Damage
Make sure all cleaning methods are attempted first (see Carpet Stain Removal And What To Do When It’s Permanent). If that window’s passed and the stain won’t budge, the fix is a patch: we cut out the stained area and fit a fresh piece. That’s our specialty.
Yes. For a shallow burn on plush carpet, we can sometimes “shave” the damaged surface fibres away with a pumice stone and blade until the charred material’s gone, blending the surrounding area so there’s no obvious gap. But if the burn goes too deep, patching is the way. More in How Burn Marks Are Repaired.
Yes. Pulled threads from claws can often be trimmed back level or glued in; bigger or concentrated damage (a dog digging at a door, a cat working a doorway over time) usually needs a patch. For urine, we always recommend cleaning it immediately — once it soaks into the backing it bonds and becomes permanent, and at that point we patch, often removing saturated underlay and replacing the smooth edge if it’s soaked in too. Full detail in How To Repair And Prevent Carpet Damaged By Your Pets.
Yes, even extensive infestations — some of our biggest jobs have been houses with 10–20 patches from moth damage. The larvae feed on natural fibres, especially wool, so the first step is pest control to make sure they’re fully gone, then we repair: gluing in donor threads for small areas, or patching where it’s been eaten through. There’s more on the lifecycle and prevention in Carpet Moth Damage.
Fraying & Torn Threads
Loop pile carpets are the ones that fray — the fibres are looped to the backing, so anything getting under a loop starts a pull. Doorways are the usual hot spot because joins lift over time from foot traffic, vacuuming, age, or how they were installed originally. There’s more in How To Repair And Prevent Carpet Fraying And Torn Threads.
Yes, and it’s usually a small job. We trim the threads back level so there are no visible pulls and nothing that’ll worsen with vacuuming, and glue lifted threads back into place if needed.
If it’s only a little way in, we can often stretch the carpet to recover enough to re-secure the edge, or fit a cover strip to protect it. If it’s come too far in, we patch the area. A transition or cover strip in a doorway is also one of the best ways to prevent fraying in the first place.
Transitions, Edges & Doorways
It depends mostly on the height difference. If the new floor sits slightly higher, we can run smooth edge along it — the cleanest and cheapest option. If the floor is level with the carpet’s subfloor, smooth edge has nothing to tuck against, so you need a transition strip — usually a plastic cover strip (which also nails easily into concrete) or a metal trim. Big height differences are their own challenge, especially in bathroom doorways. Full rundown in Carpet To Flooring Transitions.
Yes — a cover strip sits over the edge of the carpet and stops threads working loose, and if there’s already damage along the edge, a strip can let us bring the carpet a little further into the room and cut the damage out. See Transition Repairs & Installations.
It can, if the door was installed very low to the floor — adding edging or a strip can leave it catching. Fixing that means sanding the bottom of the door back, which isn’t something we do, and there’s no carpet-side workaround that doesn’t sacrifice the look or longevity. We’ll try to flag it before we start if we think it’ll be an issue.
Carpet After Renovations & Faulty Installs
Yes — this is common when a wall’s been removed or a doorway moved, leaving a gap, leftover edging in the wrong spots, or underlay sitting where it shouldn’t. We patch the missing section, refit or remove smooth edge to suit the new layout, sort the underlay, and cut back any excess so it fits the room properly. There’s an example job in Repairing Carpet After Renovations or Faulty Installs.
Yes. Faulty installs usually come down to things like underlay not fixed down properly, joins lifting from poor seam sealing, or smooth edge installed with the wrong nails so it lifts (which can then ripple the carpet). We re-secure and refit whatever’s needed to bring it back to a proper, functional finish. If lifting edges have caused rippling, that’s a stretching job too.
Yes. When walls or doorways change, or smooth edge is damaged or missing, we install new edging around the area to re-secure the carpet — nailed, and sometimes glued.
Carpet Mould
It comes down to moisture meeting organic material in(if it’s wool) or around the carpet. A leak, a moisture problem or a big storm gets it started, and our humid Queensland climate doesn’t help. Natural fibres like wool get it worst, and the real drivers of spread are the organic parts underneath — the timber smooth edge around the room and any wooden subfloor, which mould can feed on directly. Synthetic carpet and concrete mostly just hold moisture rather than hosting the mould themselves. Full explanation in What Causes Carpet Mould and How Do You Treat It?
We’re not a mould remediation company — what we cover is removing the affected carpet, underlay and smooth edge, and reinstating the area afterward. It’s best to have mould remediation specialists in first; ideally we work alongside them, with the area marked out so we can cut cleanly. The source of the moisture (a leak, waterproofing) needs to be sorted beforehand, and we can’t personally guarantee complete mould removal.
Usually the first sign is the smell. You may see discolouration or visible mould around the edges or on the carpet, and in bad cases — where the smooth edge has rotted — the carpet starts letting go and lifting, since the smooth edge is what holds it down. That lifting can also be a stretching issue, so it’s worth having it looked at either way.
Pricing
Pricing is all inclusive unless something’s discussed before the work’s done, and it’s based on the result, not the method we use to get there. See the Pricing section.
Restoring the donor area is included in the quote(itemised), this cost covers any of our multiple restoration methods, and doesn’t change based on method. What we don’t cover is the cost of supplying brand-new, exactly-matched carpet, which often can cost more than the repair itself; but if you supply it, we’ll install it as part of the job. We can also help identify your carpet type and point you to where it can be ordered. More in Donor Carpet & Wardrobes.
Yes — you’ll be quoted up front, and the price is all inclusive unless we discuss a change with you first. If a job has limitations, or we’ve had to do something non-standard to make it work, we’ll explain that before we start.
Warranty & Aftercare
Yes — all repair work carries a 2-year warranty, or the life of the carpet(if less than 2 years), whichever comes first. For older or heavily worn carpet the warranty reflects the remaining lifespan, and we’ll explain that beforehand.
A good repair blends into the rest of the carpet, so looking after it is the same as looking after the whole floor: regular vacuuming and cleaning, not dragging heavy furniture around, and dealing with spills quickly. A fresh patch may take a little time to blend with the wear around it.
Usually yes — most repairs are ready within about five minutes. The longest you’d wait is around an hour, depending on the glue used. After a re-stretch, a clean is fine, and best done after rather than before.