"ransley" wrote in message
...
On Mar 27, 12:39 pm, mike wrote:

The underlayment is nailed to the subfloor. The tips of the nails protrude
about 3/8" from the bottom of the subfloor. There's not a lot of height in
the crawl space, so the nail tips snag your clothing as you slither
around.

The contractor got the bright idea to hammer the nail tips straight up
level
with the subfloor. That solved the snagging problem.

WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING??????

I discovered their "solution" when I felt lumps under the carpet as I
walked
around barefoot. If I mash on the area with my heel, I can reduce the
lump.
But nails still aren't showing underneath.
I think all I did was push the nail head
up thru the carpet padding.

They didn't pound the nails everywhere, but about 2/3 of the insulation
is in,
so I don't have visibility of most of the underside of the floor. I can't
even access about half of the underside of the house because of the
yet-uninstalled insulation bags in the crawl space. The known target
area is only 50 nails or so.
There are additional known areas where they pounded the nail tips
sideways.
Those places don't show symptoms of protruding nail heads.
There are additional areas where the floor now "squeaks" when you
walk on it. But that's in an area I can't currently access underneath.
The carpet is 38 years old.
If I demand that the contractor fix it, I expect they'll pound on the
carpet
until the lumps go away. I anticipate that will not make the
nails go down, but will break the
backing and have holes in the carpet sooner or later.
I think I'm going to have to fix it myself.
Are there any techniques I can use
to minimize the damage? I'm thinking I might be able to use a tiny
punch or nail set poked
carefully between the weave of the carpet backing???

NO, I don't want to replace the carpet. It's old, but it still works.

Rolling back the carpet and padding to pound the nails is really not an
option.
The affected area is in a bedroom converted to an electronic workshop.
I've got shelves, benches, etc. that were constructed inside the room
and won't
even fit through the door.

I'm willing to spend whatever time it takes to locate the nails with a
magnet
and get them pounded down without removing the carpet.

What I need is a "clever trick" to get the nails back down without
removing or damaging the carpet.

Ideas?
Thanks, mike

You didnt choose the contractor, so I guess he is insured since you
were not allowed to hire an insured guy. Id say they owe you new
carpet and renail of the nails. I say new carpet because they cant
remove and reinstall the old without damaging it, dont worry,
insurance pays for it not the idiot installer.

Being a contractor myself I usually take a middle of the road appropriate on
something like this.

Not this time! The idiot needs to make it right. Whether he pays out of
pocket, his insurance company pays or the state pays this isn't your problem
to solve.

I would speak with the contractor and with the agency who hire him.

Colbyt