In m,
Colbyt typed:
"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

Definitely! Why should that outfit be allowed to go on bilking
others with slip-shod work and getting away with it?

HTH,

Twayne`