A typical carpet roll is about 12 feet long. However, rooms come in all sizes. When a room is larger than 12 feet several pieces of carpeting have to be joined together, and that process can present as a problem in a DYI project. Nothing looks more unprofessional than a clear seam in the middle of the room.

Professional carpet layers use a heat activated glue strip placed under the seams of the joining segments. This strip is activated using a special heating plate in a slow and arduous process. A heavy weight is then placed on the heated segment to make sure that the two pieces are completely bonded. Lastly, the installer will use a carpet seam roller to make sure that the pile of the two carpets are also in proper alignment.

This sealing process takes a lot of time, but assures the homeowner of a beautiful and seamless wall-to-wall effect.

Two pieces of carpeting ready to be joined together.
Using a heater followed by a weight to bind the carpet pieces.
Weighing down the two pieces of carpeting after the glue has been activated. Note the tool by the installers knee which he uses to make sure that the pile on both pieces line up together.