Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | May 18, 2006 12:03am | #1

   I know just what you mean about starting a runner, I've done it myself.  What you need is a punch, something around 3/8" to 1/2" in diameter, to make the needed hole in the carpet before you start to drill. 

   The punches are used for cutting gaskets and leather, one of the sturdier designs is called an arch punch.  If you do a web search for an arch punch or leather working tools you should find what you need.  If you can't turn it up, let me know and I'll do some searching.

   Use a mallet, or a brass hammer, or moderate blows with a steel hammer, to strike the punch and it should cleanly take a plug out of the carpet.  Hopefully you won't strike a nail or screw head hidden beneath the carpet, the edges of the punches chip rather easily.

   Hope this helps, John White 

1. 
   DaveDickey | May 18, 2006 12:28am | #2

   I'm going to experiment ........ I'll place the plate at the desired(my wife's desired) location..... Drive finish nails in each hole..... remove plate...... drop a 3/8 or 1/2" hole punch over finish nail and punch out carpet......... or drop a hot hot piece of 1/8" steel pipe over the finish nails to ment the carpet fiber together. Thanks for all the ideas! Teager

1. 
   JohnWW | May 18, 2006 05:33pm | #3

   Teager,

   The idea of using a red hot piece of tubing occurred to me but the fumes will be really obnoxious, and an accidentally dropped hot tool or tipped over torch will instantly wreck the carpet in a way that can't be fixed except by replacing the entire carpet.  The risk to reward ratio is really really bad for the burn through approach, I'd buy the punch even if it meant waiting a week to get it delivered.

   Something else to consider, if you bolt the posts down with the carpeting underneath they will be wobbly because of the flexible carpeting caught between the post and the floor.  Cranking down hard on the bolts and compressing the carpeting as much as possible will work up to a point, but the posts will still have some give which will make them feel insecure and unsafe.  The degree of the flexibility will, of course, depend on the type of carpeting, but I thought I should warn you.

   To get around the problem you can cut out a square of the carpet a bit smaller than the post flange and make a riser block out of something like Masonite or birch plywood, something stiff basically, and then sit the post on top of the block to bolt it down.  The flange of the post should overhang the riser block enough to hide the raw edges of the cut out in the carpet. 

   A variation on this, and the approach I would take, is to sit the post on four tubular supports, one around each bolt, that go through holes cut in the carpet to contact the floor directly.  The supports can be large hex nuts with a large enough hole to clear the diameter of the mounting bolts.  If possible, place a washer under each hex nut to distribute the load on the subfloor, this will reduce the chance that the post will wobble.

   In addition to making a sturdier mount for the post, this approch looks much neater since the carpet won't be dished down around the edge of the flange.

   John

   Edited 5/18/2006 10:58 am ET by JohnWW

1. 
   DaveDickey | May 18, 2006 10:21pm | #4

   Great Ideas! I really appreciate everyone helping me with my wife's problem............ Teager