What does this carpet and carpet tile final checklist cover?

12 items across 4 sections, covering layout, stretch and lay, seams and tile joints, transitions and base, sprouts and records. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.

Who should run this inspection?

The carpet foreman with the GC's superintendent, walking the finished floor before it is protected and before the owner's walk.

When in the schedule should this walk happen?

After the field is stretched or the tile is laid and seams are finished, and transitions are set, before floor protection goes down.

Why do these items ask for a photo?

4 of the 12 items call for photo evidence, 6 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.

What most often fails a carpet and carpet tile final inspection?

Broadloom seams peaked or fuzzing because the seam was not sealed and heat-set correctly, so the join shows as a raised line across the room. Pattern or pile direction run inconsistent between drops, so the field reads as mismatched panels under light even though each seam is tight. Stretched-in carpet left loose so it ripples and buckles under rolling traffic, passed off as installed because it lies flat on day one.

Can I use this checklist in RTI?

Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Free checklist

Carpet and carpet tile

Carpet and carpet tile final inspection checklist

Carpet and carpet tile final inspection is where the punch list is either short or expensive. This checklist walks the finished work the way an owner or AHJ will see it: devices on, systems running, everything labeled. Each item gets the photo that closes it instead of reopening it. Work is commonly verified against CRI carpet installation guidance, manufacturer's published instructions. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.

Start free with this checklist Download as PDF

The checklist

Every item, and the photo evidence it needs

The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.

Layout, stretch and lay

Carpet laid to layout, stretched and flat
Field to the specified layout with balanced borders, broadloom power-stretched tight with no ripples, tile fully seated and flat with pile direction and pattern consistent.
Glue-down areas rolled with full adhesive transfer
Direct glue-down carpet rolled as the maker directs to push out trapped air, with a lifted edge in the first area showing adhesive transfer to the backing.
No photo
Stair carpet wrapped tight over each nosing
Where stairs are carpeted, pile running down the nosing, carpet held tight into the riser and tread junction by the method the maker lists, with no loose nosings.
No photo

Seams and tile joints

Seams flat, sealed and tile joints tight
Broadloom seams sealed and heat-set flat with no peaking or fuzzing, tile joints tight and aligned with no gapping, pile combed clean across the join.
Seams joined with the method the carpet maker lists
Hot-melt tape for stretched-in seams and seam adhesive along glue-down seams, with seam sealer run on the cut edges before joining, confirmed with the foreman.
No photo
Seam lines free of melted, glazed or crushed pile
Each broadloom seam viewed along its length for iron scorch, glazed fibers or pile trapped in the tape, brushed up or recut before the carpet is protected.
No photo
Seams hand-pulled across the join with no movement
Hand tension across a sample of broadloom seams in each room shows no opening, shifting or backing showing through the pile.
No photo

Transitions and base

Transitions and edges set tight and clean
Transition strips and reducers set flush at doorways and material changes, edges tucked and secured at walls and base, wide shot placing the floor in the space.
Carpet edge fully captured in every transition
At each doorway and floor change, the carpet edge seated fully in the strip or gripper with no backing or tackless showing.
Cut edges at floor boxes, columns and open ends sealed
Exposed cut edges not covered by a strip or base sealed or bound so loop pile will not zipper or fray.
No photo

Sprouts and records

Field walked for sprouts and loose tufts
Sprouting tufts and loose yarn ends at seams and cuts snipped level with the pile rather than pulled, with any run of pulled rows logged.
No photo
Seaming diagram marked up with seams as installed
For broadloom, the seaming diagram updated to where each seam actually landed and filed with the dye-lot record so a future repair can find it.
No photo

What usually sends this back

The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work

Broadloom seams peaked or fuzzing because the seam was not sealed and heat-set correctly, so the join shows as a raised line across the room.
Pattern or pile direction run inconsistent between drops, so the field reads as mismatched panels under light even though each seam is tight.
Stretched-in carpet left loose so it ripples and buckles under rolling traffic, passed off as installed because it lies flat on day one.

Common questions

6 answers

What does this carpet and carpet tile final checklist cover?: 12 items across 4 sections, covering layout, stretch and lay, seams and tile joints, transitions and base, sprouts and records. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
Who should run this inspection?: The carpet foreman with the GC's superintendent, walking the finished floor before it is protected and before the owner's walk.
When in the schedule should this walk happen?: After the field is stretched or the tile is laid and seams are finished, and transitions are set, before floor protection goes down.
Why do these items ask for a photo?: 4 of the 12 items call for photo evidence, 6 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
What most often fails a carpet and carpet tile final inspection?: Broadloom seams peaked or fuzzing because the seam was not sealed and heat-set correctly, so the join shows as a raised line across the room. Pattern or pile direction run inconsistent between drops, so the field reads as mismatched panels under light even though each seam is tight. Stretched-in carpet left loose so it ripples and buckles under rolling traffic, passed off as installed because it lies flat on day one.
Can I use this checklist in RTI?: Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Related checklists

Carpet and carpet tile Rough-inCarpet and carpet tile rough-in inspection checklistSubstrate flat, clean, dry and sound so seams stay tight and tile lies flat once carpet covers it12 items7 photos Carpet and carpet tile PunchCarpet and carpet tile punch checklistCloseout callbacks for peaking seams, lifting or loose tile, telegraphed defects, snags and stains8 items2 photos

Run it with the Photo Gate

A checklist nobody can submit half-finished

Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 6 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.