Hello, I currently work in a historic house setting which sees a great
amount of visitor traffic.  The buildings themselves are not necessarily
museums because they are lived in by occupants as well as being open for
tours and functions, however we do have a collection of 6000+ artifacts
installed in various houses as well as our warehouse.
My current concern (although there are many) deals with several of our
asian/persian carpets which are placed throughout the houses.  Because they
are in high traffic areas, many years ago someone came up with the solution
of securing them to the floor with heavy duty double sided tape to prevent
possible tripping hazards along the edges. The problem with this is obvious
(especially since the R.H in the building can fluctuate by 25% in one day)
and until recently the general attitude has been "it works so leave it".
I've been able to convince the higher ups that this is infact not a suitable
solution to the problem and that we should look into another option.  I've
suggested the possibility of having a edging sewn onto the carpet, so that
a) the fringed ends are protected from unraveling, rolling  and pulling and
b) the edges will be weighted down and this will hopefully fix the tripping
hazard issue.  My question is...is this a suitable option and if so what
material should be used for the edging, I am concerned about different
shrinkage and expansion rates of the new fabric vs.  the carpet. Your input
would be much appreciated. Thank you,
Rebecca