My old boss told me to always kick the tack strip before stretching, and after 12 years I finally found out why

Tessa Perry · 2026-09-17T10:00:04.918603+00:00

Back when I was green, maybe 6 months into the trade, this old installer named Ray trained me for a week on a job in Bakersfield. He kept saying, before you stretch anything, walk the room and kick every inch of tack strip with your heel. I figured it was just a warm up thing or some weird habit. So I did it for years without really thinking, mostly because he was the guy signing my checks. Last month I'm doing a bedroom in a house built in 1967 and I feel it, one section of strip comes loose from the concrete and pops up a quarter inch. If I'd stretched over that, the carpet would've ripped right off at the wall inside a month. Turns out Ray wasn't being quirky, he was checking for loose strip and bad concrete the fast way. Told my current helper about it and he looked at me like I was nuts until I showed him the loose piece. So what's your go to move that looks like a habit but is really saving your butt on installs?

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My old boss told me to always kick the tack strip before stretching, and after 12 years I finally found out why | Carpet Installers - Vivisector