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Six months in before I figured out I was stretching carpet wrong
Had this nagging issue where my seams kept separating after a few weeks. Boss kept telling me to pull harder. Finally one day after work I grabbed a beer with a guy from a different shop and he asked if I was using a knee kicker or a power stretcher on residential jobs. I was using the knee kicker for everything. Tried the power stretcher on a living room job last week and the seams actually held. Anyone else get through training without learning this?
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jana7693mo ago
Honestly that's how most trades work, you figure out the wrong way first.
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iris_schmidt3mo ago
Oh man that is way too relatable, I spent like a year just using a knee kicker on everything and wondering why my seams looked like garbage after a month. Once I finally borrowed a buddy's power stretcher it was like a whole new world opened up, now I feel dumb for not asking sooner. Carpet stretching is one of those things where you just assume you're doing it right until someone finally shows you the better way.
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williamhenderson3mo ago
Wait why do we always blame the tool though? I know power stretchers are awesome but isn't half the problem that people just don't prep the tack strip right? I've seen guys use the best gear ever but still get waves because they didn't leave the right gap from the wall or used the wrong strip for the carpet pile. Kinda feels like we skip over the boring stuff and just upgrade equipment.
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