Used to hand stretch all my residential jobs, switched to power stretcher after a callback in Phoenix

Did a living room and hallway last summer, about 600 square feet total. Customer called me back after 3 weeks saying there were ripples near the doorways. Went back to look and yeah, it was loose. I had been using just a knee kicker and a star tool for years, figured it was fine for small rooms. That callback cost me a Saturday and I had to pull and restretch the whole thing. Now I use a power stretcher on everything over 200 feet. Any of you guys still hand stretching small rooms?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthew_reed507d ago

Dude, you hand stretched 600 feet?! @ninah10 is right, that's insane. Power stretcher all the way now.

ninah107d ago

Stick with the power stretcher for anything over 200 feet like you're doing now. I learned the hard way too that knee kickers just don't get enough tension across a whole room, especially near doorways where the carpet can shift. The extra setup time is worth not having a callback, plain and simple. For really small closets or bathrooms under 100 feet I still use the knee kicker, but that's about it. Once you get used to the power stretcher it's not that much slower anyway.