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Found a weird way to stretch carpet in a tiny bathroom
Had a job in a 1950s house in Springfield with a bathroom so small you could barely turn around. The door opened inward and hit the toilet, so a normal knee kicker was useless. Out of pure frustration, I used the claw end of my hammer to hook the carpet pad and pull it tight from the corner while my apprentice tapped the tack strip with a rubber mallet. It actually worked and got us a perfect stretch. Anyone ever had to get creative in a space that small?
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kai_park1mo ago
Rose said you always need the proper tools but that's not really true. Proper tools HELP, sure, but half this trade is figuring out what works when the perfect tool won't fit. Like you said, that claw hammer trick is SOLID - I've done the same thing but with a flat bar instead when my knee kicker couldn't get the right angle against a vanity. Sometimes you just gotta use what's in your belt or you're going home empty handed. The real pros know when to bend the rules.
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umamartin2mo ago
Had a powder room like that last month... ended up using a pry bar to pull from the door frame while I worked the carpet over the strip with a putty knife. Sometimes the weird fix is the only one that works, like @rose_cooper said, you make do when the right tool won't fit.
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