Question about that old timer who said to always stretch carpet by hand

A retired installer I met at a supply shop in Cleveland told me to never use a power stretcher for residential work, that hand stretching was more accurate. I tried it on a 12x15 living room and ended up with wrinkles after three days. Has anyone else been told to skip the power stretcher and had it backfire?

3 comments

3 Comments

bettys5120d ago

Wait, he told you to skip the power stretcher entirely for a 12x15 room? I mean, no offense to the old timer but that sounds like terrible advice for that size of a room. Maybe it's just me but hand stretching works okay for small closets or hallways where you can't fit a power stretcher, but for a 12x15 you're basically asking for trouble. Idk, I've tried both and the power stretcher gives you way more consistent tension across the whole carpet, especially on a room that size. Hand stretching is just too easy to mess up on anything bigger than 8 feet, you end up with loose spots and wrinkles every time.

murphy.blair20d ago

Yeah, you're totally right, @bettys51. I've seen guys try to hand stretch a 12x15 and they end up fighting with it for hours, and the next day there's already a ripple near the doorway. The power stretcher just locks everything in so much better, especially if you're working with a thicker carpet that needs that extra pull. Hand stretching might save you 10 minutes of setup time but you'll pay for it later with callbacks. I'd rather spend the extra 20 minutes with the power stretcher and be done with it.

linda50020d ago

Man, it's funny how that same mindset shows up everywhere, not just in carpet work. People always think skipping a few extra steps upfront saves time, but it just moves the headache down the road. Kind of like how I see folks skip backing up their computer files because it's a hassle, then they lose everything and wish they'd spent that 15 minutes. Ever notice how the shortcut usually ends up being the long way around?