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Stretch vs power stretcher: which one actually holds up longer on commercial jobs?

I've been installing carpet for about 8 years now, mostly residential but I picked up a big commercial contract last March. Used my regular knee kicker on the first few rooms and everything looked fine day one. But I came back 6 months later and saw the carpet had rippled near the doorways. On the next floor I switched to a power stretcher and hit it harder. Now at the 9 month mark those areas still look tight as a drum. Is the extra setup time worth it for every job or do you guys only break out the power stretcher on certain rooms? Has anyone else noticed this difference over time?

2 comments

2 Comments

blake43217d ago

Funny thing is, I used to be all about just using the knee kicker everywhere. Thought a power stretcher was overkill for most stuff. Then I did a commercial hallway job about five years back and same thing happened to me. Came back three months later and there was a wave right in the middle of a doorway. On the next big room I pulled out the power stretcher and put more tension on it than I thought was safe. That room is still flat today, over four years later. The extra ten minutes setting it up saves you a callback every single time.

rayc8917d ago

Agree with @blake432 completely, that extra tension is the difference between a job that lasts and one that turns into a headache later. Once you’ve seen a wave pop up months down the road, you never skip the power stretcher again.