c/carpet-installers

Warning: that big box store carpet padding is a nightmare on stairs

I was at a Home Depot in Cleveland last Tuesday picking up some tools and saw a guy loading up a whole pallet of their cheap rebond padding for a stair job. I told him he'd be fighting wrinkles and movement for months on those landings, but he just shrugged and said the customer wanted the cheapest option. Has anyone else had to redo a job because that thin padding just won't stay put on steep steps?

I stopped stretching carpet along the long wall and my seams look way better now

Been installing for about 6 years now. Everyone always says to stretch width-wise and work down the length of the room. Last month I had this weird shaped room in a house over in Maplewood, maybe 12x18 with a weird bump out. I was fighting the seam on the long wall for like 20 minutes and it just looked wavy no matter what I did. Said screw it and stretched along the short wall instead, worked my way across. Seam laid flat as a pancake after that. Now I've done it on maybe 5 jobs since then and I swear it works better for rooms that aren't perfectly square. Anyone else ever try breaking the "rules" like that?

Rant: That one seam that took me 6 hours to get right

I was doing a bedroom in a house near Portland, 12 foot wide room, and the seam kept rippling no matter what I stretched. Tried three different seam rollers and finally just had to re-cut both pieces and start fresh. Has anyone else had a seam fight them that bad for no reason?

That house in Oakwood taught me to never trust pre-cut carpet again

Last summer I took a job in Oakwood, a nice older neighborhood with lots of custom homes. The homeowner handed me rolls that were supposedly pre-cut to size by a big box store. First room I unrolled was 4 inches short on one side. Had to seam a scrap piece in and it looked terrible. Ended up ripping it out and buying new material out of my own pocket, cost me $320. Now I always measure and cut everything myself on site, no exceptions. How many of you have gotten burned by store cut jobs?

Stretch vs power stretcher debate that still bugs me

Last month I was on a job in a big living room in Denver. The homeowner kept saying I should just use a knee kicker for the whole thing. Said his last guy did it and it looked fine. I tried to explain why you need a power stretcher for width. He got kind of defensive about it. Made me wonder how many bad installs happen because people skip the right tool. Any of you ever have a customer argue about installation methods?

That job in Phoenix changed how I prep for glue downs

Back in 2017 I had this huge glue down job in a new office building out in Phoenix. The slab was hot as hell and I didn't let the adhesive flash off long enough before laying the carpet. Ended up with bubbles all over by the end of the day and had to tear out 600 square feet the next morning. Now I always check slab temp with a thermometer and wait at least twice as long as the manufacturer says. Anyone else get burned by a hot slab before?

Warning: Stop using the same blade for all carpet types like I did for 20 years

I switched from a standard hook blade to a serrated one for Berber carpets after destroying 4 seams in one house last month, and now I'm kicking myself for not making the change sooner - has anyone else had better luck with different blades for different materials?

Power stretcher finally made sense after I stopped fighting corners

I used to swear by knee kickers for everything, figured power stretchers were just extra setup time. Last month I had a 20x30 living room with three doorways and five closets, finally gave the power stretcher a real shot and it took half the time. Anybody else find there's a specific size job where you always switch tools?

Swapped from knee kickers to power stretchers on every job

Used to think knee kickers were fine for most rooms. Then I did a 15x20 living room last year and the seams started peaking after 3 months. Homeowner called me back and I realized I just wasn't getting enough tension. Now I use a power stretcher even on small rooms and I haven't had a callback since. Anyone else make this switch or still running with the old way?

Seam placement debate - big house or small room, where do you draw the line?

I was doing a 20x15 living room last Tuesday in a new build, and the homeowner wanted me to hide every seam possible. I told her in a room that size, you're gonna have at least one seam across the middle unless you order custom width carpet. She got real quiet and then asked why I couldn't just stretch it tighter. I explained the limits but she kept pushing. Ended up doing a weird layout with three seems that looked worse than one clean one. Does the customer always win on seam placement, or do you push back when you know it'll look bad?

Rented a power stretcher instead of buying one - big mistake

I saved $40 by renting a power stretcher from a tool shop on the south side, but the pins kept slipping on me. Took three times longer to tension a 15x20 room than it should have. Has anyone else had rental equipment fail mid-job like this?

That knife stretch trick on seams... I see too many guys doing it wrong

Appreciation post: That time my power stretcher saved a tricky room

Had a job last week in an old house in Portland with this weird angled closet that had me sweating. My regular knee kicker just wasn't cutting it on the longer wall, so I broke out the power stretcher I'd barely used before. Got a perfect tension on the first try and it took maybe 10 minutes less than I figured. Anybody else got a tool they don't use much but always comes through when you need it?

Warning: I wasted $1,200 on a cheap carpet pad that ruined my install

Tbh I figured a cheaper pad would save me money on a big job last fall. I went with a 6lb rebond pad instead of the usual 8lb stuff to cut costs. The carpet started showing wrinkles after just 3 months, and the padding crumbled under the seams. I had to rip it all out and redo the whole room, which cost me double in materials and labor. Has anyone else gotten burned trying to save a few bucks on pad quality?

Hit 500 square feet of commercial carpet in under 4 hours yesterday

Was laying heavy-duty loop pile in an office building near Portland. Got started at 7am and finished by 11. That's about 125 feet per hour. Not my fastest but still felt good. Had 3 seams total and they all came out clean. Anyone else got a personal best for square footage in a single morning?

Showerthought: Glue-down is way better than stretch-in for basements

I was at a supply house in Akron last week and heard a guy ranting that stretch-in is the only way to do a basement. I have to disagree. I did a 900 square foot basement in Medina with glue-down and a 1/4 inch padding, and it held up way better through two flood events than any stretch job I've seen. No ripples, no mold issues under the pad. Has anyone else had better luck with glue-down in damp spaces?

Nobody seems to know how to stretch seams anymore

I was helping a buddy on a job in Portland last week and watched this younger crew try to seam a 12 foot wide Berber. They didn't even use a knee kicker, just power stretcher from one wall and prayed. You gotta work that seam from both sides with a stair tool or it's gonna sep within 6 months. Any of you old timers seen this getting worse?

Lost $400 on a bad seam iron last month

I picked up a cheap seam iron off Craigslist for $40 in Denver and it took me three jobs to realize it was burning the backing on every seam I did. Had to redo a whole bedroom and a hallway because the tape was melting wrong. Anyone else get burned by used tools that seemed like a good deal?

My kid asked me why we put the pretty side down

I was laying a nice wool blend in a living room last Tuesday, and my 7 year old was watching. He looked at the pattern, then at the floor, and said, 'Dad, if the carpet is so nice, why do you hide it under the floor?' I had to stop and think for a second. I've been doing this for 22 years and never once thought about it that way. I just told him the floor needs a soft, warm blanket too. Has a customer ever asked you a question that made you stop and smile?

Pro tip: Do not trust the 'square footage' on the carpet roll label without checking

I just finished a job in a small apartment where the roll said 150 square yards. I cut and laid everything, then had a huge piece left over. I measured it myself and the roll was actually 180 yards. That's 30 extra yards I paid for and will never use. The supplier said it was a 'packing error' but won't take it back because it's cut. I lost about $450 on that one mistake. Always measure the roll yourself before you start cutting, even if the tag looks right. Has anyone else been burned by wrong labels like this?

Had to choose between a knee kicker and a power stretcher for a tricky hallway job

I was working on a long, narrow hallway in an old house in Tacoma last week, and the space was a real pain. The homeowner wanted a tight wall-to-wall fit with a dense berber. I had my standard knee kicker, but I also had a power stretcher in the truck that I don't break out too often. The choice was either to try and finesse it with the kicker, which is quicker in tight spots, or take the time to set up the power stretcher for what I knew would be a better stretch. I went with the power stretcher, even though it meant moving a bunch of furniture and took an extra forty minutes to set up the poles and get the angles right. The stretch was perfect, zero wrinkles, and the carpet locked in solid. It just felt right underfoot. Anyone have a good rule of thumb for when you decide it's power stretcher time versus a kicker?

That weird dip in the middle of a 20x30 room I did yesterday took me two extra hours to float out because the subfloor was like a trampoline.

Has anyone else found a better way to deal with a springy subfloor besides just piling on the leveling compound and hoping it sets before you have to leave?

Remember when we all used to cut carpet with a knife on the floor?

I was at a big flooring convention in Atlanta back in 2015, and I saw a guy using a power stretcher with a knee kicker as just a guide. He told me, 'The kicker is for positioning, the stretcher does the work, or you'll be back in a month.' I went home and tried it on a 15x20 living room job. The difference in the seam tightness was night and day, no more callbacks for wrinkles. Now I won't even start a pad without my power stretcher plugged in. Anyone else have a moment like that that changed your basic setup?

Just hit 500 yards of carpet stretched in a single day

It was a big job in a new apartment building, all 12 foot wide rolls of that heavy commercial stuff. My back felt it, but we kept the power stretcher moving and the knee kicker ready. The number hit me when I was adding up the tickets at the end. Has anyone else pushed past what they thought was a daily limit on a big install?

I finally figured out why my seams kept lifting on that big job in Tempe after watching a guy use a different knee kicker technique.

He was placing his foot a full six inches further back on the pad, which gave him way more control over the stretch without tearing the backing.