Had to pick between a power stretcher and a knee kicker for a tricky room yesterday

Went with the power stretcher on this 20x15 living room because of the diagonal pattern the homeowner wanted. Saved me about 45 minutes of wrestling and the seams came out dead straight. Anyone else have a go-to for weird pattern layouts?

2 comments

2 Comments

margaret_gonzalez2527d ago

@allen.charlie brings up a fair point about control, but that diagonal pattern is a whole different beast. Power stretcher lets you lock the backing tight without fighting the angle, so the lines stay true from the start. Knee kicker works great for straight runs, but when you’ve got those 45-degree cuts, the big gun just saves you from chasing waves later.

allen.charlie27d ago

Aw man, I gotta push back here... power stretcher on a diagonal layout? That's overkill in my book. A knee kicker gives you way more control when you're working those weird angles, lets you feel the carpet bite in without pulling it out of square. I've seen guys try the big gun on patterns and end up chasing the lines all day, seams shift on you every time you crank it.