My foreman asked why I still kick the stretcher, and I froze

Last Tuesday I was working a 3 bedroom rental in Dayton and my foreman Ray, who has been laying carpet for 31 years, saw me kick the power stretcher head after every pull. He asked me why I do it and I honestly could not give him a real answer, just that the guy who trained me did it. Ray said the kick does nothing except wear out the lever and your knee, and that the real check is running your hand along the wall edge for a gap. I tried it his way for the rest of the day and my knee felt fine that night for the first time in a while. Now I am wondering how many other habits I picked up from that first guy without ever questioning them. What is one thing you were taught that turned out to be pointless?

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murphy.linda8d ago

Man that kick is one of those things that gets passed down like gospel and nobody ever asks why. I was taught to tap the stretcher head twice with my knee before every pull and it took me years to realize it was just something the old guy did to keep rhythm, not a real trick. Ray is right that the hand along the wall tells you way more than any kick ever will, so trust the gap check and let your knee recover.

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