Changed my mind about power stretchers after 8 years

I used to think a knee kicker was fine for residential jobs, but after a call back on a house in Oak Park where the carpet buckled in 3 months, I finally borrowed a friend's power stretcher. The difference was huge - that thing pulled the carpet tight across the whole room without any waves. Now I'm wondering how many of my old jobs looked bad and I just didn't hear about it. Anyone else make the switch later than they should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tara16d ago

Ha! Yeah, I'm pretty sure half my early career is scattered across Chicago basements slowly rippling apart like potato chip bags.

margaretrivera16d ago

Wait... THREE months? That's insane. I would have been furious. Oak Park houses are old too, those floors creak and shift enough without bad carpet work. I switched two years ago after a similar nightmare in a basement. Customer called me back because the seams were literally rippling up. Felt like such a hack when I saw that power stretcher pull everything flat in one go. Still think about all those jobs I did before and cringe.

skylercooper16d ago

The power stretcher was a total game changer for me too. Still get that knot in my stomach remembering the jobs I did before I got one and thought it was fine.