c/carpet-installers

TIL cheap seam tape cost me a full hallway redo

I tried saving $15 on a roll of no-name seam tape from a discount supply store last spring. After 3 months the seams started peeling up on the hallway I installed for a customer in Portland. Had to rip out the whole run and replace it, losing about $200 in material and a whole Saturday. Anyone else get burned by cutting corners on supplies like this?

Carpet seam rolling on tight loops made me a believer

I always thought power stretching was enough for seams on Berber carpet. Then I tried a heavy seam roller on a job in Phoenix last month and the seam practically disappeared. Anyone else skip this step and regret it?

Saw a guy use a power stretcher wrong for 10 years and never knew it

I was helping out at a supply house in Omaha last week and this kid comes in complaining his seams keep splitting. Old timer behind the counter just looks at his tool and says 'you got the pins set too short.' I realized I'd been setting mine the same way since I learned the trade in 2009. Made me wonder how many other habits we pick up from watching the wrong people.

Overheard a homeowner say their old carpet 'just needed a good steam clean' and had to bite my tongue

I was at a supply shop in Portland yesterday and this guy was telling the clerk his 15 year old shag was fine, just dirty, and I wanted to ask how many times he's cleaned the backing off his vacuum roller but I just grabbed my glue and left, anyone else run into folks who think carpet lasts forever?

Switched from a power stretcher to a knee kicker for tight hallways in a 1950s house in Chicago last month

I was so used to the power stretcher for big rooms but that hallway was only 30 inches wide so I grabbed the knee kicker. Did I mess up by not renting a mini power stretcher or do you guys still use knee kickers in tight spots?

The day I figured out I'd been stretching carpet seam tape backwards for 2 years

Was on a job in Asheville last month, big room, and the homeowner watched me set up. He mentioned he used to install carpet in the 90s. I ran my tape out like usual, he goes 'you know that side ain't the sticky one right?' I stared at my hands for a solid 10 seconds and realized I'd been flipping the roll upside down since I started. Has anyone else had one of those obvious moments where you just felt like a total rookie?

I finally listened to that old installer about stretching seams

Had a chat with a guy named Pete who's been doing carpet for 40 years. He told me I was rushing my seam work and not leaving enough slack before cutting. Tried his method on a 12x15 bedroom last Tuesday and the seam practically disappeared. Has anyone else had an older installer give them a tip that totally changed their process?

Tried a power stretcher vs. a knee kicker for a big living room job

I used a knee kicker for years on residential carpet installs, but last month I borrowed a buddy's power stretcher for a 20x15 foot room in an older house. The difference in how flat and tight the carpet laid down was night and day, especially near the walls. Has anyone else found the power stretcher worth the extra setup time?

Talked to a commercial installer who swore by power stretchers for residential work

Ran into a guy named Dave at a supply house who does huge office buildings, and he told me he uses his power stretcher even for small bedrooms because it saves his knees over time. Anyone else here made that switch from knee kickers on regular house jobs?

Appreciation post: that $50 knee kicker upgrade saved my back on a 2000 sq ft job today

I used to fight with my old rusty kicker on every stretch, but switching to a cushioned one cut my install time by 2 hours and I can actually walk tonight, has anyone else noticed a big difference swapping out basic tools?

Had my power stretcher snap on me mid-job yesterday

I was working a 12x14 bedroom in a house over in Oak Park when the handle just gave out. Snapped clean in half near the adjustment knob, sent me stumbling into a wall. Old KoolRite I've had for like 15 years, never had a problem until now. Anyone else had one of these just go on em out of nowhere?

Warning: That job at 742 Elm Street almost got me fired

I was laying carpet in a new build over near the old water tower, and the homeowner kept hovering saying 'just tuck it tighter' even after I showed him the seam would pop. He grabbed my kicker and tried to do it himself, bent the blade clean off on a tack strip. Customer went straight to my boss saying I broke his floor. Has anyone else dealt with a client who won't stay out of the way?

Threw $150 down the drain on a cheap seam iron from Amazon

I bought a no-name seam iron off Amazon last month because I was between jobs and didn't want to spend $400 on a decent one. It worked okay for about 50 linear feet, then the heating element just died in the middle of a living room seam. I had to finish the whole job with a borrowed iron from a buddy down the street, which wasted like 3 hours of my day. Anyone else get burned by cheaping out on tools?

Took me 8 years to realize I was stretching carpet the WRONG direction for patterned carpets

A customer pointed out her diamond pattern looked "wonky" and I spent 20 minutes staring at it before it clicked that I'd been stretching lengthwise instead of widthwise this whole time. Has anyone else had a dumb moment that made you question your whole career?

Guy at the supply house told me to stop using a power stretcher for stairs, and now my seams don't pop

I always used a power stretcher on stairs because I thought it was faster. Then this old timer at Hatch's Carpet Supply in Denver said I was overstretching and causing the seams to separate after a few months. He showed me to use a knee kicker with shorter, more controlled pops. Three jobs later and zero callbacks, so I guess he was right. Anyone else ditch their power stretcher for stairs and get better results?

That stair nosing cut took me 3 hours longer than I planned

I had this weird angled landing last Wednesday where the nosing had to wrap around a corner and match up with a 45 degree wall. I figured it would be a 30 minute job but I ended up re-cutting that piece about 6 times before it finally sat right. The problem was the angle was actually 47 degrees not 45 and my miter saw was off by a hair. Has anyone else ran into a stair landing that just fought you the whole way?

Stuck between a power stretcher and a knee kicker for a tricky hallway job

Had this narrow hallway in an old house in Portland last month, maybe 3 feet wide with a weird hump in the floor. I always use a power stretcher for big rooms, but I was scared it'd push the baseboards off or mess up the door frames. Went with the knee kicker instead, spent almost 2 hours on that 15 foot run because you gotta adjust every few inches. It worked out fine, no gaps or ripples, but my knee is still sore from all that pounding. Has anyone else run into a situation where a knee kicker just feels safer than the big rig?

My brother's 15 year old bedroom carpet gave me a real shock last Tuesday

I finally had a day last Tuesday where every single seam matched up perfectly on a 40 yard commercial job.

The room was a nightmare layout with seven doorways and I didn't have to re-stretch a single piece, has anyone else ever hit a day where everything just clicks like that?

That floor prep that took 8 hours instead of 2

I had a living room job last Tuesday where the old carpet glue was caked on like concrete. I figured a quick scrape and done, but I ended up spending 8 hours with a 4-inch scraper and a heat gun to get it flat. Any tips for dealing with stubborn glue layers without burning up a whole day?

Powder-actuated nailer cost me way more than it saved

I was dead set against buying a powder-actuated nailer for concrete slabs. Thought a hammer and concrete nails were fine like I'd done for 10 years. Finally caved on a job in Phoenix where I had to fasten tack strips into 80 feet of high-density concrete. First 10 nails took me 30 minutes and I bruised my thumb. Borrowed a buddy's Ramset on day two and knocked out the rest in under an hour. Has anyone else stubbornly stuck with old methods only to realize you were just making life harder?

Vent: That one curved staircase that ate 4 hours of my life

I had a job last Thursday in a new condo building downtown. The homeowner wanted a runner on this spiral staircase with these tight turns. I figured 2 hours tops but it took me almost 4 and a half because every single piece had to be hand cut and fit three times. The backing kept bunching up on the curve no matter how I stretched it. Has anyone else dealt with those prefab curved staircases that seem impossible to tuck?

Hot take: Stop using seam tape wrong on patterned carpets

I keep seeing guys slap seam tape down without checking the pattern match first. Last month I had to redo a whole bedroom because the installer just butted the pieces together without aligning the design. The pattern was off by about an inch and it looked terrible. I always mark my cut lines with a chalk line and double check the repeat before I even pull out the tape. Patterned carpet is way more forgiving if you take 10 extra minutes to line it up. Does anyone else run into this or am I just working with lazy installers?

Spent $350 on a power stretcher and it tore my first carpet job

Bought a new power stretcher from Home Depot for $350, figured it'd make life easier, but the adjustment knob snapped on the second room. Has anyone else had their gear fail right out of the box like that?

Watched a crew demo a 30 year old shag carpet today and found oak floors underneath

That shag was installed in '92 and it was matted down so bad you could see the traffic paths worn into it. Has anyone else noticed how much better carpet padding has gotten since the rebond foam came in?