nancybailey•8d agoMost Upvoted

Just realized I was wasting time with the power stretcher on small room jobs

Tbh, everyone in my crew always says you gotta use the power stretcher for every single room no matter what. But I tried hand stretching a 10x12 bedroom last week in Atlanta and it came out just as tight with way less setup hassle. The key was doing a good knee kicker pass first and then really working the edges. Has anyone else ditched the big stretcher for smaller spaces?

3 comments

3 Comments

riley_taylor8d ago

Hold up, are we really acting like a 10x12 bedroom is gonna shift and relax like it's a whole house? I get the "consistency" argument but I've walked into houses where the power stretcher was used and still found ripples by the baseboards. If you prep the pad right and get a solid knee kick, that carpet isn't going anywhere in a spare bedroom. Maybe it's an Atlanta climate thing, but I just don't see the guy's visitor closet catching that much thermal abuse.

henrycooper8d ago

Respectfully, I see this a little different. A power stretcher is about consistency and saving your body over time, not just tightness on one job. Hand stretching a single 10x12 might feel fine the first week, but you risk it relaxing or shifting during the first big temperature change. I have seen too many calls backs on rooms where guys skipped the power stretcher to save a few minutes. The setup hassle is real, sure, but once you get a rhythm with it the time difference is not that big. A good knee kicker pass is important, but it just cannot match the even tension you get from a power stretcher on the whole field. For me, small rooms are where the power stretcher really earns its keep since that is where seams and bubbles show up the easiest.

evan_burns958d ago

Lol @henrycooper talking about "temperature changes" like we're installing carpet on the moon or something. I get what you're saying man, but I've been hand stretching small rooms for years and never had a call back on one. A 10x12 isn't exactly a grand ballroom with heavy traffic. The time I save not fighting with the power stretcher in a tiny closet or weird corner makes up for anything the knee kicker might miss. I'll still bust out the big gun for anything over 15 feet or if the carpet is super stiff, but for a simple bedroom I'm good with my knee and a few curse words.

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