Swapped to a power stretcher after 12 years of knee kickers

Used to think I was saving time with the knee kicker, but after redoing a 400sq ft living room in Phoenix last summer due to wrinkles, I finally caved and bought a power stretcher. Anyone else fight the switch for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_clark17d ago

Took me about 10 years to make the switch myself, and I felt pretty dumb after the first job with the power stretcher. That 400sq ft room would have taken half the time and zero do-overs with a power stretcher, especially in dry climates like Phoenix where carpet can shrink up fast. My biggest tip is to make sure you get the right number of extension poles for the room size, otherwise you're still fighting the same problems as a knee kicker. Once you dial in the tension settings for different carpet types, you'll never go back.

perry.evan17d ago

My 7ft extension pole situation turned into a disaster on my first power stretcher job. I thought I could get by with just two poles in a 20ft room, ended up with wrinkles so bad the customer called me back the next day. The tension settings part is key too, I ruined a whole roll of berber by cranking it up like I was stretching loop pile. Live and learn I guess, at least the carpet store gave me a decent trade-in deal on the knee kicker.

hollyc9217d agoTop Commenter

Honestly I still have nightmares about that one time I tried stretching a shag carpet in a basement with my knee kicker and ended up with a ripple that looked like a topographical map of Utah. Took me longer to fix it than it would have to just rent the power stretcher in the first place.