luna589•1mo agoProlific Poster

Switched from knee kickers to power stretchers on every job last August

I used to think power stretchers were overkill for small rooms. Figured a knee kicker was faster and less hassle to haul around. Then I did a living room in Nashua where the customer pointed out waves after I finished. Had to pull the whole thing up and redo it with a borrowed power stretcher. That extra 10 minutes of setup saved me from ripping it out again. Now I use the power stretcher on anything bigger than a closet. No more callbacks for loose carpet. Anyone else make the switch later in their career?

3 comments

3 Comments

adam_nguyen71mo agoMost Upvoted

Power stretchers are heavy and take forever to break down and set up. For a quick tear out and replace in a 10x10 bedroom, I'd rather just take my time with the knee kicker and save my back. Never had a callback yet doing it that way.

adam_hernandez1mo ago

That Nashua job sounds rough. I had a similar wake up call on a bedroom in Manchester last year. Spent twenty minutes fighting with a knee kicker thinking I was saving time, only to see the same ripples you described after the customer left for work. Borrowed a neighbor's power stretcher the next morning and it flattened out perfect in like five minutes. Now I always keep mine in the truck even for small jobs, just in case the pad is old or the carpet has memory.

benk261mo agoMost Upvoted

Man that's exactly it, @adam_hernandez. Nothing worse than that sinking feeling when you see the ripples and realize you cut a corner. Glad the power stretcher saved you though. How long did it take you to finally learn that lesson?