Heard a guy at the supply house say stretching carpet is a lost art

Was picking up tack strip at the local Dalton supply spot yesterday and this old timer was telling the counter guy that half the new guys can't even properly power stretch a room without leaving ripples. Said he's been called back to fix jobs where they just used a knee kicker for a whole house. I've been installing for about 4 years and I always use a power stretcher for anything over 8 feet, but it got me wondering - am I missing something on technique? How many of you still see knee kicker-only jobs coming through?

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nathanbennett2mo ago

That "half the new guys can't do it" seems like the usual old timer exaggeration. I've been doing this since the late 90s and I've seen plenty of hacks from every generation come through. A good knee kicker still has its place on smaller rooms and closets. But yeah, you're right not to use one for a whole house. Maybe the issue is more about training than the tool itself.

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rowan_wells672mo ago

Called a buddy of mine last week whose been installing for like 15 years and he said the same thing about the old timer. He had this one job where a new crew did a whole living room with just a knee kicker, like 20x30 feet. The homeowner called him out to fix it and he said the carpet was literally bubbling up near the walls like a wave. He had to pull up half the room and re-stretch it with his power stretcher just to get it flat again. But he also told me he uses a knee kicker for closets and small bathrooms all the time, so its not like the tool is dead. Its more that some guys skip the power stretcher when they should be using it, cutting corners to save 10 minutes.

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