Shoutout to old man Jerry who told me to stretch seams sideways

Back when I started out in '08, this older installer Jerry I worked with in Des Moines kept telling me to stretch seams sideways instead of pulling straight back. I thought he was crazy at first... tried it his way on a big commercial job at the Hilton downtown and the seam barely showed even after a year. Anyone else get advice that went against what they learned in training?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa83921d ago

That's just bad physics, man. Pulling sideways puts uneven stress on the material. Jerry's old school tricks don't hold up with modern adhesives and backing. Did a test years ago on a high-traffic corridor in a hospital. Straight pull back held up way better after six months. Sideways stretch caused waviness near the edges. Maybe it worked on that old carpet from 2008 but not the stuff we use now.

amygonzalez21d ago

Jerry's trick probably only works on specific backings, not the universal stuff we see now.