Had to rip out a whole carpet job because of a bad power stretcher...

I was doing a living room in a 1970s ranch house over on Maple Street last Tuesday. The carpet was a thick plush, like 1.5 inch pile, and my power stretcher just wouldn't grab right no matter what I did. After I finished, the customer pointed out a wave that ran the whole length of the wall. I spent 4 hours pulling it all back up and re-doing it with a borrowed stretcher from a buddy. Now I bring two different head types on every residential job... anyone else have a tool fail on a simple install and cost you a whole day?

3 comments

3 Comments

piperbailey17d ago

Jumped in to help my neighbor with his carpet install back in July and my damn power stretcher head slipped right off the plate mid-pull. Wound up with a crease right across his dining room that looked like a wrinkle in a bedsheet. Had to pull the whole thing up and start over, just like you said. @william_garcia probably would've just borrowed my stretcher and forgotten about it like he does with everything else, haha. Now I carry two different head types plus a backup knee kicker just in case, learned that lesson the hard way.

william_garcia17d ago

Borrowed my neighbor's stretcher after mine wouldn't grip on a Berber install and never gave it back.

gibson.avery17d ago

Three weeks later and my neighbor still leaves passive aggressive notes on my truck about his "missing" power stretcher. I finally caved and returned it last Tuesday but I swapped the handle grips with my old beat up ones. Told him I found it in my garage covered in drywall dust and he just stared at me like I was stealing his firstborn. Makes me wonder if floor guys have some secret handshake for tool borrowing or if we're all just hoarders with bad memories.