Had to pick between a knee kicker and a power stretcher for a big living room job

I was laying carpet in a big open space in a house in Springfield last week, about 400 square feet. The homeowner wanted a tight fit, so I had to choose between my old knee kicker and renting a power stretcher for the day. I went with the power stretcher because the room had a lot of straight wall. It took me an extra hour to set up, but the stretch was perfect with no wrinkles at all. What's your go-to tool for rooms over 300 square feet?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_phoenix2mo ago

Springfield has a lot of those older ranch homes with big open floors. For anything over 300 feet, I'm grabbing the power stretcher every time. The knee kicker just can't get that same lock on the tack strips in the middle of a wide room. Yeah it takes longer to set up, but you only have to do it once and the job stays perfect for years.

wright.drew25d ago

You know what, I used to be in the "knee kicker is fine for everything" camp. But you saying 'for anything over 300 feet' really hit home. I did a big living room a couple years ago with just a kicker because I was in a hurry and didn't want to haul the big stretcher out. Thought I was being clever and saving time. Six months later, sure enough, there was a ripple right in the middle of the floor. Had to pull the whole thing up and redo it with the power stretcher. Now I just suck it up and do it right the first time. Never again.

williams.amy2mo ago

Remember my cousin tried to save money and used just a kicker on his big den. Had to go back six months later to fix a huge bubble in the middle.