Hot take: Stretching carpet with a knee kicker is fine for most jobs

I keep seeing guys on here saying you absolutely need a power stretcher for every single room. Last month I did a 12x15 living room in Enumclaw with just my knee kicker and it came out perfect, no ripples at all. Been doing this for 6 years now and I only break out the power stretcher for rooms over 20 feet long. Am I the only one who thinks the power stretcher hype is overblown for standard bedrooms and living rooms?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_julia27d ago

Wait wait wait, hold up - "did a 12x15 living room in Enumclaw with just my knee kicker"? That's wild to me lol. I mean I get what you're saying about not needing the power stretcher for tiny rooms, but a 12x15 is actually getting pretty big in my book. I've seen so many guys mess up rooms that size by trying to stretch from the middle instead of working their way out methodically. But hey, if you pulled it off without any ripples then more power to you, I just wouldn't try that myself unless I had a real good helper to keep the carpet from drifting.

james_martin9326d ago

A buddy of mine tried that once in a rental house over in Puyallup. He was so confident with his knee kicker he was like "watch this, old school style." Ended up with a wrinkle right by the sliding door that looked like a speed bump. Had to tear it all up and start over with the power stretcher while the homeowner watched from the kitchen with that look like "you gotta be kidding me." I learned from that mistake, never again trying to shortcut a room that size. Actually saw a guy in a YouTube video stretch a 10x12 with just a knee kicker and it came out PERFECT but I think he was secretly a magician or something.