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Just watched a guy in my crew try to stretch a whole room without a knee kicker first
He was fighting the carpet for an hour before I showed him how to set the center with a kicker to take out the main wrinkles. It makes the power stretcher work way better and saves so much time. Anyone else have a basic step they see people skip that causes big problems later?
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kelly.robin3mo ago
Skipping the knee kicker is a classic rookie move. It just leaves you fighting the carpet instead of controlling it. Getting that center set right first makes the whole job go smooth.
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lilys811mo ago
I had the same problem when I first started out, I kept trying to power stretch everything and ended up fighting wrinkles for way too long. Then an old timer told me to use the knee kicker to set the center line first and work out from there, it was like night and day. Now I always do that quick center pass before breaking out the power stretcher, cuts my time in half on most rooms. That one little step makes the carpet lie flat and grab the tack strip way better.
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laura_white993mo ago
Ugh, that's everywhere though! People skip the basic setup to save five minutes and then waste an hour fixing the mess. It's like trying to pressure wash a driveway without even sweeping it first, you're just moving the dirt around.
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