Rant: overheard a young installer say "backer rod is optional" and had to bite my tongue

Ngl, I was grabbing supplies at the local Dalton supply house last Wednesday and heard some kid probably mid 20s telling his buddy that backer rod is just extra cost and they can skip it on commercial jobs. I wanted to jump in so bad but held back cause I aint trying to be that old guy yelling at clouds. But honestly, I been doing this 18 years now and I learned the hard way that you skip backer rod and you get those ugly ridges plus the carpet bubbles up after a few months from the backing not settling right. Back in the early 2000s my first boss made me redo a whole 2000 square foot office in Atlanta cause I left out the rod and the seams were popping by week 2. That mistake cost me a whole Saturday and I never forgot it. Has anyone else run into newer guys cutting corners on the prep work and dealing with callbacks down the line?

2 comments

2 Comments

kair651d agoTop Commenter

Backer rod is optional" lmao yeah optional if you want your carpet looking like a roller coaster after three months. I bet that kid also thinks tack strips are just a suggestion.

jason3281d ago

My buddy tried that once and his carpet looked like a wrinkled bedsheet.