Warning: everyone says you need a power stretcher on every stretch job, I disagreed on a 12x14 in Tulsa

Reese Young · 2026-09-22T11:00:05.067996+00:00

Last month I did a 12x14 bedroom in a house near 21st and Harvard in Tulsa, and the homeowner wanted the cheapest thing that would hold up. Every installer I know says you have to break out the power stretcher or the carpet will wrinkle in a year. I used a knee kicker and a carpet stapler instead, pulled it tight in small sections starting from the far corner, and stapled every 3 inches along the tack strip. I checked it with a straight edge and got maybe a quarter inch of slack across the whole room. Six weeks later I went back for a different job at the same house and that carpet was still flat as a board. I am not saying power stretchers are useless, they are great on big open rooms and commercial glue down, but people act like you are a hack if you do not own one. A good knee kick with the right technique and a staple gun will beat a lazy power stretch every time. Has anyone else done a small room this way and had it hold up long term?

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Warning: everyone says you need a power stretcher on every stretch job, I disagreed on a 12x14 in Tulsa | Carpet Installers - Guest Forum