I finally stopped power stretching every carpet, and my knees and my installs both got better

Wren Jackson · 2026-09-10T09:45:21.340137+00:00

For my first 4 years doing this I power stretched every single room no matter what, because that is what the old guy who trained me in Toledo drilled into my head. Last spring I had a job in a 3 bedroom ranch with cheap builder grade carpet and I was fighting it all day, knees screaming, and the seams still looked wavy. So I tried knee kicking the small bedrooms and closets and only power stretching the big open runs and hallways. I picked the knee kicker because those little rooms had almost no stretch distance anyway and I was killing myself for nothing. The rooms came out flatter, seams tight, and I finished 90 minutes faster than I planned. My knees stopped swelling up every night too, which is worth more than the speed. I know some guys will say you are a hack if you are not power stretching everything, but I think that is a load of crap for a 8x10 bedroom. What do you all do on small rooms, kick it or drag the stretcher in every time?

The Community Guide

Loading…

I finally stopped power stretching every carpet, and my knees and my installs both got better | Carpet Installers - The Community Guide