Changed my mind about those cheap knee kickers after a job in Akron last week

I always thought spending extra on a power stretcher was just showing off, you know? I figured a good knee kicker and some muscle was all you needed. Then I overheard this old-timer at the supply house talking about how he used to think the same way until he ruined a $1,200 carpet job because the ripple showed up three days later. That stuck with me. So on this big family room install in Akron, I rented a power stretcher just to try it. Man, what a difference. The carpet laid flat as glass, no wrinkles at all, and my knees didn't ache the next morning. Has anyone else made the switch and never gone back?

3 comments

3 Comments

loganthompson21d ago

That power stretcher changed everything for me too. Used to think they were overkill until I did a living room job a few years back and the carpet bubble showed up two weeks later, had to tear it all up and start over.

elliot4523d ago

Well hold on now, I still use my knee kicker for most jobs and honestly I don't see the big deal. That ripple thing is usually just bad technique or not stretching enough the first time around. I've been doing this over ten years and never had a callback for wrinkles.

charlienelson23d ago

Oh man, that's exactly what happened to my buddy Dave! He was the same way, swore by his old knee kicker and laughed at anyone dropping cash on a power stretcher. Then he did this big open concept living room in Medina, thought he had it perfect, but three weeks later the homeowner called him and said there were ripples popping up near the baseboards. He had to go back and re stretch the whole thing for free, ate up a whole weekend and lost money on the job. He finally broke down and bought a used power stretcher off Craigslist, and now he won't shut up about it every time we talk shop. Says his knees feel way better after a long day too, which I guess is a bonus on top of not having to fix your own screw ups.