c/carpet-installers

Spent $300 on a fancy seam iron that barely worked

Bought that expensive digital seam iron from the big supplier thinking it would save me time, but it couldn't hold a steady temp and left burn marks on two jobs in a row. Anyone else had bad luck with those high-end irons or are there specific brands that actually deliver?

2 comments

karenb97•2d ago

Hit my 50th stretcher power stretch yesterday and finally got it perfect in under 10 minutes

Been wrestling with that stupid lever for months but something just clicked on this one and the wrinkles disappeared like magic - anyone else have a specific number of jobs before a technique finally stuck?

2 comments

drew_jones31•4d ago

That painter's trick for stretching carpet over stairs actually worked for me

I was getting frustrated with wrinkles on a 15-step job last Tuesday, so I tried heating the backing with a hair dryer before I stretched it and it laid down flat as glass. Has anyone else found a weird DIY trick that saved them on a tight spot?

2 comments

ray_williams•4d ago

That old-timer told me to always stretch carpet 3% tight or it'll wrinkle, but I did 5% on a 12-foot wide install in Phoenix last July and it pulled the tack strip right off the concrete.

Who was right here, the 40-year veteran who says 3% is the magic number or the numbers that show 5% held flat through two summers with no ripples?

2 comments

corap21•6d ago

Stuck with glue-down vs stretch-in last Tuesday. Chose wrong.

Had a big living room job in an old house. Owner wanted glue-down for the concrete slab. I pushed for stretch-in with a pad. Figured the floating floor would handle the uneven subfloor better. He went with glue. I spent 4 extra hours leveling that floor. Never again pushing against the owner's choice unless I walk. Any of you guys walk off jobs when the plan is bad?

c/carpet-installers

Spent $300 on a fancy seam iron that barely worked

Hit my 50th stretcher power stretch yesterday and finally got it perfect in under 10 minutes

That painter's trick for stretching carpet over stairs actually worked for me

That old-timer told me to always stretch carpet 3% tight or it'll wrinkle, but I did 5% on a 12-foot wide install in Phoenix last July and it pulled the tack strip right off the concrete.

Stuck with glue-down vs stretch-in last Tuesday. Chose wrong.

Tried to save 30 minutes by skipping the seam tape measurement on a ranch house in Odessa

Hit 50 square yards in a single day last Tuesday for the first time

Bought a $60 seam roller from Home Depot, what a waste

Powder actuator vs manual stretcher on a big commercial job last week

Learned a tricky seam trick from an old timer in Denver last week

Old timer taught me a trick with a heat gun I still use today

A customer pointed out my seams were too wide and it stung at first

Question about using a power stretcher on thick shag carpet

Just hit my 500th stair set install and I'm feeling the wear

Gave that stretch-in method for stairs a try after years of knee kickers and I'm sold now

I finally caught why my seams kept splitting after 8 years in the trade

Drove through Omaha last week and saw some of the worst carpet seaming I've ever come across

Had a job in Denver last week that went smoother than any I can remember

Noticed a huge difference in seam quality after switching to a different blade brand

Found a cheap trick for trimming door jambs without a jamb saw

Question about cutting carpet around floor vents in older homes

Talked to a commercial carpet guy and he flipped my whole take on glue downs

Tried one of those cheap seam rollers from Harbor Freight

Hated power stretchers until I rented one for a day

Finally hit a clean seam on a patterned carpet today