I was working a big office job in St. Louis about 5 years ago and this older installer named Ray was showing me how to seam carpets in a hallway. He pulled out a metal straight edge and said "stop using that cheap iron, use a hot glue gun for the edges instead." I thought he was nuts but tried it on a tricky pattern match and it worked way better than any iron I ever used. Anyone else pick up weird tricks from the older guys that actually beat the modern stuff?
I was picking up some glue at a distributor in Cleveland maybe 6 years ago and this old installer, must have been 70, was telling me about how he used to have to heat his seam tape with a iron on job sites. He said he'd spend 20 minutes per seam just getting it to stick right back in the 80s. Does anyone else feel like we take stuff like pre-glued tapes for granted now?
I started installing carpet back in 2002 and we used those old powder actuated tools that sounded like a gunshot every time. My ears rang for days after a big job and the recoil would leave your arm sore. Now I use a gas powered nailer that is quiet and barely kicks back at all. The new ones also have safety features that the old guns never had, like the trigger guard and the no-fire tilt sensor. We got our first one back in 2015 and I remember thinking it felt like cheating. Anyone else remember the old powder actuated days or do you all use the newer stuff too?
I bought one of those budget power stretchers off Amazon for like 80 bucks last month. Figured it would be fine for small rooms and saving some cash. Third job I used it on, the head snapped clean off the tube while I was stretching a tight loop pile. Lost a whole afternoon waiting for a buddy to bring his real one so I could finish. Ended up buying a used Kool glide from a retiring guy for $200 that same week. Now I got a paperweight in my garage that cost me time and money. Anyone else get burned by cheap tools thinking you'd save a few bucks?
Found this stat that said back in the 80s, over 60% of installers used wax instead of seam tape, and I just can't imagine dragging a hot wax pot around a living room like that, has anyone else run into this old-school method on a job?
Last month I was eating breakfast at a Waffle House off I-40 in Tennessee around 5 AM before a job. This older guy named Earl sat down next to me, saw my knee pads, and started talking carpet. He showed me this trick where you heat the seam tape from underneath with a heat gun instead of on top - said it stops the glue from bubbling. Has anyone else tried heating from the bottom instead?
I was stitching together this commercial job in a bank lobby downtown and something about the rhythm just felt different. Counted up my work orders and realized that was my 1,000th seam since I started doing carpet full time three years ago. Does anyone else get that weird zen feeling after a certain number of installs or is it just me?
I was always team sewn seam on stairs till I saw his waterfall job still looking tight after 26 years with zero edge fray. Made me switch my whole approach for straight runs. Anybody else change their mind after seeing an old install hold up better than new ones?
I been installing carpet for almost 15 years now and I saw a big difference between a house I did last week and one I did back in 2015. Both houses were the same builder grade stuff from the same big box store. The old carpet from 2015 held up way better with no matting or fraying after a few years. But the new stuff I put in last week felt thin and flimsy right out of the roll. I think manufacturers are using less nylon or polyester to cut costs. The backing on the new carpet also seemed more brittle and tore easier when I stretched it. Has anyone else noticed this drop in quality with newer carpets from the same brands?
Got a call from a lady in Arlington yesterday. She said her bedroom carpet was wrinkly again. I went over to check it out. Turns out her kid had a fish tank leak and the pad was soaked. I told her that's not a stretch issue, it's water damage. She got mad and said I should've warned her about fish tanks. Now I'm stuck deciding if I offer a discount on the repair or just walk away. Has anyone else dealt with customers blaming you for stuff like this?
I was working on a job in Raleigh last Tuesday, laying this thick patterned carpet in a master bedroom. I guess I pulled too hard on one side during stretching and the backing just gave way, seams split clean open. Had to pull the whole piece back, cut a fresh piece, and re-seam it with a heavier adhesive. Took me an extra 2 hours and I had to eat the cost on materials. Has anyone else had backing fail on them like that when trying to stretch a tricky pattern?
I was staying at a Holiday Inn in Denver last week and noticed their carpet to tile transition had this low profile metal strip. No bullnose, just a flat piece screwed right into the subfloor. I used that trick on a job yesterday where the customer wanted zero lip and it worked perfect. Anybody else use metal strips like that or do you stick with the rubber ones?
I was on a install in Phoenix last July and my power stretcher kept slipping on the tack strip. Found out from a old timer that the glue on the strip softens in anything over 100 degrees and your tool basically slides right off. How do you guys keep your kicks solid in hot weather?
I went with the power stretcher on that 45 degree turn and it saved me about two hours of fighting with wrinkles, but now I wonder if the knee kicker would have given me a cleaner edge along the wall - anyone else dealt with this kind of stair job?
Had to finish the whole job hand-kneeing the rest of that master bedroom in Maplewood, and my knee is wrecked today, has anyone else had a stretcher break like that out of nowhere?
I had a job in a 3 bedroom house out in Naperville a couple months back and the stars just aligned - the padding rolled out perfect, seams matched up on the first try, and the homeowner tipped me $80 cash after I finished. Has anyone else had a day where the carpet gods just smiled on you and everything went smoother than butter?
I was in the Williams Tower lobby last week for a completely different reason and ended up staring at the carpet for a solid 5 minutes. Whoever did that install knew what they were doing. The seams were damn near invisible even under those bright lobby lights. Made me rethink my own seam rolling technique. Anyone else ever see a random install that made you want to step up your game?
I was out in Austin last month doing a quick bedroom install for a nice older lady. Got in a hurry around 4pm because I wanted to beat traffic and my carpet knife slipped right off the edge of the seam tape. Cut my thumb pretty deep, blood everywhere on this beige plush carpet she just paid $3,200 for. I grabbed a rag from my truck and wrapped it tight but I knew I had to finish before I lost too much light. Ended up taping a shop towel around my thumb with duct tape and just powered through the last two seams. Took me twice as long cause I was being careful not to drip on anything. Has anyone else had a close call like that and had to figure out how to keep working without ruining the carpet?
Last week I was doing a living room job in Austin and my buddy Tom stopped by to help. He watched me power stretch for a minute and just goes "Dude, you're supposed to pull from the center out, not the edge." I've been a carpet installer for over a decade and nobody ever told me that. Anyone else have that one basic thing you realized way too late?
Last month I did a job for a guy who used to install carpet back in the 80s. He walked in while I was finishing up a bedroom, looked at my seams, and said 'you're gonna have to redo that, the nap is going opposite directions.' I was pretty mad at first because I thought I was being careful. But he showed me how the light caught the seam and you could see a line clear as day. Now I check the roll direction before I cut anything and I make sure both sides of the seam have the nap going the same way. Added maybe 10 minutes to my prep time but the seams look so much cleaner. Has anyone else had a homeowner call them out on something that actually made your work better?
That seam between two rooms where the tack strips meet was fighting me all day. I kept thinking I had it level but every time I put a piece of carpet down it would buckle. Turns out the subfloor had a slight dip right there. Ended up shimming the whole strip up about 1/8 inch. Has anyone else run into a floor that looks flat but isn't?
For years I insisted on using knee kickers for almost every room because I thought power stretchers were overkill for residential jobs. Then last month I had a 15x20 foot room with some tricky doorways and a buddy made me borrow his power stretcher. It saved me about 45 minutes and the carpet laid way flatter than anything I've done by hand. Anyone else have a tool they swore off but now use all the time?
He kicked the head at a 45 degree angle instead of straight and that single trick saved me about 20 minutes on my last narrow hallway job has anyone else tried angling the power stretcher like that for tight spots?