Found out tack strips are supposed to be 1/4 inch away from the wall, not flush. Is that even true everywhere?

I was reading an install manual from Shaw that I picked up at a supply house in Omaha last week, and it said spacing the tack strip a quarter inch off the baseboard prevents squeaks and lets the carpet tuck better. I've been nailing them flush for like 8 years and never had a complaint, but now I'm second guessing myself. Do you guys follow that spec or just wing it based on the room? Maybe it's regional or something, but I'd like to hear what others actually do.

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park.riley19d ago

Wait, you've been going flush this whole time and it's worked out? That's wild, I always thought the quarter inch gap was just a fancy spec from the big carpet brands, but I've been doing it for years because it makes the tuck way easier at the edges.