c/carpet-installers

Question about those cheap seam rollers from the big box store

I bought a five dollar plastic seam roller for a job in a Pasadena condo, and the handle snapped clean off halfway through the first seam. I lost a good hour of work time and had to run out for a proper metal one. Do you guys think it's ever worth trying the budget tools, or should we all just stick with the pro-grade stuff from the start?

The difference in my knees after switching from a cheap knee kicker to a power stretcher was night and day in just two weeks.

So I was talking with a flooring inspector in Denver about tack strips

He told me he sees a lot of callbacks where installers use the same strip for every job, even on concrete. He said, 'If you don't use a strip with the right nail angle for concrete, you're asking for a loose edge in six months.' I'd never really thought about it that way before. Does anyone have a go-to brand for concrete subfloors?

Unpopular opinion: I thought those knee kicker pads were a total waste of money

For years I just used a folded up scrap of carpet padding, figured it did the same job for free. Then I did this massive install in a three story house, over 2000 square feet of Berber. My knees were killing me by the end of day one. My buddy on the crew tossed me his ProKnee pads and told me to just try them. I was so sure they'd be bulky and get in the way. Man, was I wrong. The difference after eight hours was night and day, no more sharp pain every time I had to really lean into a stretch. I bought my own pair the next week. Has anyone else had a tool they swore was pointless that actually saved them?

Installed carpet in a house where the owner had a pet parrot for 20 years

The old carpet in the living room was a solid beige when they moved in. Pulled it up yesterday and the subfloor underneath was a perfect green rectangle, exactly where the bird cage sat. Sunlight from the window bleached everything around it over two decades. The owner just laughed and said 'Polly wanted a green rug, I guess.' Ever seen something like that from pet damage?

Just realized how much a proper seam roller matters on a Berber job

Did a living room in Denver last month and the seams were flat but still visible. Went back with a 100 pound roller I borrowed from a guy, and after one pass they just melted into the pile. Anyone else have a go-to tool for tricky seams?

Hot take: I bought a $300 knee kicker from a guy at a flea market because it 'just needed a new pad'.

Turns out the whole tension spring assembly was shot, and fixing it cost me another $180 and two afternoons of my life. Anyone know a good supplier for reliable used tools in the Midwest?

Shoutout to the guy who showed me the trick for a tight corner on a spiral staircase

I was doing a job in a big old house with a curved staircase, and the last piece at the top turn was a real pain. The carpet just would not sit right in that inside corner, it kept bubbling up no matter how much I stretched. I must have pulled it up and re-cut it four times over two hours, getting more and more annoyed. The homeowner was getting worried, and I was about ready to call it a day. Then another installer I know stopped by to drop off a tool, took one look, and said to make a small relief cut on the backing only, not the face fibers, right at the tightest part of the curve. I tried it, and it laid down perfect in like five minutes. Has anyone else run into a tricky spot like that and found a simple fix that saved the day?

Remember when we used to cut everything with a hook knife? I saw a guy using a laser guide at a trade show in Atlanta back in 2015 and it blew my mind.

Finally gave up on my old hand seam roller

Used that thing for a decade, swore by it. Did a big office job in Fresno last month, seams kept popping. Boss made me switch to a 100 pound power stretcher for the seams. Lost a full day fixing my mess, cost me about $400 in labor. Anyone still using a hand roller for commercial glue down?

Had a chat with a retired installer at the supply house yesterday that made me rethink my seam placement.

A homeowner in Spokane asked me why I was taking so long to stretch the pad before the carpet went down.

I explained that a rushed pad job causes ripples in six months, and she said she'd never had an installer take the time to explain that before, which made me wonder how many guys just skip the talk and rush the work.

Honestly, I used to cut carpet backing with a utility knife until a client in Phoenix asked if I was a surgeon

Now I use a hot knife for everything because it seals the edge and looks way cleaner. Anyone else make that switch after a weird comment?

A chat with an old timer at the supply yard flipped my view on seam rollers

I was picking up some padding in Cincinnati last week and got talking to a guy who's been laying carpet since the 80s. He said, 'Kid, a heavy roller isn't about weight, it's about the heat you build up from going over it enough times.' I always used a light touch to avoid crushing the pile, but I tried his method on a glue-down job yesterday, doing five full passes per seam. The seam practically vanished. How many passes do you all usually do?

Had a seam split open on a brand new glue down job in Dallas this morning

Tried a new seam roller after my old one broke on a job in Boise

The new one had a wider, softer roller head and it made the seams practically disappear compared to the old narrow one. I used it on a 12-foot seam in a living room and the client said they couldn't even find it. What's your go-to tool for invisible seams?

Finally gave that new knee kicker from Harbor Freight a real shot

I was sure it would be junk for the price, but after a tough job with a 15 foot seam in a Charlotte split-level, it held up just fine. The tension was solid and it didn't slip once, which honestly shocked me. Anyone else try their newer tools and get surprised?

TIL my old seam roller handle was cracked and I didn't notice until it snapped mid-job in a Denver condo

The plastic gave out while I was pressing a seam in a tight corner, and I had to finish the last 20 feet with just my hands. Has anyone else had a tool fail at the worst possible moment and what did you switch to?

Tried to stretch a hallway with a knee kicker from the wrong side

Had a job in a tight 1970s split-level last month, the hallway was maybe 30 inches wide. My power stretcher head wouldn't fit, so I thought I'd be clever and use the knee kicker from the far end, pushing the carpet back toward me. It worked for about two feet before the whole piece just accordioned up in the middle like a giant fabric wave. The homeowner walked by and just said, 'Well, that's a new look.' I had to pull all the tacks and start over from the proper wall. Anyone ever make a hallway stretch work from the wrong side, or is that just a guaranteed disaster?

Hot take: I started using a 6-inch drywall knife to smooth seam sealer and everyone on the crew called me crazy.

After three botched seams in a row on a commercial job in Boise, I grabbed one from my truck and got a perfectly flat, invisible transition on the first try.

The time a customer's pet iguana tried to help me stretch carpet

I was working on a job in Tempe, Arizona, installing a plush 12-foot roll in a living room. The homeowner had this huge pet iguana just roaming free. I was down on my knees, using my power stretcher, when I felt a weird weight on my back. The iguana had climbed up and was just sitting there, staring at the carpet like it was inspecting my work. I froze for a solid minute, not wanting to spook it. The owner finally came in, laughed, and said 'Oh, he just wants to help.' I had to very slowly stand up and let the lizard crawl off before I could finish the kick. Has anyone else had a job interrupted by a truly bizarre pet?

Tried using a regular utility knife on a dense commercial berber and it was a mess

I was doing a job at a small office in Springfield last month, and they had this super thick, dense commercial berber carpet. My usual hook blade was dull, and I figured I could just push through with a fresh standard utility knife blade. Big mistake. The blade kept catching on the tight loops and pulling the backing instead of cutting cleanly. I ended up with a jagged, frayed edge that took me an extra 45 minutes to clean up and seam properly. The foreman came by and just shook his head, said 'That's why we keep the sharp stuff for the tough stuff.' I learned that a specialized tool isn't just a suggestion for certain materials. What's your go-to blade for dense carpets like that? Do you stick with the hook knife or is there another option?

Read a study that said carpet installers have a 40% higher injury rate than other construction trades

I was looking up some safety stuff on a government website and that number just jumped out at me. It makes sense with all the kneeling and lifting, but forty percent is a huge difference. What's the most common injury you guys see on the job?

Switched to a 3/4 inch seam roller for my last three jobs and the difference is insane

I used to think any old roller would do the job, but after a buddy lent me his heavy duty one for a big office install in Phoenix, I saw the light. The seams on that 500 square yard job were flat as a board after one pass, no extra glue squeezing out. That was six months ago, and I've used it on every job since. My callbacks for seam peaking dropped from maybe one a month to zero. Why do we still sell those flimsy half inch rollers to new guys?

Hot take: I thought the $80 knee kicker from Harbor Freight was just cheap junk until I had to use it on a tight stair job in a Cincinnati bungalow last month.

The way it gripped that tricky nosing without slipping once completely changed my mind about budget tools, so has anyone else found a surprisingly good deal on something they initially doubted?