Had to pick between stretcher and knee kicker on a tight hallway job

Last Tuesday I was doing this narrow hallway in a 1920s house in Portland, and the run was only 6 feet long. I usually use the power stretcher for everything, but there was no room to anchor it. Went with the knee kicker instead, and of course I popped a seam on the first pass because I got too aggressive. Had to pull it back and redo it with a seam iron. Anyone else hate those short hallway jobs where neither tool feels right?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant.parker29d agoTop Commenter

The knee kicker is basically a gamble in a tight space, and it sounds like you crapped out on the first roll. I've had that same seam pop happen and it makes you want to throw the whole tool across the room. Short hallways are just cursed, plain and simple. You either wrestle with a power stretcher that doesn't fit or trust a knee kicker that'll betray you at the worst moment. Honestly, sometimes I think the house was built just to mess with us.

river_fox1829d ago

And thats when you KNOW the hallway was built by someone who never had to stretch carpet in their LIFE. @grant.parker you hit the nail on the head about the short hallway curse. I swear the last time I tried a knee kicker in a tight space I ended up popping a seam so bad I almost just left the carpet in a pile and called it "custom tufted". My knees are still mad at me from that job, and honestly the carpet had it coming too.

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