Power stretcher vs knee kicker on a 1,200 sq ft living room

Last week I had a job in Austin with a big open living room and hallway. I used a knee kicker for the first 200 sq ft and the wrinkles showed up like crazy, even after trimming. Switched to a power stretcher for the rest and it took maybe 20% longer on setup but zero waves at the walls. The trick was anchoring the tail end against the baseboard with a pad protector, not just grabbing the carpet. Has anyone else ditched the kicker entirely on big residential jobs, or is it just me?

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fiona33023d ago

Aw man, careful with that. The tail end of a power stretcher shouldn't be anchored against the baseboard, even with a pad. That's how you crack baseboards or tear the tack strip loose. The right move is to hook the tail onto the tack strip itself, or use a door frame anchor if you got one handy. I get the instinct cause it feels solid, but you'll get callbacks from that kind of damage. Also, 20% setup time is about right, but you save that on the re-stretch you'd have to do with a kicker on anything over 500 sq ft anyway. Keep the kicker for closets and tight spots, that's all I use mine for now.