Old installer Frank told me I was stretching too tight on residential jobs

I used to crank my power stretcher as hard as I could on every job, thinking tighter was always better. Frank watched me do a room in a 1950s house near Portland and said I was begging for a seam split once the seasons change. Turns out he was right - I backed off about 20 percent on the tension and my seams hold way better through winter dryness. Anyone else had to unlearn that "tight as possible" habit?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_hunt29d ago

Learning when to back off the tension makes all the difference.

riverf3429d ago

Totally feel you on this one... I had an old timer named Mike tell me the same thing after I snapped a seam on a big living room job. I was cranking it so hard the carpet was practically singing. He showed me how much the house breathes with humidity changes, especially in these older houses with no crawlspace wrap or anything. @beth_hunt gets it too, backing off really does make the difference. Now I just aim for "flat" instead of "tight as a drum" and my callbacks dropped way off.