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Ran out of knee kicker staples on a 3rd floor job in Denver, used the cardboard trick instead
Was finishing a 40 yard stretch of berber on the 3rd floor of an apartment building in Denver a couple weeks ago and ran out of staples for my kicker with about 15 feet of hallway left. No way I was walking all the way back to the truck for one box. My old installer buddy used to say you can tuck the last few inches by hand if you get the stretch right and lock it in with a stair tool and a scrap of cardboard under the head so you don't tear the backing. I tried it on a test spot first and it held the nap just fine. Then I did the whole last run that way and it came out tight. Went back the next day to check and there wasn't a single ripple or open seam. It felt wrong the whole time because we are all taught you need the kicker for every inch. Has anyone else tucked a full hallway by hand when they were in a pinch, or am I the only one who got lucky?
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bell.harper14d ago
A buddy of mine did the same thing on a stair landing in a pinch, and his held up too. He said the trick is getting the stretch right before you tuck, because if the carpet is short you will fight it the whole way and it will creep later. Sounds like you got the tension right and the cardboard saved the backing.
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johnson.spencer14d ago
That landing job took me three tries to get the stretch right, and the first two tries left me sitting on the floor cussing at a carpet that kept snapping back like a rubber band. My knees were shot after the second round and I almost gave up and called a guy I know who does this for a living. Getting the tension set before you tuck is the whole ballgame, like your buddy said, and the cardboard kept the backing from tearing while I fought with it. @bell.harper your buddy's advice is dead on, short carpet will creep on you every time if you rush the stretch. I got lucky on the third try and it's been flat for two months now, no bumps or loose edges.
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