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Went from wrapping 4 foot seams with a knee kicker to using a 75 pound roller, and my shoulders feel it
For the first 12 years of laying carpet I did every seam with a knee kicker and a hand seamer, working backward a few inches at a time. A guy named Ray out of Tacoma showed me his setup about six months ago, just a 75 pound roller and a power stretcher with the tail pinned to a 2x4 brace. We did a 40 foot run in his shop in about 20 minutes and I could not believe the seam sat that flat. I went out and got a roller the next week and I still can not get the same result, the edges keep wanting to cup on me. I think I am rolling too fast or not keeping enough downward pressure at the end of each pass. Any other installers here switch over to a roller full time, and did it take you a while to get the feel for it?
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mason.drew15d ago
A roller is a great tool for stretching and flattening, but it will never replace a knee kicker for making a seam tight in the first place. The cup you are seeing usually comes from the two pieces not being locked together before you roll, so the roller just smashes the edges over instead of seating them. Ray is probably still kicking or using a power stretcher to drive the seam closed, then rolling to finish it out. Slow down on the roller and keep the weight on the back edge of the head, but fix the seam tension first and the cupping will go away.
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