My old method of stretching carpet was wrecking my knees

I used to do all my stretching with a knee kicker and power stretcher combo, but after a job in Phoenix last summer I had to stop every 10 minutes cause my knees were killing me. Switched to using a pneumatic carpet stretcher from Rotobroach and now I can lay 800 sq ft without breaking a sweat. Has anyone else made the switch and found it worth the upfront cost?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_nathan1mo ago

Rotobroach makes hole saws, not carpet stretchers.

mark_price1mo ago

Heard some guys at a supply house talking about those pneumatic stretchers. One older installer said it saved his career since he was about to quit because of his back. I rented one for a day to try it out on a commercial job with really thick commercial carpet. That thing yanked it tight in half the time and my knees felt fine the whole day. Might not need it for every little bedroom but for big open areas it's a no brainer if you got the cash.

scott.drew7d ago

Happens all the time with trades... you see something that's been around for years but nobody talks about until someone's back or knees give out. Then suddenly everyone's looking for that tool that should've been standard equipment all along. It's like how nobody buys a knee kicker until they've spent a week crawling on concrete. Funny how we wait for pain to force a change instead of just spending the money upfront.