Stingers

[highup]

Seems like I've been doing more and more restretches the past 5 to 10 years. I just did a restretch in a new installation in two bedrooms. They hadn't even put furniture into the room yet. 15 years ago, that wasn't the case. My theory is that a carpet can't be stretched in nearly as tight with a stinger, than with tubes. I've actually never used one. I also think that guys these days don't know how tight they are supposed to stretch the carpet. Carpets 'back in the day' used to come with a flyer inside the roll saying to stretch "drum tight" and sometimes had a seaming and stretching procedures. It's rare today even to see a warning inside the roll to "STOP" if the carpet has obvious flaws.
I guess nobody cares anymore.

 

[Floorist]

I sometimes use a stinger. Only on a restretch where I can't get all the furniture out or on old house trailers where the walls are flimsy. I see a lot of house trailers from the 60s and 70s where the sills are 2" x 2" and the interior walls are not anchored. I can no longer move huge pieces of furniture and if the customer just wants the wrinkles out, I will restretch with the furniture in the room if possible. You can stretch it just as tight with one if you know what you are doing.
I have run into a few site-built houses where they did not anchor the inside walls. I figure it out after I have moved a wall. You just have to move around to the other side, set up the power stretcher and push it back. On those houses, I use a combination of a stinger and mini-stretcher. The stinger stretches it tighter than the mini-stretcher. Not my favorite thing to do, but sometimes a necessity.

 

[Floorist]

A couple weeks ago, I restretched an apt. in public housing with a power stretcher (concrete floor) and got 3" both ways. It had only been down a few months. Apparently, it was kicked in. Even in the old days, I would never have been comfortable kicking in a 40' piece of carpet. We always divided the room in half. Today, kicker jockeys think they can kick in 60' or more.

 

[Nick]

Never used a stinger. Don't they chew up the floor ?

In places i can't power stretch i use the crab-jack.

 

[Floorist]

Never used a stinger. Don't they chew up the floor ?

In places i can't power stretch i use the crab-jack.

They don't chew up the floor if you don't let them slip. I would never use one except over plywood anyway. They just make a small hole.

 

[highup]

I sometimes use a stinger. Only on a restretch where I can't get all the furniture out or on old house trailers where the walls are flimsy. I see a lot of house trailers from the 60s and 70s where the sills are 2" x 2" and the interior walls are not anchored. I can no longer move huge pieces of furniture and if the customer just wants the wrinkles out, I will restretch with the furniture in the room if possible. You can stretch it just as tight with one if you know what you are doing.
I have run into a few site-built houses where they did not anchor the inside walls. I figure it out after I have moved a wall. You just have to move around to the other side, set up the power stretcher and push it back. On those houses, I use a combination of a stinger and mini-stretcher. The stinger stretches it tighter than the mini-stretcher. Not my favorite thing to do, but sometimes a necessity.

When restretching carpet, I don't like to test the previous installers seam ing quality. I don't stretch nearly as tight with restretch jobs.
I'd like to have a stinger. I can see it's advantages on special occasions like angled walls or glass sliding doors. For sliding doors, I always have a 10' 4x4 under the deck of my van to bridge the span.

 

[highup]

They don't chew up the floor if you don't let them slip. I would never use one except over plywood anyway. They just make a small hole.

I mentioned a while back about doing a 2 BR apartment unit in a retirement place. It was a 3rd floor unit and every floor was plywood covered with 1 1/2" of Gypcrete............... the job was 'stingered' and 4" wide powdery dust filled craters were every 24 inches or less around the perimeters of the rooms. Took a lot of Fix-all to finally get to an actual starting point.

 

[Floorist]

My uncle worked where they made gypcrete. He said it was only supposed to have a 30 year life span. But some "genius" decided to use it like they did. They made gypcrete blocks and found out that dirt eats them.

That is like berber carpet, the inventor wanted it to be glue-direct only, but a decorator decided to put it over pad.

 

[Floorist]

Never used a stinger. Don't they chew up the floor ?

In places i can't power stretch i use the crab-jack.

I have problems getting it tight with the crab-jack. Plus you have to reinforce the tackstrip. I wish I could get it tighter with one, sure would make restretches easier.

 

[Floorist]

Anyone ever use one of these? I saw the original invented by Dick Victor back in the 70s. It worked, but was a little clumsy. It had the piece that goes over the tack strip welded to a Roberts power stretcher head.

 

[Nick]

I have problems getting it tight with the crab-jack. Plus you have to reinforce the tackstrip. I wish I could get it tighter with one, sure would make restretches easier.

I have a 1 1/2" staple gun . I can renail a room in a few minutes .

Never had a problem with the crab jack. You just have to make sure you keep pressure on the part that is on the strip.

 

[highup]

Anyone ever use one of these? I saw the original invented by Dick Victor back in the 70s. It worked, but was a little clumsy. It had the piece that goes over the tack strip welded to a Roberts power stretcher head.

Looks like Dick used a hand truck for his prototype

 

[Floorist]

Looks like Dick used a hand truck for his prototype

His was a lot smaller than theirs. (size does matter )

 

[highup]

His was a lot smaller than theirs. (size does matter )

In that case, add the wheels .....and a ladder and sell em in an infomercial.
Now it's a multi-tool. It will be HUGE!

 

[highup]

I have a request for another re-stretch in a brand new home. 3 bedrooms. The home is nearing completion.

 

[Floorist]

I have a request for another re-stretch in a brand new home. 3 bedrooms. The home is nearing completion.

People need to quit hiring kicker-jockeys, but at least it gets you some work. I followed an installer around here for years and fixed his work. I charged a lot for it too.

 

[Nick]

People are going to go with the cheapest bid !! 90 % of the time ..

 

[highup]

People need to quit hiring kicker-jockeys, but at least it gets you some work. I followed an installer around here for years and fixed his work. I charged a lot for it too.

When a shop uses a new hire, and he doesn't work out, it's out the door. ...not before he's damaged his and the store's reputation. I don't tend to go way overboard when fixing these sort of things. I make it fair to the shop and myself.
If I can do the fix and make the shop look good, it's a benefit to them and me. The consumer or as in this case a construction company, thinks more highly of a shop that immediately backs up the work and corrects problems like this. No reason to go overboard an punish the shop and put myself out of work.
It's satisfying leaving a job with the problem corrected and customer happy.

 

[Floorist]

Most of the locals know who I am and know that I do good work. So when they cheap out and hire someone who screws up the job, it costs to have me come and fix it. I see one occasionally that is so bad, I won't try. Looked at a 200 yard one at a nursing home that has "trip-over" seams. I just told him "not interested". I had worked for him before and he saved about $200 having the other guy do it. I certainly would not fix it for that price and It has to be done at night. Place is full of patients and furniture.

 

[Nick]

Time and Material Floorist . and whack em .