Stretching technique I used for 5 years was backwards, found out by accident

Been installing for about 6 years now and always stretched carpet from the center of the room outward. Last Tuesday I was doing a bedroom in Tacoma and my power stretcher died halfway through. Grabbed my knee kicker out of frustration and started from the wall instead. The ripple just vanished immediately and the edges locked in way cleaner. Checked with an old timer on the crew and he laughed, said everyone he knows works from the walls inward. Guess I never questioned my first mentor's method. Anyone else learn a basic move wrong at the start and stick with it too long?

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christopher_flores4620d ago

Wait, that goes against everything I was taught too. Center out is the standard for a reason, it keeps your seams flat and gives you room to work the backing into the subfloor. You probably just got lucky with that room, or the pad was fresh enough to take the stretch anyway. Walls inward means you're fighting the tack strip the whole way, and if you hit a tight spot, you're screwed with no give left. Stick with the center method, man. One weird job and one old timer's joke isn't enough to rewrite five years of proper installs.