Pro tip: The number one thing homeowners get wrong is the tack strip gap.

I swear, I see it at least twice a month on jobs where I'm doing a repair. People think the carpet should go right up to the wall, so they install the tack strip with no gap. In my city, the code says you need a 3/8 inch gap for a proper stretch. Last Tuesday, I had to fix a whole living room where the homeowner tried it himself and the carpet was buckling after six months. He said, 'But it looked tight when I put it down!' That gap is there for the power stretcher to hook onto. Without it, you get wrinkles forever. How many of you guys have had to explain this to a DIYer?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_james14d ago

Did your guy also skip the knee kicker and just try to stomp it into place?

mason36114d ago

Oh man, @the_james, he absolutely did. Watched him just stomp around on it like he was crushing grapes for wine. I asked where his kicker was and he said it was "in the truck, but this is faster." The whole floor looks like a relief map of the Appalachians now. Some people just have a real trusting relationship with gravity, I guess.