Talked to a 30 year vet in Columbus and he changed my mind about glue down

I was doing a remodel in a kitchen last Thursday and this old timer walks through, stops and watches me for a minute. He asks why I'm stretching in a glue down job. I told him I always stretch glue down too just to be safe. He laughed and said I was wasting time and making my life harder. Said if the glue is tacky and you roll it proper, stretching just pulls the carpet loose from the adhesive. I argued with him for a bit but then he showed me a seam he did in the next room over 8 years ago. Flawless. No peaking, no wrinkles. I tried his method on the last section and it laid down perfect. Makes me wonder how many jobs I've made harder for myself over the last 10 years. Anybody else get schooled by an old timer on something you thought was gospel?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby6592d ago

I had a guy in Dayton show me the same thing about five years ago and I still feel dumb about it. He was probably 70 and had been doing carpet since the 70s. He watched me spend 20 minutes stretching a glue down hallway and just shook his head. When I asked what was wrong he said I was fighting the glue instead of letting it work for me. I tried it his way on the next bedroom and I swear it laid down flatter and faster than anything I ever did before. Now I only stretch glue down if the floor has a hump or a dip. Makes me wonder how many of my headaches were just me being stubborn and not listening.

nelson.wren2d ago

Old timer named Frank out of Cleveland showed me the exact same trick in 2018. I was doing a big open living room and he watched me fight with a power stretcher for a good ten minutes before he said anything. He just reached down, pressed a corner into the wet glue with his knee, and rolled it out with a hand roller. I told him it would bubble up by the end of the day but he just shrugged and said come back tomorrow. I drove by the next morning and that carpet was like glass. No wrinkles, no loose spots, nothing. Now I only stretch glue down if the pad is jacked up or the floor has a serious low spot. Makes you wonder how many of those old school guys just figured out the easy way decades ago while we were all buying into the hype.

kellygrant2d ago

My buddy Jason out in Akron had the exact same thing happen with a guy named Pete. Pete was like 65, retired, but still took small jobs. Jason was doing a giant basement for a customer and was cussing at a power stretcher for a solid 20 minutes. Pete just walked over, pulled a corner into the glue with his boot, and ran a roller over it. Told Jason to come check it the next day. Jason thought for sure it'd be a disaster but it was flat as a board. He still talks about that guy like he was a wizard or something.