Carpet re-stretching

I'm needing to add this to my services. I'm becoming too busy to sub it out and lose out on money and it's become a huge hassle to try to schedule someone else to do it. Just looking for tips. Please help.

1. Best stretcher to buy
2. How much do I charge to do it etc.

If you have experience already, sounds great.

If you DON'T have experience, I would continue subbing it out until you have experience under your belt.

I don't stretch and don't want to. No experience. If I did have the experience, then I would already own the tools I need.

Beher Claw. It's small and gets the job done. You just need to be careful putting too much pressure on the tack less strip. All you really need to know is how to correctly stretch a room. Meaning there is a 12 step process

I charge $75 a room.

After about three year experience I want the poles for stretching, but that means a helper is needed.

@ryan s. Thank you. I appreciate it. The 7 step process is referring to a stretching diagram? Is $75 a room pretty normal just out of curiosity?

I'm sure there are cheaper. Here is how I price carpet repair services. $125 regardless of what is needed for minimum service fee. After that $75 a room. So if you do two rooms the. $150. One room $125.

Ton of stretch & cleans in my day.
Call if you want some tips.
I also have a fairly new power stretcher, I'll sell you cheap, they're a must.

Secret weapon is one more pole than comes in the box cuz most installers won't have it.
They'll knee kick those long rooms knowing the wrinkles won't set in for a couple of years.
By then. they're long gone. Here you come ready to do it right....Stretch & Clean baby.

I never charged by the room; charged for my time. Too many question marks. Til you get in there and start stretching, you never know. I mean, one seam you hasdn't planned on could take half an hour to redo with all the stay-tacking involved. When you charge you're covered, plus they tend to help you move stuff so you can stay focused on the task.

Start with basic repairs and work your way up to full stretches. Steve the carpet doctor is a good man to learn from. He has some videos. I've never seen them, but I have gone to his class for my iicrc cec's. Learned some interesting tips that I had never seen before.

Let me know if ya want me to email this to ya.

here is the iicrc guide standard link.  Page 17 is the diagram

http://www.carpet-rug.org/documents/publications/CRI_Carpet_Installation_Standard_2011.pdf

Great information gang, I had a similar thought as bwild, but then I spoke with Joe and realized that with my knees....I will pass on that service.

For me its not like I'm knocking out a stretch every week or even every month. I just want to be the guy doing the work and seen as the all around pro in my area. It is hard on the body, but every once in a while is not that bad. This is one of those services that I most surly am paid well to perform.

bwild,

You can learn the hard way (self taught, by trial and error), like I did, but I don't recommend it. Or you could learn from a person that's experienced, take some classes, or I'd say at the very minimum read books and study the diagram Ryan posted (that all I had to start with).

Tools: Or course you need a kicker, stair tool, knife, hammer, tack-strip, all the basics really!
Sounds like Joe has a good deal on a power stretcher, I'd check that out!!

Price: I charge by the sq. yd. and only bid a job once I've looked at it, and determined why the carpet is loose/rippled. If it's a poor install then it's pretty straight forward, just not stretched tight to begin with usually. Or sometimes it's because the tack-strip has come loose (most of the time you see this on concrete sub). Theses are things I want to know in advance, so I know what kind of work and how much time it's going to take to do the job properly, repair/replace tack-strip/double tack. I normally get $5-6 sq. yd, and more if it needs tack-strip repair, new metal, re-seaming, and just how much furniture has to be moved to do the job? I just did a biiiggg family rm that was 50 sq yds. that needed tack-strip re-nailed (on concrete) and double tack in most areas. If I priced by the room I would have been screwed, the job took about 4 hrs, and at $6 yd. plus tack repairs and new metal it was a bit over $400. Plus the cost of cleaning too.  

I once did a church sanctuary that was 100'x200', just another reason to charge by the job/sq yd.  

Thanks Davey,

See you can tell I do very little of it. Good advice I believe I'll make that transition myself.

I just saw all these posts. For some reason I wasn't notified by email that people were responding. joe, I will give you a call tomorrow about the stretcher. I've taken the iicrc class from the carpet surgeon and found it very interesting. I bought his carpet repair kit and have been doing small repairs etc for about 2 years. I'm getting more and more people asking me if I stretch or that they would prefer to use a company that does both etc. I think it's time for me to jump in. It's too hard to depend on the guy i sub out because he's busy too and can't get to jobs as fast as i need. I have a general understanding, but definitely need lots of practice. @ryan S and @davey I really appreciate all your help and can see where charging by the yard is the best option.

bwild wrote:I just saw all these posts. For some reason I wasn't notified by email that people were responding. joe, I will give you a call tomorrow about the stretcher. I've taken the iicrc class from the carpet surgeon and found it very interesting. I bought his carpet repair kit and have been doing small repairs etc for about 2 years. I'm getting more and more people asking me if I stretch or that they would prefer to use a company that does both etc. I think it's time for me to jump in. It's too hard to depend on the guy i sub out because he's busy too and can't get to jobs as fast as i need. I have a general understanding, but definitely need lots of practice. @ryan S and @davey I really appreciate all your help and can see where charging by the yard is the best option.

Sounds like you're on the right path.  And yes, it's takes practice practice practice, nothing beets hands on experience.  

If Ryan and I (or anyone really) were helpful, click that lil "+" on the right side of our post, it gives positive reputation.  And I think Joe B. said we would be handsomely rewarded with free products for having a high +Positive Reputation........Weeeeeell, maybe he didn't really say that, probably just my wishful thinking.   

Maybe I'm smoking something, but I don't see the + sign. I do this all from my phone and wonder if that's why I can't see it.

Davey Cracker wrote:

bwild wrote:I just saw all these posts. For some reason I wasn't notified by email that people were responding. joe, I will give you a call tomorrow about the stretcher. I've taken the iicrc class from the carpet surgeon and found it very interesting. I bought his carpet repair kit and have been doing small repairs etc for about 2 years. I'm getting more and more people asking me if I stretch or that they would prefer to use a company that does both etc. I think it's time for me to jump in. It's too hard to depend on the guy i sub out because he's busy too and can't get to jobs as fast as i need. I have a general understanding, but definitely need lots of practice. @ryan S and @davey I really appreciate all your help and can see where charging by the yard is the best option.

Sounds like you're on the right path.  And yes, it's takes practice practice practice, nothing beets hands on experience.  

If Ryan and I (or anyone really) were helpful, click that lil "+" on the right side of our post, it gives positive reputation.  And I think Joe B. said we would be handsomely rewarded with free products for having a high +Positive Reputation........Weeeeeell, maybe he didn't really say that, probably just my wishful thinking.   

PS. You can also click that negative symbol to reduce those reputation points:D

Mo wrote:PS. You can also click that negative symbol to reduce those reputation points:D

OK wise guy!.......I just tested that on you to see if it worked, and it did!!   

bwild, yes it's probably a feature you can't see on your phone.  

I just don't have the knees for carpet stretching. I didn't know this but the home depot here rents a carpet stretcher with 30 plus feet of extension poles I think its Roberts

I get a bit of carpet cleaning only because I do repairs which includes stretching. I have used most of the stretchers including the behr claw and have found nothing is better that a full power stretcher. I charge anywhere from $125 to $200 per room depending on size and layout. I have a real estate sales group that I work for regularly.

Welcome to the forum Kleen1 and please continue to post. I recall and installer getting carpet cleaning jobs by optimizing his site on carpet repairs and re stretching.

In your opinion what should be done first stretching or cleaning?

Mo wrote:

In your opinion what should be done first stretching or cleaning?

It really doesn't matter, but if I'm doing both on the same day, I prefer to stretch first.

I prefer to stretch first, I don't like to crawl around on damp carpet.