State of the carpet installation profession

Career floor installer and inventor of the Pro-Stretch line of Air Powered Carpet Stretchers, Lee Peters, speaks on the state of the profession

100 Mile House, BC, January 1, 2008: Construction trade methods are defined by a combination of tools used, materials employed, building codes and manufacturer requirements. As such, all construction trades are subject to changes in methodology based on advances in material, tools or building requirements. We see advances in trade processes on a continual basis as new materials replace old, new tools become commonplace and new building requirements come into effect. Pneumatic nail guns replace hammers, airless guns replace pneumatic and so on. In the floor installation trade advances in materials and building requirement have not been matched by advances in tools and methods.
There are many hypotheses for why the flooring trade has lagged behind other trades in terms of tools and methodology.  It’s important to note that there has been consistent innovation in carpet materials during the past half century.  However, despite these material innovations, tools and procedures are essentially the same today as they were 50 years ago.  

Why is it that while other construction trades have adapted their tools and methods in line with new materials and technologies, the floor covering industry has seen little to no development of tools and methods despite constant material innovation?  One prevalent theory is that flooring installation has been relegated from a trade to a labour occupation.  With the status of the trade diminished to mere labour the sense of craftsmanship has been lost.  Anecdotal evidence seems to back up this hypothesis.  It is common to hear floor installers refer to themselves with diminishing and deprecating language.  In fact, even the title of floor installer has been diminished from Floor Covering Mechanic/Fitter to carpet layer.  This culture of lack of respect and loss of dignity has been both the cause of, and the result of, the trade’s inability or unwillingness to adapt processes and tools to changing materials and technologies.

Whatever the reason it is apparent that floor installation methods and tools have not changed in any significant way since the introduction of the power (pole) stretcher and the hot seaming iron.  Some tools that are still in common use today, such as row cutters, cannot provide the level of result required by industry specifications.  While row cutters were once a perfectly acceptable tool for preparing seams on berber carpets, today’s synthetic backings have a tendency to fray when cut with this particular tool.  Tools such as the pole stretcher provide for adequate results but greatly complicate the installation process and result in a large margin of error.  The knee kicker, a tool that is almost synonymous with carpet installation, is directly responsible for the extremely high rate of injury in the trade.  The knee kicker is perhaps the single most detrimental cause of the deterioration of the trade into the realm of unskilled labour.  There are two reasons for this; 1) the knee kicker is an adrenaline oriented tool that has as it’s main prerequisite brute strength over cunning and cleverness and 2) it is a career ending device that results in many fine craftsmen leaving the trade prematurely.  Despite these facts, the knee kicker garnishes a fanatical level of support and zeal from its adherents.  This zeal is an important constraining factor in the adoption of more sophisticated and correct carpet installation methods.

It is clear that at present the trade of Carpet Fitting is at a crossroads.  Either professionalism and adherence to standards elevate the trade to it’s once high status or ignorance and backwardness will prevail and the trade will slip further into the depths of unskilled labour.  This book is an attempt to reverse the damage that has been done to the trade, establish professional standards, and implement new procedures and tools that are suited to current materials and installation standards.  Further, this book is the imparting of the knowledge gained from a long professional career as a conscientious, safety oriented, custom floor installer that placed quality of product and service ahead of all else. •