Old timer at my first shop showed me why you never fold tack strip

Back in 2018, my first week at a shop in Akron, this guy named Larry stopped me mid-roll. He was about 65, been installing since the 70s. He pointed at my tack strip and said, "You keep folding that and your knee will remember it in 20 years." He was right. That folded edge creates a weak spot that always pops up under heavy furniture. Last month I hit a piece from a kid's room that was folded back in 1999 and had to redo the whole threshold. Has anyone else dealt with old tack strip that was folded at the factory?

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lucas631mo ago

Fold the cut edge back over itself and hammer it flat with a carpet awl or a block of wood. That weak spot you're talking about comes from the metal being bent back and forth, which creates micro fractures. I've seen it too many times on old jobs where the tack strip was folded during shipping. If you catch it early, you can heat the strip with a heat gun for about 10 seconds to relax the metal before hammering it down. That pop up under heavy furniture is exactly why I check every single piece before I start laying pad.

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morgan.joseph1mo ago

Dude, you heat up metal tack strips with a heat gun?

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