Hit 500 square feet of carpet in a single day for the first time yesterday

I've been installing carpet for about 2 years now, mostly doing small bedrooms and stair runs. Yesterday I had a job for a guy's basement rec room, 500 square feet of plush carpet with a decent pad underneath. I started at 7 AM and by 4 PM I had it all stretched, trimmed, and the seams were looking clean. I was pretty surprised I got through it that fast because usually I'm way slower on big rooms. The key for me was pre-cutting all the strips and tackless before I even rolled out the carpet. Has anyone else hit a surprise milestone like that where you realized you were way faster than you thought?

2 comments

2 Comments

rivera.susan25d ago

Hate to break it to you but 500 feet in a day isn't really that impressive for someone with two years under their belt. I've seen guys knock out double that on a regular Tuesday without bragging about it. Maybe focus on getting consistent instead of celebrating one decent day.

blakefox25d ago

Man, I get where you're coming from but I think you're being a little harsh on them. In my experience, 500 feet in a day after two years is actually pretty solid if they're just getting into the swing of things. Consistency matters way more than raw numbers early on, and a lot of the guys you're talking about probably have been doing it for way longer than two years, your mileage may vary though. I've been in the same spot where I felt like I had to compare myself to the top dogs and it just burned me out. @rivera.susan, you might want to give them a little room to grow instead of jumping on them for celebrating a win. Everyone starts somewhere, and that 500 footer could be their stepping stone to hitting double that. Focus on encouraging them to keep at it rather than knocking them down.