Just realized the average carpet installer walks over 10 miles a day according to a study I saw

I read a trade article that cited a university study tracking installers with pedometers, and the distance was way higher than I guessed. It made me think about how much we're actually moving during a standard 8-hour job in a 2,000 sq ft house. Do you guys find that number accurate, or does it seem off based on your own experience?

4 comments

4 Comments

taraross2mo ago

Wait, ten miles just in one house? @terry835 might be right but that's still wild to me.

holly_garcia2mo ago

How is that even possible? I mean, they're in one house, right? Ten miles is like walking across a whole town. Maybe if you count all the trips back and forth to the van for tools and material, but that still seems crazy high. I'd believe five miles, tops. That study must have been tracking them during a huge commercial job or something.

murphy.tessa1mo ago

Oh man, I totally get it now. My buddy who does flooring for a living told me about a time he was doing a massive living room and dining room combo with no furniture. He said he walked back and forth from the roll of carpet to the cutter so many times his phone thought he went for a long run. Then he did a hallway that was like 30 feet long, and he had to go all the way back to the start for every new piece. He texted me at the end of the day and said his step counter was at like 22,000 steps and he was still in the same house.

terry8352mo ago

Try laying carpet in a big open room without any furniture. You're walking the full length of the room for every single strip, then back to the seam roller, then over to the kicker. It's like doing laps all day. Ten miles sounds about right after you've done a few hallways and a staircase. My feet believe it.