Lost $200 on a bad seam roller last month

I picked up this cheap seam roller from a discount tool place near Dallas and thought I was saving money. First job with it, the wheel started wobbling after about 15 feet of seam. Then it just locked up completely on a Berber carpet and left a dent I had to cut out and redo. Lost the $20 for the roller but the bigger hit was the $180 in extra time and wasted carpet that day. Had to tear out a 12 foot section and start over because the seam looked like garbage. Lesson learned don't skimp on seam rollers especially if you do a lot of commercial work like me. Anyone else have a tool fail and cost you way more than the tool was worth?

3 comments

3 Comments

riverdavis1mo ago

Am I the only one who thinks the tool companies do this on purpose just to ruin our Monday mornings? I bought a "heavy duty" seam roller from a big box store last spring and the handle snapped off on the second room, flew across the hallway and almost took out a light fixture. Spent the whole afternoon digging the replacement cost out of materials because I had to eat the redo on the commercial job. Shoulda just bought the good one from the supply house instead of trying to save twelve bucks.

davidkim1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah I mean it sucks that the handle broke but you're acting like they planned it just to mess with you. Tools break sometimes, that's just how it goes. You bought a cheap roller from a big box store, you knew it wasn't top tier. It's not a conspiracy, it's just cheap plastic and bad luck. You probably could've grabbed a warranty replacement or just spent the extra few bucks upfront. Getting that worked up over a twelve dollar mistake feels like more trouble than it's worth.

wade2501mo agoTop Commenter

Buying cheap tools is just paying twice... I learned that the hard way with a paint sprayer that clogged on the third use. Those big box "deals" are built to fail, plain and simple.