Carpet Buying Questions & Answers
Over 200 posted on this website
|
Expanded Carpet Information Search
Custom Search
|
Alan, Your ebook saved us $800 on our new carpet purchase! Here's how!
I just purchased your book the other day and am thankful I did. However, my wife and I went to a couple of retailers yesterday and are now in awe of the prices for a Frieze carpet. Either your price estimates are years out of date or the info from your book will probably save us over $600 for a 32 square yard family room carpet. I was expecting to pay ~ $40 per sq. yard for top quality nylon Frieze style carpet, an 8-pound pad, and carpet removal and installation. As you mentioned in your book, many retailers use the square foot method (we went to 3 and they all use square foot measurements). The best price we found for carpets we liked is $6.25/sq ft to $7.60/sq ft. This includes delivery, pad, install, and lift/removal of existing carpet. Transition bars are included with the $7.60 carpet and we need 14 feet. The carpets we looked at (I have samples in my hands now) are;
Queen Carpet (Shaw), Style: San Giovanni (S) Q0801, 100% Anso Caress Continuous Filament Nylon, R2X stain and soil resistance, SoftBac Platinum backing, and 10 year Texturegard warranty. Cost ~$7.00/sq ft. That’s $63.00/sq yd!!
Masland Carpets and Rugs (Belize), 9380-613 Native, 100% DuPont Continuous Filament Tactesse nylon, Stainmaster Xtralife carpet, Textured cut pile. $7.60/sq ft or a whopping $68.40/sq yd.
Anyway, you get the idea. We really like the carpets above, but can you clarify if the prices above are exorbitant or normal for the brand and style? Your book states we really shouldn’t pay more than ~$40/ sq. yd for a very good quality nylon carpet. Are the carpets above top-of-the-line or are your quotes a few years old? You highly recommend finding a carpet installer, but we’re new to the area and don’t know enough people to ask for references and the yellow pages only had one name. Do you have any other ideas on how to find a good installer?
Again, your book is great!! I never knew the carpet industry was so complex and I’ve learned much. I just wasn’t prepared for the price quotes from yesterday. Thanks for your time and any feedback you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Alan’s Answer:
Since you are in a small town, you will probably need to go to Pittsburgh to find a good deal on carpet. Here is the link to the Super pages for carpet installers. They are from the Pittsburgh area but this may be the best way to insure a good install. They may charge a small trip fee to come to your township but a good installer is critical. Be sure they use a power-stretcher.
A frieze is a higher priced carpet for sure, but the price you have been quoted is too high. You could buy wool carpet for that amount. I found the exact same carpet, Queen San Giovanni online (http://www.flooringwebsite.com/index.html) for less than $30 per yard, so your price of $63 is way out of line. I would think you could find it for less than $35 at a retail store. The choice is yours, assuming you want to find these same carpets or similar carpets for a better price, you will need to comparison shop at some other stores. Yes, you have picked top-of-the-line goods but you could save money by not choosing (soft nylons) and avoid Soft Back type of backing. Softer nylons are priced higher for that very reason. I believe that a standard nylon carpet is more durable and costs less money.
Soft Back is not something you really need. If your carpet is installed properly by an experienced installer then I feel the Soft Back features are pointless. I figure the installation (including tear out and transitions) and padding (8-pound 7/16" Rebond pad) should cost you less than $10 per yard total, so I think you could do the whole job for about $45 per yard if you shop around. Or you could do it all for a lot less if you just steer clear of the soft nylons. Prices have been rising, but there are a lot of high priced retailers who simply charge too much for their products and installation.
Q. What padding do I have?
I am in the process of having a house built and specified a number of upgrades including 8 LB pad. Unfortunately, many of the upgrades were missed during construction and I had to identify the errors. I am now wondering if the pad installed under the carpet is the 8 LB that I specified. I have a sample that I retrieved from the left over rebond pad scraps. Is there an easy way to determine if the pad used is 8 LB versus 6 LB rebond pad?
Alan’s Answer:
While there is a mathematical formula that pad manufacturers use for determining the density of carpet pad, determining the pad density of a particular padding can very difficult for consumers to calculate accurately without having something similar to compare it to. With a pad sample in hand, you could visit a local carpet retailer and take a look at their in-stock 6 and 8 pound pad samples. A visit to Home Depot or Lowe’s would do nicely. They have various rolls of pad displayed down their carpet isles that you could use for simple comparison purposes. The pressure or resistance you observe when you squeeze padding between your thumb and index finger best determines density values. A 6-pound pad is easier to flatten than is an 8 pound pad and the difference will be noticeable. Remember, density is not the same as thickness. All padding comes in many thickness, from 1/4" to 9/16". Thickness has nothing to do with density. Not all carpet pad is created equal. Often retailers will say it is 8 pound when it is actually 6 or 7 pound. Some so-called 6-pound padding is really only 5.5 pound density. It is a tough world out there. Even if a full roll of pad is clearly marked on the packaging that it is 8 pound, it may not truly be.
There are a lot of scams and deception in the world of carpet padding. The old "bait and switch" trick is one of the most common. They know most consumers won't know the difference between a 6 pound pad and an 8 pound pad, or a 3/8" thick pad verses a 1/2" thick pad. ALAN
Q Would a textured Saxony be better than plush for the stairs and hallways?
We've bought and read your book. Our question is this: we have hallway and stair areas, and bedrooms to re-carpet. We like Saxony (about 60 oz, high quality) but our understanding is that it would be best not to use this on stairs and halls? Is this right? We don't like frieze or loop construction. Would a textured Saxony be better than plush for the stairs and hallways?
Alan’s Answer:
A good quality Saxony would be fine on stairs and hallways, but I would suggest using an 8 pound pad for better support. There is not a big difference between plush and Saxony, the key to longevity is proper installation and maintenance. Before the carpet is installed, be sure to read the complete warranty information and follow the regular cleaning and other requirements that keep your warranty in effect.
Q Best carpet for a wheelchair or walker?
I have a little boy in a wheelchair, the carpet in our home needs replaced bad. It is around 20 years old. I find it difficult to push my son’s wheelchair sometimes due to carpet. Our son has spastic cerebral palsy and he has trouble walking with his walker due to carpet. What do you suggest? Under the carpet is particleboard and padding. I even thought about installing hardwood floors. But we are on a fixed income so what do you suggest?
Alan’s Answer:
You should consider a commercial-grade "level loop" or "cut pile" carpet, no pad, just carpet glued directly to the floor. It’s not very soft underfoot but is easy to clean, durable and is easy to push a wheelchair around too. The price is reasonable, you could get it all done for about $10-12 per yard installed for a 20 – 26 ounce level-loop single-color base grade.
Q Best Padding for Carpet Installed on Cement Slab?
Will most people be happy with a 6lb padding when installing carpet over a cement slab or should the padding be heavier? We have been told that the 6lb is top quality and would be fine over the cement.
Alan’s Answer:
6-pound density is the absolute minimum I would use in your situation. 8-pound density padding is better for carpet support, which can help your carpet last longer, provides a higher Rh factor to help keep the room warmer, as well as better noise reduction. It’s not much more money to switch from a 6-pound to 8-pound density, maybe $1.00 to 1.50 more per sq. yard.
Q Mohawk's Child Proof carpet
I purchased a Mohawk child proof carpet 3 years ago that was advertised as can even spill bleach on. Yes, you can spill bleach, but the carpet looks disgusting even after 2 months. It has just flattened out and the dirt lays on the top, a carpet cleaner said the fibers have broken and cannot be cleaned. I am looking to replace and was hoping for a suggestion for steps and bedroom. I do like light colors. I see you say nylon is best so I will go that route. Also, now that I live here, my bedrooms have large beds and furniture. How do I replace the carpets now? It would be impossible to the move king-size bed out.
Alan’s Answer:
I have heard more horror stories about Mohawk's "Child Proof" carpet than any other specialized carpet style. When you take a close look at most carpet warranties, you will find that they typically don't cover things like matting and crushing, which you seem to be victim of. It was two months before it looked bad? That is a horror Now that you are once again in the market for carpet for your stairs and bedroom, you have to ask yourself some questions. Namely, how long do you want this carpet to last and how much are you willing to spend? Stairs take more of a beating than bedroom carpets do. If you want to use the same carpet in both areas, you need to buy a carpet that will do well on the stairs, or buy a cheaper carpet and order enough extra carpet to be able to replace the carpet on the stairs in 3 to 5 years.
Yes, nylon is the best fiber, hands down. It will wear longer and look like new longer than any other fiber. But you still need to choose a style that will tolerate the wear and tear that your stairs require or you will be replacing the stair carpet too soon. In light of this fact, I suggest you take a look at frieze styles, and cut Berber styles as an option. Cut Berber is not a looped carpet like a typical Berber, but is a style that has a speckled appearance that looks like a Berber but has characteristics of a plush or Saxony. A cut-Berber with a good tuft twist will do very well on stairs as long as you use the right pad, and have the carpet installed correctly, as would a good quality Frieze style. Again Nylon is the fiber of choice, even though it costs a bit more…and olefin or polyester fibers are definitely out of the question if you are looking for long term wear and satisfaction.
Q Stairs that are hard to install
Your web-site is very helpful in my carpet search. I live in a condo with open (floating) steps leading to a loft. How do I know if the installers will install properly? I know that this is not too common. What questions should I ask the salesman about carpet installation on these steps? I am considering Masland Toccare (nylon cut and loop) for these steps and the whole condo where I live. I have another set of steps that enter from the ground floor up to the main floor of the condo so I need something that will wear well as this is the entrance from the outside into my home. The padding suggested was a 3/8" #10 pad. I wanted to use the same carpet throughout the whole two-bedroom condo. Are there any articles on carpet color and style trends? I don't want to pick something that is on its way out. Thanks for you help. My dad was a carpet sales rep for my growing up years in the 60's and 70's but he passed away at age 64 from cancer. I sure could use his opinion and expertise now!
Alan’s Answer:
Your stairs are called "Hollywood" stairs and require installation by a well experienced installer. The usual charge is at least $10 per stair to install them. If they send out an installer without experience with this type of stairs, then you may not get the installation you deserve. You may not be able to determine yourself if your stairs are installed correctly. Trust your instincts, if the installer fumbles around and takes a long time to install them, then perhaps he is not trained to install this type of stair. Ask him if he is experienced in doing this type of step. Ask him if he knows what these stairs are called, if he doesn't know the term "Hollywood" then maybe he is not trained in this area. You need to be firm with the carpet retailer when discussing these stairs. Let them know you will not tolerate having them installed improperly. Let them know you will have them back re-do the stairs if they are not installed properly. The padding they suggested is not what I suggest. I suggest a 7/16" thick, 8 pound padding. It meets the Masland guidelines, will feel better underfoot and have the necessary support for your carpet. I think the pad they suggested: 3/8" is too thin and 10 pound is too dense. I think you will like my suggestion better and cost should be comparable. Masland makes very good carpets. In buying Masland or any other brand carpeting you have certain rules you must follow in order to maintain your warranty. I have found the Masland warranty online for you and suggest you read it very carefully. Failure to comply with these requirements may void your warranty. http://www.maslandcarpets.com/BroadloomWarranty.pdf
List of Preferred Carpet Dealers
