When you are shopping for carpet, be sure to avoid these common mistakes: Underpad saves wear and tear on your carpet by absorbing the impact of foot traffic so the carpet doesn’t have to. Not only will a better grade underpad feel more comfortable to walk on; it will also help your carpet look better for a longer period of time than a low-quality pad would. We cannot stress it enough: your carpet is only as good as your underpad. If you are working on a tight budget, We highly recommend spending a bit less on the carpet and a bit more on the underpad. A lower-quality carpet will look, feel and perform better with a high-grade underpad. So how can you compare different products? Be sure that they are made of the same fiber, they are the same style and are of the same quality. Also, closely compare the manufacturers’ warranties on the carpets. If one carpet has a 10-year warranty and the other has a 20-year warranty, you are obviously not looking at the same quality of carpet. Calculating carpet requirements is much more complicated than simply adding up the square footage of your rooms. There are so many other things to take into consideration – such as the width of the roll of carpet, and the direction of the carpet pile, for starters – that simply multiplying your measurements will usually not give you an accurate outcome. The salesperson will know how to account for these considerations and should be able to give you an approximation of your total square footage requirements. Keep in mind, though, that the salesperson’s quote is only as good as your information: if you have measured incorrectly or left out important details such as closets or railing posts (which increase the labor cost) the true cost of the project will not be able to be determined until you have had a professional visit your home. For example, consider a scenario wherein Company A is offering a $99 whole-home installation, and Company B charges $0.50 per square foot for the installation. If you have 500 square feet of carpet to be installed, Company B’s installation charge would be $250. On the surface, it would appear that going with Company A would save you $151. However, what you may not realize is that Company A will charge you for every piece of tack strip, every staple used, every inch of seaming tape, and so on. These are referred to as hidden charges and can drastically increase the overall price. These hidden charges are designed to recuperate the cost of the “free” installation. To avoid getting caught up in the wording of a promotion, be sure to get a complete, “all-in” price, and be sure you know what is included in that price, and what may be additional. Yes, carpet installation can be expensive, especially if you have a lot of upholstery work involved (stairs, railing posts, etc.). But a poorly installed carpet will not only look bad; it will also fail to perform the way the carpet should, and thus will require replacement sooner than it would have otherwise. Consider also that many warranties stipulate that the carpet must be professionally installed in order to be valid. So, spend the extra bit of money now to have it done properly, and save yourself a headache. For example, a large family with multiple pets will have many different requirements than someone living alone. They will require a carpet that can withstand higher amounts of traffic and that has increased stain resistance. They may also choose to look for carpets that are close in color to their pets (less showing of pet hair on the carpet) or that tend to hide dirt easily (flecked Berbers or Friezes, for example). Those living in traditionally sunnier climates will be more concerned with fade resistance, while those in damper climates will want to look at synthetic carpet fibers that are less prone to mold and mildew. Unfortunately, the carpet we need may not always be the carpet we want. It can be easy to be swept up in the images shown in magazines, featuring glamorous rooms with pristine white carpets. But before you run out and buy that white carpet, consider if it will actually work with your lifestyle.
