Hard wearing carpet?

harrup

Hi

We need to replace the fitted carpet in our hall stairs & landing. At present we have a high quality( aka dense) 80 wool/ 20 nylon fittecd carpet there.

I'm considering a 100% wool Axminster....BUT I have dogs, live in wet Devon and my friends often bring their dogs.

Am really confused now - I've heard sales guys say that 100% is extremely hardwearing....and then others saying that it would be folly with a dog ( never mind visiting dogs!).

Price isn't so much an issue....but longevity and cleanability is. Any carpet savvy people here who could give me some pointers as to which to choose? Essentially - the carpet has to suit OUR needs, rather than us suiting the carpets "needs".

Thanks very much

hethmar

We are just getting ours replaced. We had axminster for 12 years (and we live in semi rural Norfolk, had/have 3 dogs, 2 sons and a messy husband). We got some beigey knobbly modern berber stuff because we were told it was very hardwearing and it has lasted 2 years - in fact in months it looked awful.

We are getting some 80/20 Brintons carpet with an overall pattern of small motifs on a blue background next week.

http://www.brintons.net/residential/uk/choosing-a-carpet/-/sid/-lNl-NLiB-41Yx-3spH-CnZx-ng

The only thing Id say to you is get a pattern of some sort, it disguises the mud/marks and so on.

underlay_guru

Hi there,

Anything where the tufts are packed together should outlast anything cheaper. You are right to consider an Axminster carpet provided the sample is labelled as from the company called Axminster . (Some carpets are manufactured to the Axminster method, but are not actually made by 'Axminster Carpets' IYSWIM) Axminster are a very reputable British brand which are known for long lastability and high quality to their patterned tufted products, but be aware that any bobbly loop carpet in a flat colour from any manufacturer will not last a massive amount of time. I once had a retail customer who had had an axminster fitted in their lounge over 20 years previously and were replacing it becasue they simply wanted a change of pattern. The carpet itself still genuinely looked less than a year old!

Brintons are also a great choice: Mostly British made and of very high quality.

If you have dogs, then it would be wise to buy a carpet with a busy pattern to it which will hide a lot of dirt and stains. Luckily, Axminster and Brintons have plenty of these to choose from.

jhe

hi. we once bought a top quality 100% wool for my lounge.it was lovely when it was new but started to wear out. in comparison my cheaper carpets less than a third the price are harder wearing and of course can be replaced cheaper.

harrup

hethmar wrote: »

The only thing Id say to you is get a pattern of some sort, it disguises the mud/marks and so on.

oh, don't I know it! LOL. The problem is....we are essentially plain carpet people and some of the patterns make my eyes spin.

Currently we have an Ulster Carpet Axminster style ( aka woven) 80/20 mix in the hall, stairs & landing.... The pattern & colour was perfect, but has , of course been discontinued.

And I know EXACTLY what you mean about the supposedly hard-wearing bobbly carpet. I had the same thing in the master bedroom and 2 studies. Cost a bomb and the WORST carpet I ever bought. The dogs scratching on them didn't help, to be fair to the carpet....

hethmar

harrup, have a look on the Brintons site. We used to have a very busy Axminster - called Turkey which was great for disguising bike wheel marks, dogs puke and so on but when we changed it I also wanted something "calmer". Hence the bobbly berber thing which was awful. The one we have gone for now has just lots of tiny florets over a plain background and hopefully will serve its purpose for another 12 years - I will let you know after next Thursday They are putting in another good underlay aswell which helps with wear. Oh and do haggle! We have had a price varying from £63 plus fitting and underlay per metre and have chosen an old family firm who are doing it for £45 a metre including fitting and underlay.

harrup

underlay_guru wrote: »

If you have dogs, then it would be wise to buy a carpet with a busy pattern to it which will hide a lot of dirt and stains. Luckily, Axminster and Brintons have plenty of these to choose from.

Thanks underlay_guru!

After more searching today I think I found "the one". An Axminster ( as in... made by Axminster! :-)) from their "Dartmoor" range. Has a rather bewitching honey/caramel background - a colour they confusingly call "Honeysuckle".

Whilst it has a cunning muddy paw hidding pattern of sorts, unlike many of their other patterns, it's actually rather pleasant. The description says it's suitable for "extra heavy domestic" wear, so time will tell.

let's face it - carpets and dogs don't REALLY mix. They scratch, they drag mud in....but I couldn't stand having a haissy fit every time there is a bit of mud or water on the carpet. Thus ANY carpet will need replacing sooner rather than in 2 decades! :-) Which isn't a bad thing since who wants to live with the same carpet forever???

But now they are torturing me with underlay choices. ARGH!!

Incidentally, quality wise Brinton would have been my first choice. I think they are superior to Axminster ( unless you go into their crazily priced "Royal Axminster" range). But they din't have a single colour/pattern I loved :-(

harrup

hethmar wrote: »

harrup, have a look on the Brintons site. The one we have gone for now has just lots of tiny florets over a plain background and hopefully will serve its purpose for another 12 years -......... Oh and do haggle! We have had a price varying from £63 plus fitting and underlay per metre and have chosen an old family firm who are doing it for £45 a metre including fitting and underlay.

I know EXACTLY which Brinton pattern you mean and I loved it, too. But it just didn't come in a colour I could "click" with. Believe, me, I tried. Good choice, BTW.

Haggling, huh? I think I just might. The price per m2 a local guy gave me was 65 quid PLUS underlay but it included fitting. I aim to improve on it.

Oh, just one tip - always insist on a stock cutting before committing yourself. I once nearly got badly burned as the variance in shade between the sample I saw and the carpet which arrived was significant. They tried
their utmost in bullying me to get me to accept it with the usual sales blurb of "normal, expected dye variation btw. batches" and I point blank refused. I didn't expect THAT and I didn't accept it. I ordered honey coloured and the stuff which arrived was mustard coloured.

Since then, to spare me frustration and aggravation , I ask for a stock cutting before I order. At £ 65.00 a meter... they can cut a piece off their current roll.

Inforapennyinforapound

We are also doing hall/stairs/landing.

I appreciate that you have decided on carpet but not wishing to throw a spanner in the works we have decided on laminate/wood flooring in the hallway.Hard wearing and dead easy to keep clean.
The stairs and landing will be a similar colour carpet.

moonrakerz

underlay_guru wrote: »

You are right to consider an Axminster carpet provided the sample is labelled as from the company called Axminster . (Some carpets are manufactured to the Axminster method, but are not actually made by 'Axminster Carpets' IYSWIM) Axminster are a very reputable British brand which are known for long lastability and high quality to their patterned tufted products,

That sounds more like an advert for Axminster Ltd rather than unbiased advice !

There are plenty of other quality manufacturers of Axminster - including Wilton Carpet Factory Ltd, and surprisingly Axminster Ltd also make Wilton carpets.
Axminster & Wilton are just types of carpet construction, just as Cheddar and Cheshire are types of cheese.
Nothing says that one is any better than the other, in fact good quality tufted carpet can be just as good - also available from Axminster Ltd and Wilton Ltd.

See:
http://www.axminster-carpets.co.uk/howcarpetismade.htm

underlay_guru

moonrakerz wrote: »

That sounds more like an advert for Axminster Ltd rather than unbiased advice !

There are plenty of other quality manufacturers of Axminster - including Wilton Carpet Factory Ltd, and surprisingly Axminster Ltd also make Wilton carpets.
Axminster & Wilton are just types of carpet construction, just as Cheddar and Cheshire are types of cheese.
Nothing says that one is any better than the other, in fact good quality tufted carpet can be just as good - also available from Axminster Ltd and Wilton Ltd.

See:
http://www.axminster-carpets.co.uk/howcarpetismade.htm

....Then if Axminster carpet is fine mature cheddar then wilton carpet would be dairylea.

Due to their manufacture, the average domestic wilton sold by the roll in the local carpet shop is usually garish, cheap and nasty, and sadly, Wilton is not associated with quality carpet anymore (in a domestic sense). An axminster can have up to 12 colours in its design: a wilton can only have 5 and tend to look 'mosaicy', and an awful lot of wiltons are manufactured abroad with polypropylene yarn to satisfy the consumer who wants an axminster-looking carpet but can't afford it.......there are plenty of contract-quality wiltons around, but are manufactured to be bomb-proof rather than comfortable and visually appealing.