underlay or not?

theGrinch

I have selected a 100% polyprophene twist carpet after visiting 3 shops 1) allied 2) carpetright 3) small inde firm.

allied and carpetright have quoted with underlay, but the small inde firm said no underlay is required as you just paste it down.

question for any carpet experts or people who have had this dilemma - is should I get underlay or not to improve the feel under foot and life of the carpet or is this just not necessary? btw its for the bedrooms.

Queenie

I wouldn't dream of pasting a carpet down! :eek:

I have always used an underlay - the better quality you can afford, really *is* better in the long run.

Even back in the 50's my parents couldn't afford to carpet a house, let alone underlay, but the "best room" was carpeted and their underlay was .... newspaper

One of the joys of underlay is that it will prevent the carpet backing from sticking to the floorboards when you come to uplift it to replace it at a later date. (Which is why I can't for the life of me imagine why you were advised to paste it done).

kingshir

Has it got a felt backing or nasty rubbery stuff. If felt, then no underlay is ok, especially in bedrooms. Underlay just makes the carpet feel thicker!

theGrinch

hi guys and thanks for the replies. its a white felt backing.

Ted_Hutchinson

More information about underlays here discount underlay supplier

Becles

Here, one son has underlay under their bedroom carpet and one doesn't. When sitting downstairs, they sound much less noisy when playing in the underlaid room compared with the other one.

Might be something to consider if it's childrens bedrooms.

DSmiffy

I run a flooring company, I have underlay in all my rooms it improves the quality and also protects the life of the carpet and reduces noise.
As a matter of interest, did you know that companies like Allied Carpets make all of their profit on sales of underlay and gripper (the wooden stuff with the nails in that goes around the edge of the room for the carpet to grip to).
It is unbelievably overpriced and can be bought for around £25 for a roll, that 18 sq yds on a roll, which should do for the average room.
may be worth shopping around for a roll, or if you live in the warrington area, PM me.

theGrinch

Dsmiffy, just out of interest how do you measure a room and stairs correctly to estimate the amount of carpet you require? thanks

Al_Inshearah

Underlay is also known as "spanish carpet"........."underlay, underlay"

Poppy9

I would look for another small independent carpet company. I just bought a new bedroom 30oz wool carpet which House of Fraser quoted me £676 for with free fitting and underlay (yeah!). Allied quoted me £550 for an inferior carpet. A friend recommend this chap in a residential street near the town centre. His 'shop' only really open late afternoon as he is out fitting carpets with his partner the rest of the time. Anyway I took the HOF sample with me as I like the feel and colour. He told me it was way too good for a bedroom. He had samples from a newish company that he had been using for almost a year. Because they were new he said the prices were more reasonable until they get established. He gave me a book of samples to take home for as long as I liked (HOF 1 at a time) with no obligation. Choose a colour which was completely different to my original choice as I had longer to look at it in all different light. Once I decided it was supplied and fitted within 7 days and its superb. Its been down 5 months now and is still looking fantastic. I am so pleased with it I am thinking of doing my Landing and stairs with it (woodblock in hall) and other bedrooms. The price was a fantastic £350. If you are in S Wales PM and I will give you company name.

RedOnRed

Always go for underlay!!!

Our last house was a brand new one which came with "free" carpet from the builder. It was foamed backed with no under lay. All carpet gets crushed in time and when the carpet hasn't got any under lay it's like walking on bare floor boards. The "free" carpet turned out to be the bane of our lifes as once you've got all your furniture and stuff on it it's a real pain to replace.

A decent under lay can be quite expensive, maybe even more so then the carpet! But in my view makes all the difference.