confused as hell about carpets and underlay

xyz123

hi, looking to change carpet in bedrooms and stairs. been looking on the forum and found following info in general

1- better to buy different items from different suppliers and get a local fitter to fit the carpet.
2- buy the best underlay that one can afford
3- shop around!

now the questions began. we have been to 2-3 carpet dealers but still unsure about somethings. we are not on very tight budget. of course want it as cheap as possible but i generally prefer long term value as opposed to cheap initial cost.

1-is wool the best carpet to buy. i know its expensive. problem was that we were told that wool carpets only come in plain design while we were hoping to get something which is slightly textured design! which is the best material which has textured feel/design!

2- should i choose same carpet for stairs and bedrooms. stairs will be used much more but i am thinking the carpet will last at least 5-6 years, which is fine with us.

3- is there a online website which summarises pros and cons of various different types of carpets and what to look for while choosing one!

4-now coming to underlay. one store told me to choose different underlay for stairs and bedroom. is this correct?

5- what type of underlay is best in general. we saw several in store and on tradepriced website but still unsure. shall i choose a minimum thickness or tog or impact noise reduction rating or relay on store's recommendation. again we are not on a tight budget.

6- one website online said i should choose the carpet first and look for that manufacturer's recommendation regarding what type/size of underlay. is this correct?

any other advise appreciated.

many thanks for reading a long post!

daggy

Girlfriends dad is a carpet fitter and when he did our house we went with 10mm underlay

I think you may be over-complicating things... Decide what you want the most.. then buy the highest rated underlay you can afford in that area... if you're concerned about heat then go with tog ratings.... GF's dad always says 10mm underlay is the best to go for.... you don't want to go too thick or your carpet will be like a sofa

It's completely untrue that wool can't have intricate designs... there was a documentary on tv the other day about makling carpets and they were making really intricate patterns using computer design stuff, they were outof high quality wool

They also did a burn test... wool is much harder to burn than synthetic carpets

I'd say go with wool and 10mm underlay

Same carpet throughout is my preference... but that's aesthetically based

Same underlay on floors and stairs is fine....that's what we have.

One other thing... there are twist and loop pile carpets....

Twist is better....
We actually have loop pile, but when we change we will get twist

Twist is better for pets as it's less likely that they'll catch the carpet with nails etc

shegirl

daggy wrote: »

Girlfriends dad is a carpet fitter and when he did our house we went with 10mm underlay

I think you may be over-complicating things... Decide what you want the most.. then buy the highest rated underlay you can afford in that area... if you're concerned about heat then go with tog ratings.... GF's dad always says 10mm underlay is the best to go for.... you don't want to go too thick or your carpet will be like a sofa

It's completely untrue that wool can't have intricate designs... there was a documentary on tv the other day about makling carpets and they were making really intricate patterns using computer design stuff, they were outof high quality wool

They also did a burn test... wool is much harder to burn than synthetic carpets

I'd say go with wool and 10mm underlay

Same carpet throughout is my preference... but that's aesthetically based

Same underlay on floors and stairs is fine....that's what we have.

One other thing... there are twist and loop pile carpets....

Twist is better....
We actually have loop pile, but when we change we will get twist

Twist is better for pets as it's less likely that they'll catch the carpet with nails etc

True,but loop pile is harder wearing.

Personally,I say go for whatever carpet takes your eye or you can spend forever deciding and turning it into a nightmare lol

Decent underlay is important though

shirlgirl2004

I personally don't like the same carpet in the hall and bedrooms because it looks like you bought it cheap in bulk. I think although the colours should complement each other each room should have its own feel.

I have gone for polypropylene in the bedrooms because although it isn't hard wearing it resists stains better and the OH struggles to keep my coffee in the cup when he brings me my morning cuppa. If you aren't lazy like me then it won't be a consideration. Bedroom carpets don't need to be as hard wearing as hall/stairs/landing carpets.

We used cloud 9 underlay in the bedrooms and landing but the carpet fitter said it isn't suitable for stairs so they used something else for them.

I bought all my bedroom carpets from the same place and actually went yesterday and bought another carpet. I look for the price of the underlay I wanted and the carpet shop price matched it. I used their fitter who is good and reasonably priced. When I went in yesterday I got a small discount of about 6% (£30) off the cost of the carpet because I've bought from there before. I am happy with their work and they do me a bit of a deal so we're all happy.

McKneff

Have to agree with the same carpet thoughout.

I prefer twist carpet because bits get stuck in the 'loops' and it takes longer to vacuum cos your forever bending to get stuff out of them.

shegirl

I kinda agree with the same carpet throughout too,it looks like a landlord jobby lacking in personality.But it does make the place look bigger and too many different floorings can make a house look disjointed,depending on how you do it.So as long as you get carpets and flooring that go well together that's the best way.Same all over is drab and what far too many landlords do -along with their magnolia on every blinking wall (something else that looks awful)

I like twist but prefer loop on the stairs,purely due to the fact that the loop I bought for the stairs in my previous property kept it's appearance longer and hoovered like a dream.Some loops are a pain for holding things though.Twist is nice to walk on!

Jessicap

I too was on the same postion as you in December. It was the first time i was purchasing carpet and as we are renovating the house i wanted to make the correct decision. I searched all internet websites, forums etc to ensure i made the right decision. I went with choosing the same carpet throughout my stairs, landing, lounge and 3 bedrooms and so glad i did as it all matches and overall the house feels very roamy not mix matched.

I choose wool and twist carpet - if choosing wool make sure you choose a good quality wool, as it is the same as everything you get different qualitys. Wool not only is very hard wearing it also does not have that sheen and plastic look that polypropylene carpets have.

After all the advice on underlay i went with 13mm cloud nine and so glad that i did. Because wool carpet is harder wearing and the better the quality the harder it feels i wanted to add the thicker underlay to ensure it had that bouce. Very happy with my decision. Dont listen to people that say it is too thick...it is only 3mm thicker and a good carpet fitter will have no problem. I ordered the underlay off the internet and the carpet from a local shop as you get the reassurence that there is a fault with the carpet they will replace it and as we ordered a fair amount of it we got a good discount.

Good luck

Gastines2

Remember,pets and carpets don't mix. With 35 years as a fitter ,now my knees are paying the price, a regular complaint was from customers blaming a faulty carpet for oily/dirty patches appearing in places where they never walked.Usually by radiators etc. First question," Have you got a dog". The oil in animal hair attracts the dust normally found in houses and dogs do like laying in warm places.
In continous filament carpets ,one little tug with their claws can result in a nice stocking ladder type run.

Hintza

This is the underlay we bought in November. I'm very pleased with it

http://www.carpet-underlays.co.uk/heavenly-carpet-underlay/heavenly-10mm-high-density-carpet-underlay

As for carpet buy a nice 80:20 wool blend. Avoid the sheds and go to the small independents.

90% of carpets are now beige (and you will be surprised at how many variations there are) finding the colour you like can take awhile (unless its beige).