Buying new carpet - replace underlay too?

Spots_n_Stripes

Hi,

We are hoping to put our flat up for sale next year sometime. We want to replace the carpet in the hall and lounge first, as it is looking a bit tatty now.

Should we replace the underlay too? I don't want to spend unnecessary money, as we (hopefully) won't be here to get the use out if it. The carpet/underlay is 10 years old and feels comfortable to walk on.

If I ask this question in a carpet shop the sales assistant is bound to say "yes, you MUST buy new underlay". At least I'll get some honest opinions on here!

Thanks in advance

xyz123

it really depends on the condition of the underlay. if its rubber, it may have gone all powdery!

if it was me, i would definitely change the u/lay. its not something that you can easily change later if you change your mind. buy underlay online (tradepriced.co.uk) and u will save a a decent amount compared to buying from local shop. though some local independants would charge extra £1 / £2 per sq m to fit underlay bought by customer, which is just a rip off to be honest. we got our carpets from carpet right about 5 months back and they didnt charge anything extra for installing u/lay bought by us.

Spots_n_Stripes

Thanks for the advice.

I hadn't even thought about buying the underlay from elsewhere. Think I'll see what condition the current underlay is in. I'll check out that site if it's past its best!

DevCoder

Newer underlay is far better noise absorption so if its for upstairs or somewhere where walking on the floor will create noise then consider it, but get a quote from a 3rd party.

keystone

Defo change the underlay. A decent underlay will make a cheapo carpet look good. A carp underlay will make a decent carpet look, well, carp.

Cheers

pka_2

If existing is 10yrs old then i'd recommend that you get it replaced. We've just had new carpets and went through the same humming and haaing re underlay and i'm so glad we decided to go with it in the end.
Don't buy from the carpet shop though, go on line and order some, it will be much cheaper (guy that came from carpetright to measure up even told us to do this!)
We fitted it ourselves, wasn't very difficult to be honest.

Feeling_Blue

Definitely get new underlay. The chances are that even if the underlay looks ok, it will turn to dust in a year or two if it is rubber. The life span of underlay mirrors that of a carpet.

The reason Carpetright do not charge for fitting underlay is that they include it in their massively inflated price. Buy online for a better deal. When fitting your own underlay, it can pay to tape up the joins to avoid dust from between floorboards. Also some manufacturers will not guarantee their carpets if fitted on old underlay.