Idiot's Guide to Buying Carpet?

efunc

Thanks for that. I think I'm going to compromise on quality and try and set a budget of about £5000. I might not do all the bedrooms, and there's not much point in matching the quality of my current carpets, but nice to know how long this stuff can last if you're prepared to pay.

monty-doggy

Wow I had no idea it could cost that much, I'll need my whole house doing soon! And I want decent carpet!

phoebe1989seb

I agree that you can pick up some bargains carpet-wise on eBay - although I'm not sure about larger room-size pieces which despite being new (seconds etc) and for sale by businesses are often for collection only........

We did manage to find a length of Roger Oates flat weave carpet - meant to be a temporary fix for one flight of stairs in our renovation project, to tide us over till we're in a position to lay new flooring throughout - on eBay for less than £80. That's about 10% of the retail price We spent a further £100 on good quality underlay, low-tack grippers and stair rods and DH (with the help of DS) managed to fit it, despite the twisty nature of our stairs

I've also got my eye on John Lewis carpets for the bedrooms and have consoled myself with the fact that, whilst definitely not cheap - a) it's good quality and b) it's still less expensive than the wood flooring we intend to lay throughout most of the downstairs........

You get what you pay for as my grandma used to say!

Paul_the_Painter

I spent a few years selling carpet, and have posted some stuff on it before. But don't get confused between Axminster the company, and Axminster the type of carpet.
Also John Lewis not actually that expensive, when I was working at one of the sheds, like for like John Lewis were cheaper than we were. We just sold more rubbish than they did, and our underlay quality was shocking compared to the JL stuff.
If you want something to last the next 30 years get a quote on some Britons, maybe ask your sales guy the difference between woven and tufted carpets, and remember that carpet weight doesn't mean everything.
Oh and get a crumb rubber or crumb rubber/felt underlay, should cost you about £7.00plus psm.

Bennifred

We bought our carpet direct from a carpet mill in Lancashire over 25 years ago, and it's still going strong! We sent for some samples, got a fitter to measure up and the mill sent the carpet (by courier) cut to the fitter's specifications.

daveyjp

£5k plus is top end.

A 3 bed semi is about 100 sq m. £20 sq m for the carpet, £7 sq m for the underlay. £2700 plus grippers and fitting.

rustyboy21

Instead of the normal national carpet 'Sheds', I buy all mine from local Independent carpet shops. You know, the family run co's that every town and city have lurking away , away from the big retail parks.

If you are an ' idiot' as you imply, I would keep away from buying online. How would you know how much to buy, what the quality is from a computer screen and what hassle you will have , if the carpet turns up and when fitting you find a fault with it. Sending a 8m-4m piece of carpet back isn't that easy !

My suggestion is a local place, not a national chain, you will get something in your budget . The grippers and door plates are normally supplied by the fitter, that is where he makes a little money. Ask him how much they are and see if you can get them cheaper and be able to fit them yourself afterwards.