Carpet buying - some info and a request for advice on 'pole marking'!

Jennie-Lou

Hello forum

I'm currently in the process of buying a carpet. My budget is £15m2, but that is to include underlay, fitting and all the extra bits like gripper rods etc. I've 2 rooms to cover approximately 20m2 each.

Not as easy as I thought it might be, as once I'd taken into account all of the extras, I wasn't left with much money per m2 for the actual carpet!

I went to all of the normal big name places, and found that their delivery and fitting costs were ridiculous. The carpet that I would have been able to purchase was absolute bottom of the range horrible stuff that probably would look rubbish after a couple of years.

I also looked around local independent stores, and found the experiences varied so much, but generally, I wasn't jumped on in the same way I was when I walked into a bigger store - the sales people in those being very full on.

I've lost count of how many places I've been to. I'd almost given up on finding anything of any quality for my budget until yesterday when I visited Kidderminster Carpet Factory in Lye - bit of a trek but well worth it. They deal in new carpet, but also 'slight seconds'. This is primarily what I wanted to post to say. The 'seconds' we looked at were mostly all absolutely perfect, possibly just being returned as they were the wrong colour, or for some other unnoticeable reason for which they might not have passed a stringent quality check. Obviously every piece will be different, but we were able to inspect the carpets in full, with the staff clearly pointing out anything that might be considered an issue.

We found two bits, the right colour, right style and right size. For room 1, a 100% wool (2 ply) berber 20m2 for £199, no fault to be seen - bargain.

Room 2 - a bit more of a problem, right carpet right colour, same again, 100% wool (2 ply) berber 20m2 but this time when unrolled, a strange line was revealed. The assistant suggested that it looked like it might be a 'pole mark' in which case, it would most likely disappear over time and with regular hoovering. He couldn't say that was definitely what it was though, which has left me a little worried. I've taken a photo of the carpet and uploaded it here: http:// postimg .org/image/hbc9zwr7v/ (you'd have to take the spaces out!) in the hope that someone who knows about these things might be able to give an opinion. As it happens, this bit of the carpet would sit about halfway into 2 alcoves in the room, so wouldn't be hugely visible, but visible none-the-less.

It's also worth looking for an independent fitter, I've shaved almost £100 off of the total quote (over 2 rooms) even from this independent shop fitting quote by looking elsewhere. I found the website mybuilder dot com really helpful when looking for local trades people, who are reviewed by their customers.
The firm I've dealt with have even said they will pick up the carpet from the store at no extra cost!

So, in summary, shop around, consider seconds, get a separate fitting quote, and if anyone has any advice on the 'pole marking' I'd be very grateful!

aggypanthus

http://shawfloors.com/tips-trends/luxurious-carpet/what-is-berber-carpet

By berber, do you mean loop or a cut pile? my view is that loop pile rubs up badly, like a wooly jumper. I would never go for 100% wool for this reason. I buy maybe 90% wool twist as the bit of manmade fibre makes it more durable.

Jennie-Lou

Thanks aggypanthus, I didn't realise that the term berber could mean that many things. We are looking at a loop pile.

aggypanthus

OK, as I said...

cattie

I can't access you pic for some reason but if the mark is like I think it will be, then you are stuck with it.

Years ago I bought some 80/20 wool twist carpet from a well known department store for a bedroom. For various reasons it wasn't laid for a few months & when it was it had what looked rather like a crease line on part of the carpet.

The carpet fitter tried his best to stretch the carpet enough to make the line less noticeable & suggested that over time it might just 'tread out' with time, but alas it never did.