Advice on buying carpet

london305

Hi all,

We're looking at recarpeting our house and are currently undergoing renovation (6 months and counting...). All the carpet threads on MSE are slightly dated, so I thought I'd start a new one, hoping for some updated advice.

I was wondering if anyone could provide advice on the following:

1) reasonably priced, good quality (preferably saxony) carpets shops in and London/North London/Hertfordshire

2) OR carpet websites (anyone had experience using them?)

3) advice on negotiating carpets deals and whether bigger companies like carpetright would be open to negotiating on sale prices (e.g. 50% off)

We're looking at purchasing underlay, rods etc ourselves as the prices we've been quoted are ridiculous, particularly considering the quality and price we can source it for independently.

Any additional advice would be thoroughly helpful!

dunx

A bit of a belated reply, but I am currently sorting out a carpet for elderly parents. My experience is that carpet shops are massively over-priced (£28.99 per m2, compared with manufacturers RRP of £18.99, and an online retailer price of £11.99). Underlay similarly overpriced. Room for negotiation will be very individual. I couldn't get them below £23.99 for the carpet, and they wouldn't budge on the underlay.

Finding a self-employed fitter up here in the Midlands is easy, as is finding online carpet merchants, so it has been a straightforward decision. I've only dealt with one online retailer, so can't comment on whether they are better than others or not. Google the make / brand / style of carpet you are after, and you should find a good few stockists.

The key point for you will be finding a suitable fitter - a good one will probably be able to advise on the various online retailers, too.

Good luck,

Dunx

CrazyRed

Why a saxony in particular? The pile is very soft on a saxony (I used to recommend them for bedrooms because they were soft underfoot) and the biggest issue with them is "flattening" where the pile no longer stands up straight and shows wear quite quickly after installation.

I would look at a local independent and get an idea of ranges and prices from them - there aren't that many carpet manufacturers, so often a lot of the ranges on display will be called one thing in one shop and another in another but will be in reality the same carpet from the same manufacturer. Ideally, look for a company named "Abingdon Carpets" as the manufacturer - most of their carpets were stainproof, hessian-backed (helps longevity) and were sensibly priced. The company itself also stood behind it's warranty - something we used to struggle with with other manufacturers.

Once you've got your idea of the range, colour and price from the independent, hit the 'net when you get home and see if the same deal is available elsewhere, but cheaper!

London786

Hi both,

Sorry for the late response, I didn't think anyone was going to reply!

I've ordered samples from a few online retailers, but one of the big online retailers sent samples where the pile had come loose on quite a few of their 'luxury' samples !

Dux - completely agree regarding price. The price difference is absurd! And even when haggling (something ive become well versed in) the price is still incredibly high.

I've been around to both independent and non-independent retailers (e.g. carpetright, scs etc) but the issue is they keep changing the names of manufacturers on their carpet. Quite frustrating! Though useful idea Crazyred and one that i've tried, particularly with the isense range (which my parents love!). And will also keep a lookout for Abingdon Carpets.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

chrisw

I've just bought a carpet from a local shop which specialises in roll ends and end of lines. The choice is a bit more limited but I've found that to be a good thing. It's possible to get a top quality carpet at a much cheaper price. They've even recommended a carpet fitter who is charging £40 to fit it.

00kitkat00

Would also appreciate advice, we live in south east been quoted £16per sqm for fitting of carpets including; 3 bedrooms, stairs (6 winders, 6 straights) and landing. Price includes 9mm underlay and new grippers rods and door bars (we ripped old ones up in refurb so can't reuse). This seems quite a lot or is this quite average?

Obviously cost of carpet is in addition to the above

It isn't an option for us to gripper rod it ourselves or get our own underlay really as we are trying to move before Christmas and still have a lot of the house to refurb before we can move in and the to do list is already 2 1/2 A4 pages long don't want to be adding to it!

azka

Looking to replace carpet in dining room. Something easy clean and not too expensive . Have been looking at the cormar apollo range, anyone have any experience or recommendation?
Also what underlay to go for?