New carpets

kenzie123

Hi there

Quite a broad question but what are peoples tips for buying carpets?

Are the leading retailers good to use - Carpet Right, Hillarys etc - or are there more cost efficient or better quality companies you know of?

Many thanks

BorisThomson

Use Carpet Right to get an idea of what you want, then run a hundred miles in the opposite direction. They are known as Carpet Wrong for good reason.

I've not used Hillarys for carpets but know people that have used them for blinds. Poor service, overpriced, several mistakes.

Find your local independent carpet seller who also fits them. Get recommendations from friends.

Icecannon

I agree with the comments on carpet right above!

Go on the nicf site, type in your postcode and it will give you a list of fitters in your area, a fitter will also,supply the carpet and fit it, should be cheaper than a shop, worth getting a couple of quotes and better still recommendations from friends.

Ectophile

I've used an established local independent company, and would do so again.

The prices initially look expensive, but the price on the roll is what you pay. That includes underlay, delivery and fitting by their own fitters.

London50

Agree with all above,go local and you get a much better service and IMO no hassle

FreeBear

Ectophile wrote: »

I've used an established local independent company, and would do so again.

The prices initially look expensive, but the price on the roll is what you pay. That includes underlay, delivery and fitting by their own fitters.

The carpet I had from a local independent didn't include fitting, underlay, or gripper rods - Had to pay "extra" for the fitting, but kept the cost down by laying the underlay & gripper rods myself.

PhilE

I've used a big company where the shop staff where great but the installation outsourced to another company that didn't care.

Recently I went with a small local family shop that charged less. Got to meet the installer briefly before the carpets were laid, and going by my p[revious experience based my decision on that.

Money saved and happy with the results.

Wassa123

I disagree with a lot of these comments.

We got two carpets from Carpet Right, and one from Downs and they were all great. As long as you buy the ones "on sale" they're pretty cheap and hard to be beaten on price.

The fitting is outsourced to the local independent fitting companies anyway.

However, they will majorly screw you on the price of extras such as underlay, door bars, grippers, etc, which is where they make their profit. Make sure you get these yourself separately. We managed to get the most expensive underlay that these shops sold for cheaper than the cheapest they sold!

To save more money remove your old carpet and underlay yourself and take it to the tip rather than use their removal/disposal service. Just cut it into sizeable pieces.

wantonnoodle

We used a local carpet warehouse - used to be part of United Carpets before they went indie.

They have a deal whereby you pay for the carpet and underlay, and the fitting, grippers and doorplates are free. We got three rooms all 11ft by 12ft done for £900, and it wasn't cheap carpet or underlay either. Granted one of the carpets was a roll end so that was considerably cheaper.

I walked into Carpet Right after having had a first look in the carpet warehouse, and walked straight back out within 5 minutes when I realised that it would be getting on for twice the price for what we wanted.