Carpet help desperately needed!

farmbelle

we are fitting new carpets in our house, stairs and bedrooms. We haven't bought carpet before and never new how much of a minefield it is!!

i want a good quality that will still look good in 10 years. we are a busy house with young kids so hardwearing and stain resistant is key, more so than plushness, but don't want it to feel cheap. from this, i think i need to therefore look for something dense/ and with a short - medium pile made from polypropylene.

can anyone recommend any more specifics? I've heard carpetright and SCS are terrible, but the quality in the independent shop looked awful too! (could see the backing). I've tried to look fro brands but then read terrible things about cormar etc. it seems no one has a carpet they are happy with!! can anyone recommend anything?

EssexExile

We always use a long established local company, it's difficult to compare shops as they all sell different branded carpets. They are probably the same carpets but with different names on. Many carpets are bleach tolerant now so look for that if you're messy!

Say where you are & someone may be able to recommend a supplier.

FreeBear

From the experience of Sis, foam/felt backed carpets do not last. Tufts were pulling out of a bedroom carpet, and it looked decidedly manky after three to five years.

One thing that does make a huge difference to the feel underfoot is the underlay - Get a good quality and thick underlay, and even a cheap carpet can feel good. Also helps to insulate the floor which will improve the warmth of the room.

cranford

Of course you can buy cheap foam backed carpets from SCS, Carpetright or anywhere else that wont last 5 years but I have to say that I have been buying carpets from Carpetright and Harris carpets before them for over 40 years. For small jobs I just buy the carpet, underlay and accessories from B&Q etc and fit myself but jobs like stairs and landings I leave to the pros. My self laid bedroom carpet from CR has been down for over 15 years and was then about £15 a sq metre.
My stairs and landing took 17 sq metres @ £22 but cost about £520 with underlay and grips. Still very good after 9 years. I even had the off cuts made into runners for my hallway for about £40.
Dont be fooled by 50% -60% price offers though. They always have these discounts on offer. I think they do a 6 week rotate of branding to get round the law.
Its easy to get a fitted comparison price from the CR web site and them maybe look around to see if local independents are cheaper.

LandyAndy

EssexExile wrote: »

We always use a long established local company, it's difficult to compare shops as they all sell different branded carpets. They are probably the same carpets but with different names on. Many carpets are bleach tolerant now so look for that if you're messy!

Say where you are & someone may be able to recommend a supplier.

This. My local independent is excellent. I wouldn't use anyone else. They price matched the national suppliers on a carpet that was the best part of £95 a sq metre so they needn't be more expensive. They are also full of good advice on the quality required for different applications.

Ant555

FreeBear wrote: »

One thing that does make a huge difference to the feel underfoot is the underlay - Get a good quality and thick underlay, and even a cheap carpet can feel good. Also helps to insulate the floor which will improve the warmth of the room.

Whatever carpet you decide on, +1 for decent underlay (I was about to post this suggestion myself) , in my experience, I have found it makes a massive difference to the overall experience.
Avoid foam backed carpet.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Big shops appear to make a good margin on underlay, grippers and door bars so eBay is a good place to buy these (Cloud 9 11mm is around £4 a square metre on eBay, CR charge £13 for this thickness of underlay).

Then pick a carpet from an independent or one of the branded companies.

farmbelle

this is really helpful thanks. we are in lincolnshire if anyone has any recommends

can anyone commit on victoria or abdindon flooring carpets? have been reading that they are ok....