How To Buy Carpet and Flooring Wisely
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How Much Does New Carpet Cost?
Carpet Cost and Carpet Quality go hand in hand. The better the quality the longer it can last and more it will cost. Some Carpet retailers offer better prices than others. Some retailers offer low carpet prices but then jack-up the price of the padding and installation. Some offer free installation and then surprise you with extra fees and hidden charges you didn't expect.
You need to look at the big picture when you consider the cost of buying new carpet. This includes getting accurate measuring, qualified installation, and good customer service before and after the sale. Even if you are on a tight budget, you can't afford to choose a carpet that won't last as long as you expect.
There are lots of critical choices to be made and you need to get each and every one of them right or you stand to lose hundreds or worse. Lucky for you, I can help you make wise and informed choices and it won't cost you a dime!
Carpet Prices and Longevity
Your biggest concern as a homeowner is to correctly match up your needs, goals and lifestyle with your budget and then factor in how long you want your carpet to last. It sounds easy, but it's not. I'm going to help you make sense of all the Carpet Confusion so you can make wise and informed choices.
What grade of carpet should I buy?
Buying new carpet is a lot like buying a new car. Everyone knows that you need to do your automotive homework long before you set foot inside a new car dealership. There are plenty of well-known websites geared toward helping consumers make wise and informed choices on new and used car purchases.
Carpet Shoppers Beware!
Buying New Carpet is much more difficult than buying a new or used car. Why? There is no regulation in the industry and there is no Carpet Blue Book to use to your advantage.
Every Carpet Dealer is free to charge as much as they want for materials and labor. And in addition to making it difficult and confusing to select the right carpet for you, many carpet dealers also make it impossible for you to comparison shop by withholding key product information. Learn about Carpet Specifications
Basic Carpet Longevity Chart
Many factors come into play when trying to figure out how long any Carpet might last. Here are some of the key reasons that affect how long a carpet will last and how durable it will be:
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The fiber type and style, tuft twist, density rating, pile height.
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How much foot traffic in the home, number of children, pets, teens.
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How well it is maintained, regular vacuuming, periodic cleaning etc.
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How well it is installed (properly stretched in, good seams)
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What padding is selected, type, thickness and density.
Depending on these 5 factors, here is a basic guideline for how long you might expect a carpet to last with moderate to heavy foot traffic:
(Approximate Cost per square yard)
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Carpet Pad Labor Total Longevity
$15 $4 $5 $24 3 to 5 years
$20 $4 $6 $30 5 to 8 years
$25 $5 $6 $36 8 to 10 years
$30 $5 $7 $42 10 to 12 years
$35 $5 $7 $47 12 to 15 years
$40 $6 $8 $54 15 to 20 years
$45+ $7 $8 $60+ 20 Years or more
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These are just estimates. Your level of foot traffic and
how well you care for your carpet can change the outcome.
About Carpet Padding
Padding and labor charges typically increase with higher quality carpet. You must be sure the padding you select is capable to last as long as the carpet and meets the carpet manufacturer's guidelines. It is more difficult to install heavier carpets and labor prices will increase accordingly. Learn about Carpet Installation Fees and Charges
Patterned and Looped Berber Carpet styles are typically more expensive to install. Installing carpet on stairs usually has an additional labor charge per stair. Take my free Carpet Foot Traffic Test to see what Grade of Carpet you need for your home.
Carpets with Private Labels
Unscrupulous carpet dealers and manufacturers remove, hide or alter key carpet information to prevent you from making wise choices. They will change the names on the labels, they remove the important manufacturing specifications and they will hide all the basic product information you need to be able to comparison shop.
They do this to prevent you from comparison shopping at other stores. How do you overcome this problem? More about Carpet Specifications
Homeowners need honest and accurate Carpet advice.
Are you surfing the internet for honest and accurate carpet information? Just like you, I search the internet looking for one source of complete, honest and accurate carpet buying information. It's not out there. Only on my website are you able to learn the truth and the whole truth.
Trust me when I say that practically all carpet websites I find don't tell you the whole truth. They will tell you THEIR version of the truth. It's a limited version that purposely omits any negative or unpleasant information about their products. They highlight all the positive aspects but leave out all the down and dirty truths that you as a consumer really need to know. Read more about Carpet Scams
Every Carpet Salesperson Has An Opinion!
All Carpet dealers are in business to sell carpet and many are honest and reputable. But even in the Best Carpet Stores some carpet salespeople will say just about anything to earn your business, even if what they have to say is totally WRONG!
Some salespeople are very hungry, some are new to the business, some used to sell used cars and may try to use tricky sales tactics to get you to buy today! Maybe they sold copiers or maybe they used to flip burgers at a fast food restaurant, you just never know.
That's why you have to always be on guard and never blindly trust any salesperson's advice until you have a chance to verify the information or advice you have been given.
Best Advice of the Day...
"Just because they work for a Carpet or Flooring store does not mean they are qualified to give you advice about choosing the right carpet for your home!"
The truth is, a surprising number of carpet salespeople have limited product experience beyond the limited scope of the manufacturers brochure. This means they really don't know how to advise you properly.
They don't usually have any first-hand product experience. They have never installed any carpet or flooring products. They may have lots of sales experience and may even have sold thousands of rolls of carpet during their many years as a flooring salesperson.
Should you trust their advice? Should you believe everything they tell you? I think you should be very cautious and take your time making your choices and finalizing your decisions.
Newly hired carpet salespeople?
Inexperienced salespeople don't want you to know that they are newbies so they might advise you based what they have read in a manufacturers brochure or what may have overheard other salespeople saying to other customers. After reading just a few articles on my website, you will probably know more about choosing new carpet than they do.
"Many carpet retailers require their new carpet salespeople
to visit my website to learn about carpet."
Some salespeople will just try to sell you based on "how much can you can afford" whether or not the carpet is the able to meet your needs, goals, or lifestyle. In this scenario, you will only get the quality you pay for and in a short period of time your carpet might wear out way faster than you expect.
If you have moderate to heavy foot traffic, you'll need to choose a higher quality carpet. Carpet and padding prices have been rising a lot lately so you might need to save up more money or do your project in two or more phases. Along with a more expensive carpet comes a more expensive carpet padding. Installation can be more costly for a higher quality carpet too. Take a look at the chart above and you will see what I mean. Learn more about Carpet Installation Cost
You cannot afford to rely on any salesperson's lack of experience, their lack of product knowledge or their lack of care and concern for you and your hard earned money. Carpet is a major homeowner expense and you cannot afford to make ANY mistakes.