If you missed Part 1 of this Carpet Buying Guide, you will find it here: Types of Carpet
Although I wrote the “Types of Carpet” post as a whole guide to buying carpet, I realized that deciding on the type of carpet you want to buy, is just one stage in the process you need to go through when buying carpet. So here is a step by step guide to the whole process.
1. Think About What You Need
Consider what you need/would like in terms of the quality, type and color of carpet and set yourself a budget.
When looking at color, look at what will go with existing or planned furniture, curtains and wall colors. Whatever you do, do not choose the carpet first before planning the remainder of the room as you can find carpets (and wall colors) in every shade but you will have more trouble choosing the soft furnishings after you have chosen the carpet than the other way around.
When you are setting your budget, bear in mind that you will need to pay for carpet padding (underlay) and installation as well as the carpet itself and that there will be a certain amount of wastage when the carpet is cut. You buy carpet in standard widths so you can try and buy a carpet which comes in a width nearest to your room size but there will usually be some wastage.
2. Measure Your Room
Draw a rough plan of your room and measure it accurately. Plot the measurements onto your plan. This will help the store assistant give you a rough estimate for the carpet of your choice.
Image from sxc.hu : by Stephen Eastop (username Eastop)
Take a look around the carpet warehouses and any department stores which sell carpet in your area to get an idea of what is available. Take your room plan and measurements with you and samples of any colors that the carpet needs to match. (If you cannot take an item use a paint color chart to get the nearest color to give you an good idea of the color when you are in the store).
Before looking at the full sized carpets check to see if there are any suitable carpet remnants as you can often save a lot of money by buying room-sized pieces rather than carpet from a full roll.
If there are no suitable remnants, look for a carpet you like from the general selection and then get a rough idea of the cost based on your room plan with the help of the store assistant who will be more familiar with carpet prices and pricing including padding etc. than you.
Ask for free carpet samples of any carpets you are seriously considering and take these home with you to make a final decision. Take a note of which samples belong to which store as you have to return these and trying to remember which almost identical beige carpet came from where is no joke.
4. Use Your Carpet Samples
Lay the carpet samples you gathered in the room where the carpet will be installed. Take a look at them under both artificial light at night and in daylight. It is amazing how colors can differ at home from the harsh lights of a carpet warehouse and how some samples you thought you liked best suddenly become no good at all. Don’t skip this step!
5. Weigh Up Your Options
Check out the samples you like and make sure you are happy with the quality and price of the carpet before you make a final decision.
6. Order Your Chosen Carpet
The store will usually arrange for a final estimate to be done by a professional estimator before the final price is agreed. If you took your original measurements accurately there should be no discrepancy with the price you were quoted. Sometimes an experienced carpet installer will see a way to use less carpet but you are pretty lucky if this is the case.
7. Arrange for Installation
Carpet installation may be arranged by the store or you may arrange it yourself. Always use professional carpet installers for best results as carpet fitting is a specialized job which needs tools and skills that even those of us handy around the home do not normally have. A badly installed carpet will look terrible and it will often pucker and wear badly so do not “save money” by avoiding installation costs. Personal recommendation is best when it comes to choosing carpet installation services, but also look at price, service, guarantee and number of years in business as well as membership of quality trade organizations.
8. Prepare for Installation
Before your carpet is installed, you will need to clear the room. This can be the most difficult part of getting a new carpet as you need to find somewhere to put your furniture, physically move it and lift and dispose of the old carpet. Some installation services may do this for you (usually for an additional charge) but you cannot assume that they will, so always ask if you need help with this. If a company offers a service like this, it may even be a reason to use one carpet installation company above another even if they cost a bit more.
If there are any pieces of carpet remaining after installation, set them aside as they are useful for carpet repair should you carpet ever have a burn or bad stain. If there are any large pieces you could also consider having a piece bound by the store. Bound carpet remnants create rugs in the same color as your carpet which are useful to put down where your carpet may get extra wear.
9. Vacuuming
Once the carpet is installed, you will find that there are bits and pieces of fluff lying about which will need to be vacuumed up. There is no harm in vacuuming a new quality carpet which has been professionally installed so you can do so without fear.
10. Check for Movement/After Care
Sometimes a stiff carpet needs to be “tightened up” after it has been walked on for a few weeks or months as it may become a little loose. This is especially important for stair carpet as a loose carpet there can be dangerous. Your carpet installer should offer this service (often free of charge).
