Need help with Carpet

[mayday0017]

This isn't a garage question but I figure there are some people who would be very knowledgable on this topic so why not give it a whirl?

I am looking to change all of the carpet in my house and I want something that is very stain resistant, very plush, and will last as well. I have been told to stay away from your big box stores for carpet that they are not your best price and they nickle and dime you to death on the install. But at the same time I don't trust smaller shops, it is to easy to trick someone in this business since you can't compair apples and apples.

I live in Houston so it should be easy to find some pretty reasonable prices on carpet. Anyone have any suggestions on where to look, what to look for exactly, and what to stay away from?

Carpet is something I know very little about....

 

[mayday0017]

anyone?

 

[D.J.]

Dalton Ga has a lot of outlets!

 

[pattenp]

Since I don't live in Houston, I don't have a clue where to tell you to shop for carpet. The last time I needed carpet I went to Lowes, Homedepot, Carpet World, and a couple of other local small and large carpet dealers. I tried to compare apples to apples as far as pile density and wear warranty. I ended up getting the best deal at one of the local carpet dealers. You just need to do the leg work and find what you'll be happy with at a price you can live with.

 

[cderalow]

Dalton Ga has a lot of outlets!

that's because there's probably 4-5 major commercial carpet manufacturers down in that area.

 

[mad57]

Ok i do carpet for a living....here we go , buy the BEST padding you can afford, thats number 1 here, its the back bone of what ever carpet you put down, do you have small kids , pets, lots of foot traffic??? Thats a huge factor on what i would recommend for my customers. What ever the wear warrenty is say 10 yrs 5 yrs ect cut it in half!!!! they just dont make a good rug to go the distance these days, older rugs you could dump gas on ...today you cant even use certain spot cleaners on as it will take out the color. give me more info on your foot traffic and ill try to answer from there.

 

[draglink]

I agree with mad57.
I run a floor covering company. We have 3 stores and 2 warehouses. I would still consider us to be small and local. Ask around, your friends and nieghbors etc. who they have used. Run from big box stores and furniture stores who sell carpet. You will get the best deal from a company like ours who does retail, but a lot of property managment and new construction. The carpet mills have different programs for different types of dealers. Like anything else, the more yardage we buy, the cheaper its is....and with new const, prop management AND retail its many many yards of carpet we sell. We get just about the cheapest prices available and pass that along.

As far as carpet itself, I tend to go with nylon, the poly carpets crush way before a nylon....nylons tend to be a little more expensive but worth it. If budget is no concern, go with a 8-10 lb visco bond pad and a 40 -60 oz carpet. Medium price would be a 6lb rebond pad(still VERY good pad) and a 30-33 oz nylon. Budget oriented, still stick with 6lb rebond but go with a 25oz nylon

 

[Grumpier]

The complete carpet buying guide by Alan J. Fletcher saved me last time I bought carpet. You should be able to find it on Amazon. I found a downloadable PDF which worked great. Guys knows all the pitfalls and in and outs of carpet and will give you plenty of ammo when you walk in the carpet store.

We also did a pet pad which made spill cleanup very easy.

 

[draglink]

also- carpet should be sold by the sq yd....dont fall into the trap of a sq ft price...it will seem very cheap....but you multiply by that by 9 to get sq yard price.