What Grade of Carpet Should I Select?
©2011
Alan
J. Fletcher - Flooring Expert and Consumer Advocate
Learn how to choose new carpet wisely, avoid scams, and save money.
30 year Carpet expert reveals
"insider" secrets.
What Carpet you select all depends on how long you want your carpet to
last AND how much foot traffic you have in your home. There are so
many things consumers need to look out for when buying new carpet. Here I will
give you a few eye-opening examples and my professional advice on what grade
of carpet YOU need to buy.
How long do you want your new carpet to last?
Only YOU can answer this question. If money is tight or
you are on a budget you
may have to weigh your options and make some hard choices. If you have
limited funds it is very important that you choose wisely and get the most
value for your money. This means cutting out the unnecessary frills and
costly upgrades that won't increase the life span of your carpet. For
example, Soft carpet fibers are more costly because they are soft. But being
soft doesn't increase the durability, in fact it may decrease the durability
of the carpet.
If you have unlimited funds, your main concern should be
to choose a well made carpet that will last as long as you expect, to be
sure to have it installed with the correct pad and get proper installation.
It sounds easy to do, but let me tell you, it's certainly NOT! I get emails
from homeowners all the time where they were duped into buying a carpet that
didn't last very long or had major problems due to having a poor
installation job.
The materials
used to make carpet are just one factor that contributes to a long lasting
carpet. The fiber you choose is the main key, then the tuft twist, the fiber
face-weight and the pile density. You need access to all these carpet
specifications in order to know for sure that the carpet you are buying will
stand up to your level of foot traffic in your home. How
to Make Your Carpet Last YEARS Longer!
Before you begin shopping for carpet, take my free Carpet
Foot Traffic Test to see what grade of carpet you need for your home.
When you're done come back to this page and continue reading this page.
________________________________
For
Example
Let me give you an example of: "How to Select the Right
Carpet"
Let's
imagine that you need to buy:
-
100 yards
of carpet (or 900 square feet)
-
You have a
medium level of foot traffic in your home,
-
You want
your carpet to last for at least 10
years.
Let's say
that on a scale of ONE to TEN, that you need to
buy a carpet with a Quality Rating of at least FIVE to accomplish your needs
and goals.
Quality Rating:
1
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9 10
$1.00
1.50 2.00 2.50
3.00 3.50 4.00
4.50 5.00 $5.50
Price per square foot
According to the above chart, a Quality Rating of
1
will cost $1.00 per square foot and a
rating of 10
will cost $5.50
per square foot. This is not too far off from the actual reality of carpet pricing
today.
In this example selecting a carpet with a
quality rating of 5
will cost $3.00 per square foot and you
need 900 square feet to do your home.
The
total cost of the carpet would be $2700.00 ($3.00
X 900 sf = $2700)
This amount does NOT include the cost of padding or
installation. Read more about the cost
of carpet installation
________________________________________________________
Have I made the
above example
simple enough to understand?
-
If you want your
new carpet to look good & wear well for 10 years.
-
If you have MEDIUM
level of foot traffic in your home. with No
children and no pets.
-
You must select
a Quality Rating of at least FIVE or higher or sacrifice longevity.
-
The carpet cost
for a 900 sf home will be $2700 plus pad & install.
Most homeowners
don't know how much the whole job is really going to cost until ALL the
facts are in. That includes:
-
The price of
the Carpet
-
The price of
the Padding
-
The price of
the Installation
-
The amount of
material you require
-
Fee for
Removing of the old carpet, furniture moving, etc.
-
Fee for
installing on stairs, floor prep, transitions, etc.
So you see, it can
add up real fast. In this example I have gone right down the middle with
everything. A carpet that is not too expensive and not too cheap. Most 2
bedroom homes require about 100 yards or 900 square feet. Most folks want
their carpet to last at least 10 years.
Let me ask you to
consider these 5 questions carefully and decide what you would do in each
circumstance.
-
If you want
your carpet to last 15 years, what grade would you need to buy?
-
What if you
can't afford $3700 for carpet, pad and install?
-
How long will
your carpet last if you choose a less expensive carpet?
-
What grade of
carpet should you choose for heavy foot traffic?
-
What grade of
carpet should you choose if you have children or pets?
I can help you overcome all
these concerns and more if you are willing to take the time to learn about
how to buy carpet wisely.
First of all, slow down. Don’t be in a hurry to head out
to a carpet dealer and start shopping for carpets. There are a lot of
scoundrels out there ready to scam you if you go shopping unprepared.
Just so you know...
-
I never recommend buying
from carpet retailers that you see advertising on television.
-
I never recommend buying
from home
improvement warehouses no matter how low their
installation specials go.
-
I never recommend buying
from any nationally advertised shop-at-home flooring dealer no matter
how much flooring they claim to give away for free.
Consumers can be quite gullible, and saving 60% sounds real
good on the surface… but you all know the famous old saying… “If it
sounds too good to be true”.
Folks, the last thing you need is to be pressured
into buying
overpriced or low-quality carpet from high pressure commissioned salespeople who prey
on uninformed or unsuspecting homeowners. Buy from a reputable carpet
dealer. See
who I recommend near you
What grade of carpet should you select?
Take my free Carpet
Foot Traffic Test to get your score!
Then we can go forward from there...
Alan's
List of Preferred Flooring Dealers
Buy
From an Honest & Reputable Flooring Dealer!
Scams
are everywhere and it's getting harder to find a reputable carpet dealer
these days! That's why I have created my own special hand-picked list of
over 350 locally- owned & reputable Flooring Dealers who offer free
estimates, fair prices, knowledgeable staff, honest measuring and
qualified installation. See
who I Recommended Near You!
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