We are planning on recarpeting our home... with mid to upper quality carpeting. We have 2 children 14 and 11. No dogs, no cats.
We are not at all handy, so we will get the carpet installed.
Generally speaking
There are quite a few different types of materials used in carpets...nylon etc. Which offers the best value for money ...if one is thinking of having it for say 10 years or so.
Which company offers best value...Home Depot, Lowe's or a small mom and pop store. When we checked we found the large stores like Home Depot were less expensive.
In terms of colors .. for resale of home.. ...any suggestions ?
Any input / suggestions on buying /installing carpeting / padding etc ?
They may have been a bit less expensive at the big store, but you probably won't get the same level of service either. You may even be downright unhappy with them from what I've been hearing. You may or may not get a good installer, Crap shoot.
Check a couple of small local dealers. You may find that they are very competitive, offer a better quality, stand behind their installers, offer better services. Considering the total cost, the life of the carpet, it is well worth an extra $100 to have a perfect job over one of the cheapest installer.
A good dealer will also take a lot of time to answer all of your questions, especially about material types and what is best for your needs. Our local dealer had over 35 years in the business, compared to how long for the salesman at the big box store? Just my opinion, but carpet is too big an expense and something that you live with for years, so don't take chances.
I like nylon but make sure it is anti-stat and has soil hiding capabilities like trilobal filaments and anti-soil finish. Nylon holds up better than other fibers but look for high basis weight, i.e. lots of fiber in the carpet. Neutral colors are best for house resale. Avoid white as it is hardest to keep clean. Get a good padding. Cheap ones tend to collapse and you'll have dents unrecoverable when you move furniture. Branded and certified best. Remnant stores can be cheapest but it is a crap shoot what you will get. Frank
I like mom & pop stores where you get better service and you actually are dealing with a responsible person who has reliable installers that they know and trust.
You said 10 years not 10 weeks so I would buy what you like since you will be looking at it for 10 years. Appealing to whatever might be popular in 10 years would be a distant consideration.
Australian or New Zealand wool. You can't shoot a bullet through that stuff. Will last thirty years, or the lifetime of a sheep.
Neither will have wool. It'll probably be a special order. Check with commercial carpet companies that provide carpeting for businesses. Imagine the durability of the carpet at a movie theatre...
For quality and looks, one of the wool/polyester blends would be my choice. Take account of any allergies or skin conditions in family members -- they sometimes contra-indicate specific materials.
Home Depot and Lowe's do offer good value for money, even though their service tends to suck. The good mom and pop stores offer great service (but you'll likely pay a premium). The bad mom and pop stores can really suck just as much as the major chains.
For resale -- light neutral colors every time. They're kind of boring and not so practical in that they will show any marks and stains very easily. But realtors and builders know that the standard plain light beige is what sells.
Dark patterned designs are more practical (hide marks) and can look nice depending on your style of home and furnishings.
For 10 years... select what *you* like. Figure that it may well be worth putting down some new, cheap, plain light beige at the time you come to sell. Your realtor will know exactly what to do (and be aware of any local regional factors).
Select the carpet first and then check the manufacturers recommendation with respect to padding.
Installation is really very simple for someone that has done it a few hundred or thousand times before and has the basic tools. The skill required is really not that great. What counts is attitude. Hope for an installer that cares about a neat/tidy/sound installation -- too many care only about how fast they can complete the job, collect the check and run.
I left in exactly what you said. The store offers good value for the money, even though their service tends to suck. Knowing they offer poor service, you are willing to buy (that is your choice), but, IMO, if the service sucks it is not a good value at any price. As long as customers knowingly accept poor service, the stores will continue to provide it. Business loves customers like that.
I've heard that too. We just had our entire upstairs done by HomeDespot. The installers were fantastic. Very professional, fast, and didn't nickel and dime me for "moving stuff". Great father-son team. We'll see what happens when we get the first floor done (I'm going to request the same team).
I'd agree, if it were chump-change. It's often far more than that.
Carpet is like furniture. There is *huge* overhead for the local stores.
Our opinions differ. I will and do sometimes except some poor elements of service in order to save a lot of money. Frankly, I can't afford to do otherwise. Perhaps you can.
I do however go to great lengths to avoid vendors who offer poor value.
And while Home Depot drives me crazy at time, some aspects of their service are quite good. In my case, they have a large inventory of generally useful stuff positioned less than half a mile from my home and open > 12 hours/day.
Their delivery service is overpriced and inconvenient. But they will rent me a truck my the hour for a very decent price.
In some cases, the service levels (or some aspects of them) really don't matter very much in terms of the overall value proposition. I dislike queuing at the checkout with a passion. But I'll do it to save $100.
In other cases, service is everything!
Business loves customers who will pay massive premiums on the price. Business is about profit -- what money they can make minus what it costs them to make it.
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