Typical carpet ordering times?

[Michael Kilpatrick]

Hello all,

I'm a carpet virgin. Never bought a new one in my life...

So, we need to know, in general terms, how long a time is there, typically, between ordering and fitting from most carpet companies? Is it a matter of a couple of weeks, or can it be a tediously long process?

It's really question of whether we can get the extension sufficiently habitable for Christmas, and knowing how soon we would need to settle on the choice of carpets, so as to decide shortly whether to accept invitations or make them ourselves, for the festive week!

Michael

[Invisible Man]

Our last one took 10 days. Can vary hugely as do prices for exactly the same carpet - and underlay.

Once the carpet is received by whoever you order it from they will want you to take delivery quite quickly. Fitters may be overworked in the run up to xmas.

Some of the large chains brand carpets as their own whereas they are available under the makers name cheaper elsewhere.

[Toom Tabard]

Nearer two weeks unless it something special. Have a word with Terry Baker of Carpet Rite, 181-183 Morrison Street. It's a family-run business. Not the cheapest, but in my experience will do what they say they'll do, to schedule, and fitters are excellent.

Toom

[Jules]

Yep. Last time we did one to order it was a week, but that was with us collecting it and fitting it ourselves; any need to have it fitted by their staff might delay things (I'm sure they would have delivered though for a fee).

Not sure if the same's true there, but the DIY sheds here often do carpet

- and they'll often shift slow-moving stock at a huge discount as compared to new (plus it's amazing how often folk seem to order a carpet then cancel - and once it's hit the store it'll sit around for a few weeks in case they change their mind, then staff will sell it off cheap).

We did a couple of the kids rooms that way, and saved about 50% on new price. Still waiting on doing a third kid's room as it's 12x15' which seems to be a bit of an odd size (most carpets seem to be around 12x12', or vastly bigger)

cheers

Jules

[zaax]

I've walked out of the with one before now. Bolsters are hireable the rest is just time & reading on the net how to lay it,.

[js.b1]

One point to note is carpets come in "roll width", 3m, 4m, 5m etc. So with an odd shaped room you can end up paying a lot for unused carpet. So what calculates out by area as say =A31378 can end up being =A31742, quite a jump.

It can be worth checking around the more specialised trade outlets not in "retail areas" re business rate, staff & so on overheads. You can often pick up your size of carpet at a good price. For example I found another =A350/yd carpet in remnant form at =A322/yd - a popular "neutral with pattern" too which tend to go for quite a bit more.

Underlay can be bought cheaply online, 9mm bonded-foam is good for downstairs, 11mm for upstairs (can be a bit too bouncy & make tables wobble downstairs). Tredaire Dreamwalk & Cloud 9 are common brands, half rolls about =A320 delivered, full rolls about =A345 delivered (15 metres square) and some places doing full rolls also sell by the square metre so you can pick up an extra few metre-square if need be without buying units of full rolls. The foam insulations are about

2.5-3.0 Tog, waffle rubber about 1.2-1.6 Tog, rubber crumb about 1.5-1.7 Tog. I'm still not convinced the foam underlay will not tread down over time (PU foam suffers about 30% static set eventually and a carpet can be heavy in itself) however it is starting out thick so it may hold up ok.

Next is what mix, eg, 100% polypropylene to 60/40 80/20 etc wool/ synthetic mix. A very high wool content combined with lightweight can result in a carpet that goes to hessian relatively quickly in a bedroom where movement is "along tracks" and pedestal chairs go over it. Choose carefully. If you have badly cupped floorboards likewise consider hardboard over the top then an underlay, because cupping can break the back of a carpet in a line over years. No idea if most people change their carpets every 5yrs, but relatives get 25yrs+ and the older heckmanwick (spelt wrong) can go 60yrs in hotel grade on high traffic areas with no hessian showing or "tracks".

Finally, if measuring yourself, always measure into the door reveal. You would be amazed how many people don't and then need to get the carpet machine jointed "behind the sofa, behind the bed" or such like.

If you have sockets on skirting fed via cables from below, make sure the fitters slot the carpet and fold into place - not hack great "laybys" out of it so when you move the sockets up you aren't left with a remedial carpet cut-n-fill job that is actually rather difficult to get perfect. Saw it happen at a private dentists, needed new carpet throughout courtesy of their slapdash. If any services or such like exit/enter the floor and may be moved, get them to cut & fold under so you can at least avoid patching later.

Asphalt & carpet grippers. Do not let them nail it, bond it (gripfill and the like). Nailing it breaks up what may be your only damp course (and it does quite well, along with driving levelling compound buyers insane).