carpet underlay

[Andrew]

Just been out looking at new carpet for bedroom.... I'd originally thought I'd get them to fit over the old underlay.... but most of suppliers say you should buy new underlay as old will have flattened etc...

Hmmm.... I've removed old carpet ... Current underlay is somesort of brownish fibre (actually green squared pattern on floorboard side and brown matt fibres on top side...) and about 5+mm thick ... staple thru Its at least 8 years old (we moved in) ... and less than 25 years old (house built)....

Underlay costs seem to be between £2 sqyd (fibre) and £5(foam) sq yd... Do I need new ... Would it help / be advisable to put the new layer (say fibre) of underlay over the old and get them to staple top layer thru bottom to floorboard ... or will this cause trouble... Should I just throw out old underlay and replace with new (I wouldn't want to throw out good stuff and replace with inferior just meet some sales guys quota).. What say you ...? thanks Andrew

[Grunff]

If the underlay is holding together well, and still has some bounce (when you compress it, it compresses then returns) then I'd stick with it. If it isn't, replace it. I've yet to see underlay at £2/yard that is worth buying - I'd be looking at around £5-£6/yard for decent underlay.

[Stephen Williams]

There's an old saying in the trade "A poor carpet needs a good underlay and a good carpet deserves one." The fibre type should be jute, cotton and other similar products, which mats down in walk way areas. The underlay is not only there to feel nice but to protect the carpet and I would recommend that it is replaced. Lets face it you are paying good money for a carpet, probably a lot more than for the underlay, and you will want the carpet to last 8/10 years by which time the old underlay will be 16 - 20 years old. Go for a fairly solid rubber underlay, not the waffle type, and you will find that it doesn't mat down in the walkways half as much as the fibre types. By the way, pinning new over old is false economy as they will move causing rucking of the new carpet which in turn leads to premature wear.

Just my 10p's worth - the choice is yours!

Steve

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In my experience, the carpet often outlasts the underlay - unless it's really good stuff.

[Jan Wysocki]

I say that this is a d-i-y newsgroup! Carpet laying isn't rocket science! Carpet laying is easier than plumbing, just do it yourself! You don't want a second layer of underlay over the first! it's either reusable, or you strip it and put new down. If the underlay is still resilient, then reuse it. Foam underlay turns into dust in less than ten years. Decent felt underlay costs around GBP5 per sq. m, well worth reusing it.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Might be to you, but it's not to me. If you want a neat job, that is. ;-)

[Grunff]

I'll second that. I'll do any job on our house except for carpet laying and whole-room plastering. I am not good enough to get a decent finish, and I don't have enough rooms to practice on.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yup. And if you make a mistake in plumbing, it's no big deal to simply do that part again. Slice into a 1000 quid carpet wrongly and there's not much you can do to fix it.

[PJ]

Unless you cut holes in it for your pressure mats (!!)

[PJ]

Oh so you had your carpets fitted by a professional AND THEN took it up to cut holes in your underlay for your pressure mats? WHAT?!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You appear to have been waiting quite a time to have a go about this?

Lifting and re-laying a properly fitted carpet is easy - it's cutting it correctly I find difficult.

And all my pressure pads are still working fine. Must be about 10 years old and in the heaviest trafficked parts. I'd suggest you use a decent supplier when you buy stuff. Price isn't everything.

[PJ]

No, not waiting. i just remember.

But a pressure may is a pressure may... there is only one manufacturer.

Anyway.... you enjoy them.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In the entire world? Somehow, I doubt that.

[Andrew]

[raden]

Especially the hall - stairs - landing bit

Also, a simple mistake can be quite costly

[raden]

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Call in Bob the Builder, he can fix it

[PJ]

Doubt what you like. Tell you what, you look for more than one and report back because you can probably be bothered whereas I can't.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You're the one who is somehow fixated about my use of pressure pads in my own domestic installation where they work perfectly.

If you haven't got the skills to fit them properly so they are invisible and reliable, why should I care?

[Martin Angove]

Probably too late by now, but you could find an independent carpet supplier like the one we've discovered near Caerphilly rather than going to one of the chains.

This supplier quotes an "all in" price on his carpets - to include underlay, gripper, fittings and laying - and *still* worked out cheaper than CarpetRight who were having a "50% sale" day. CarpetRight's £/sqm cost did look cheaper, but when you added in the underlay, gripper and fittings it actually worked out about £1/sqm more expensive for the exact same carpet before even considering how much it would cost to have it fitted.

The independent bloke uses an underlay called "Cloud 9" by default which is one step up from the usual paper/hessian/rippled rubber stuff, being made from something which looks like chopped foam sandwiched between paper/hessian and a very slippery PVC-type film.

If you are on a tight budget he will also compromise on some areas (notably the underlay) as my sister has found :-)

Hwyl!

M.