Carpets, underlay, and fitting

[Grumps]

Hi All So I'm getting the hall/stairs/landing carpets replaced and have had a quote from a major company. I've fitted carpets myself in the past (grippers, underlay etc. not just rubber backed stuff), but it takes me too long and I couldn't be arsed this time round. Now this large shop has suggested, of course, their own 6mm rubber underlay. If I get the underlay online I'll save half the cost, but that is partly offset with the shop offering free fitting. So, the questions are:

1) Is CarpetRight (oops, let that slip) underlay any good? 2) Is 6mm recommended for high traffic areas? Ta.

[tabbypurr]

6mm is thin. Cheapest underlay is PE rather than a longer lasting plastic.

NT

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It is going to depend on the quality of carpet fitted. If a cheap one which is going to have a short life, cheap (free) underlay might last as long. But it won't last the life of a decent carpet. If a decent carpet, you want something like Cloud 9.

[Grumps]

Well, it's not the cheapest carpet, but is pretty much low end. I've used Cloud 9 before. They do a 6mm thick version.

Is there a maximum thickness underlay that a carpet will take?

I know CarpetRight will rip you off with the price of the underlay, but then throw in free fitting. In this case, I think the price difference is only about £50 (vs. me buying the underlay and paying for fitting).

[Robin]

Dunno but generally speaking with stairs the thicker the underlay the harder it is to shape around the nosings - which may or may not matter to you.

[alan_m]

On flat surfaces (rooms/halls) I've always gone for Cloud 9 either 9 or

11mm thick. I agree a thick underlay may be more difficult on stairs and maybe a thinner underlay could be used in this one position.

I note that the thinnest Cloud 9 underlay (7mm) is described as "Fitter Friendly Underlay" probably because it takes less time to fit a carpet over a thinner material.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Except, of course, the edge of a step is where a carpet gets the most wear.

[Robin]

But on the third hand most people don't stand around on stairs so a thinner but higher density underlay (eg 9mm) may give the same protection as a thicker but softer one (eg 12mm) more suitable for other areas.

[tabbypurr]

On the 4th hand neither will offer the carpet much protection against wear.

NT

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Problem I've found is the standard 'free' underlay pretty soon loses any effectiveness where it is heavily loaded - like the edge of the stairs. So doesn't make much difference how thick it was to start with. It's often just a pile of dust after a few years. Unlike Cloud 9. Of course if you change the carpet anyway every few years this is unlikely to matter.