How long does underlay last?

Hi Dave,

I think is depends on how the underlay is made and its condition now. We've just had the house re-carpeted throughout using an local independent. When he came to measure up he asked what underlay we had. I couldn't tell him so I showed him piece where I could get the carpet up easily. His comments was "that's probably done 20,000 miles before being turned into an underlay". He then went on to say it had a life expectancy of around 20 to 25 years depending on wear. The underlay we have has was a woven backing and a solid foam rubber pad. Not air pocket dimples like you have described.

The only advice he gave was to have a pads changed on the stairs as that is a heavy wear area. When I lifted the carpets I found writing on the underlay with the plot number on it, so it must have been down 12 years so far. I only moved in 6 years ago. It was all in good condition except the cloakroom. This looked like it was done with odds and ends and these were falling apart. A new piece went in there.

Hope this helps, Ryan

Yeah, some felt in this house has remained good for well over 20 years. The dimple stuff is OK but its hard to tell what it would do under high traffic places. The stuff to watch was that rubbish like the back of foam backed carpets. That just turns to dust after about 10 years it seems.

Brian

It comes in different qualities so combined with the variable usage, I guess it's difficult to predict a life. By mistake they put the best stuff in our lounge and after about 15 years, most of it still has good spring, apart that is from the bit that comes in from the kitchen, which I've been thinking about replacing. I've already replaced the underlay in the hall, on the stairs and the landing, as it greatly extends the life of the carpet.

Andy C

Lifespan is definitely related to the initial outlay. Cheap crap degrades pretty quickly, and is usually pretty obvious when/where it's clapped out - flat, no spring left in it, often with piles of powder leaking under it. That said, you don't want to compromise on it as the life of the carpet is very much dependent on the quality of the underlay/

My top tip, when the carpets are off, inspect the underlay and do a bit of judicious moving around - eg the area under a double bed will be pristine, so cut out a comparable area in the most walked-upon area and swap them over, covering the joints with duck tape or whatever.

(Oh, and top tip 2 - if you do buy new underlay (or any other accessories like binder bars or gripper rods), get it online and not your local carpet emporium, even if they are fitting it: they will charge you way more for the ancillaries as that's where they make all their money, not the from the headline price of the carpet itself)

David

I had some fail in the first house I bought. It was OK for a couple of years, and then suddenly all turned into powdered rubber like a sort of lightweight sand, and moved around under the carpet like sand dunes. The room wasn't used much (box room), so it wasn't wear related, but time related (perished, I guess). No idea how old it was. The carpet on top of it was in good condition, but unfortunately pink - I chucked it, and vacuumed up the underlay...

Think it depends on the quality, as all which looks like that is not the same. I've seen some that disintegrates in 10 years or so.

I've had some last around 25years.

Any recomendatrions for online supplier?

NT

Last lot of underlay I bought (about a year ago) was from

David

I replaced my crumbling bubble stuff with Cloud 9. Too early to say how it will last - but it certainly seems to be holding up well on the heavily loaded parts like the stairs.

I've found a good independent carpet retailer and I am happy to pay the little extra for the underlay etc as I want them to stay in business.

That's fine - provided you know what you're getting. Even the cheapest underlay would likely last as long as any reasonable warranty. But nothing like as long as good stuff. Of course if you change the carpet each time you decorate, quality probably doesn't matter.

Thanks for all the responses. Decided to keep it for the moment and stash it in the shed. Carpet has gone down the tip.

It will, unless a carpet fitter sees it after 1 or 2, and then it's 'knackered' and needs replacing with more expensive stuff, obviously.

If it seems OK to you then it's OK to leave down

Sounds like you'll get another 20 odd years out of it....a bedroom carpet gets very little wear, normally a few minutes morning and night and maybe another few minutes changing clothes etc, so 10mins a day is

But that said, it does also deteriorate to an extent with age alone, notably the rubber stuff like the OP's

David

Not sure it makes a vast difference to how long the cheap stuff lasts. It might well be a chemical action which is time based.