Carpet

[pete6032]

I am replacing some very old carpet in a basement bedroom. What is everyone's experience here with buying carpet? Types, materials, brands to look out for or avoid?

 

[jmagg]

Having done some carpet installation, I'd say Olefin or Nylon with a high quality pad under it.

 

[IronWing]

I suggest tile and area rugs, a lot easier to deal with when the basement floods.

 

[lxskllr]

Tile or faux hardwood. I've grown to despise wall-wall carpet. It's bland, and visually uninteresting. For a modest cost, you can change an area rug and get a whole new look.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Vinyl plank is stupid easy to install and has lots of finish offerings

Edit: i will add its very easy to DIY. i did a 12x13 guest room with no experience and it turned out really well.

 

[iRONic]

LVL is the only way to do a basement floor these days.

Edit: Here’s a local to me company. I’m not a customer but just adding that page for the information.

https://www.carrellrogers.com/luxury-vinyl-flooring-guide-1

 

[Greenman]

Tile or faux hardwood. I've grown to despise wall-wall carpet. It's bland, and visually uninteresting. For a modest cost, you can change an area rug and get a whole new look.

I've come to like carpeted bedrooms, though it gets funky pretty fast. Bamboo is my first choice for all around flooring.

 

[pete6032]

Won't vinyl plank be cold in the winter? Midwest basement with concrete floor.

 

[Greenman]

Won't vinyl plank be cold in the winter? Midwest basement with concrete floor.

Yup. Cold as a well diggers backside.

 

[iRONic]

Won't vinyl plank be cold in the winter? Midwest basement with concrete floor.

Cold?! Tile will be just as cold. Is the space heated? I imagine you wouldn’t be walking around barefoot in the winter.

If the concrete floor is level lay down an electric in-floor radiant heating system and float which ever LVL type finish you prefer over that. If it isn’t level, pour a self leveling product first. Many LVL manufacturers supply their products with under layment backing attached right out of the box.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Pull 20+ year old carpet up once and you'll never put carpet down again.

For a basement floor, I'd be inclined to go with a good sealer and paint. Talented people can paint as if it were tiles. Maybe even not so talented people if they can lay out a pattern.

Then large area rugs as needed for seating or entertainment areas.

Floor coverings can be expensive and easily damaged, then difficult or impossible to repair.

If your basement is prone to flooding, even once, any and all floor coverings will need to be replaced. Water will get under all of it, including glued down tiles. Old dried sewage under tiles or planking is not something you want to deal with. No such problems with a good paint/sealer.

 

[pete6032]

I have tile in the bathroom down there and its extraordinarily cold in the winter. So cold you don't even want to walk on it with just socks on.

 

[purbeast0]

I really would like to recarpet my basement as well, however I have too much heavy stuff down here that would make it possible for me to empty the room in order to get it recarpeted.

Anyone with experience, is it common that carpet laying companies will lay carpet down on a half side of the room, and then do the other half later on? Like so I could move everything to one side, do one side, then move it to the newly carpeted sisde while they do the other side? Is that a thing?

And no I am not getting tile or hard floors down here. It's too cold and I need carpet for acoustic reasons. Tiles or no carpet would be too reflective for sounds.

 

[iRONic]

Shit! Now I have that ‘Empire’ jingle in my head. Grrrr

 

[purbeast0]

Shit! Now I have that ‘Empire’ jingle in my head. Grrrr

"TODAY"

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I really would like to recarpet my basement as well, however I have too much heavy stuff down here that would make it possible for me to empty the room in order to get it recarpeted.

Anyone with experience, is it common that carpet laying companies will lay carpet down on a half side of the room, and then do the other half later on? Like so I could move everything to one side, do one side, then move it to the newly carpeted sisde while they do the other side? Is that a thing?

And no I am not getting tile or hard floors down here. It's too cold and I need carpet for acoustic reasons. Tiles or no carpet would be too reflective for sounds.

I'm not sure why they wouldn't, but there will likely be a scheduling issue and return trip charge of some kind.

 

[jmagg]

I really would like to recarpet my basement as well, however I have too much heavy stuff down here that would make it possible for me to empty the room in order to get it recarpeted.

Anyone with experience, is it common that carpet laying companies will lay carpet down on a half side of the room, and then do the other half later on? Like so I could move everything to one side, do one side, then move it to the newly carpeted sisde while they do the other side? Is that a thing?

And no I am not getting tile or hard floors down here. It's too cold and I need carpet for acoustic reasons. Tiles or no carpet would be too reflective for sounds.

The general answer is yes. If you're planning on carpet stretched over pad, it can be done but the installers will have a hard time getting a proper stretch with heavy items still in the room. Also rolling heavy items on a dolly will create wrinkles or looseness to the install. Things need to be lifted into place.

Its much easier to install glue down into a crowded room. There are rubberback and commercial goods that are routinely glued down.

 

[purbeast0]

The general answer is yes. If you're planning on carpet stretched over pad, it can be done but the installers will have a hard time getting a proper stretch with heavy items still in the room. Also rolling heavy items on a dolly will create wrinkles or looseness to the install. Things need to be lifted into place.

Its much easier to install glue down into a crowded room. There are rubberback and commercial goods that are routinely glued down.

There is no padding down here at all under the carpet. It is currently carpet with small naps on it. If I were to get carpet replaced down here, I would probably go with flatter carpet closer to like movie theater carpe and probably darker like in a movie theater as well. There is a decent amount of foot traffic since it's basically my man cave with a projector and then some arcade games.

 

[jmagg]

Glue down or loose lay, the carpet is folded back halfway to apply the glue under, then dropped into the glue, rolled out and cut in, then the items are moved to the glued side, and the other side is folded back. Loose lay wo I'm sure your estimator will add labor to the job. Loose lay (no pad)wont last as long as glue down.

 

[purbeast0]

Glue down or loose lay, the carpet is folded back halfway to apply the glue under, then dropped into the glue, rolled out and cut in, then the items are moved to the glued side, and the other side is folded back. Loose lay wo I'm sure your estimator will add labor to the job. Loose lay (no pad)wont last as long as glue down.

Gotcha okay cool.

The problem is though, this shit is heavy and expensive and I honestly would rather me and some buddies move it and not the actual people laying the carpet, so I'd be fine with having to pay them more to come over 2 days in a row.

I'm talking about moving arcade cabinets and pinball machines, and some sub woofers that are like 175lbs a piece lol. I'd rather me mess with something breaking and not put that liability on the carpet guys.

 

[jmagg]

Gotcha okay cool.

The problem is though, this shit is heavy and expensive and I honestly would rather me and some buddies move it and not the actual people laying the carpet, so I'd be fine with having to pay them more to come over 2 days in a row.

I'm talking about moving arcade cabinets and pinball machines, and some sub woofers that are like 175lbs a piece lol. I'd rather me mess with something breaking and not put that liability on the carpet guys.

Well there are carpet tile. Im sure a good company would come back, perhaps somewhat reluctantly.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

There is also heat seam tape. Quite a common item.

It's also very unlikely a basement will be less than the 13' width of most carpet rolls, so there WILL be at least one seam somewhere.

Should be no problem at all to lay one section and come back to lay another.

 

[purbeast0]

Yeah my basement is wider than 13 feet in all dimensions.

I also have a support pole in the middle of the basement that carpet had to go around so there has to be a seam somewhere, and I can't tell at all.

 

[pete6032]

And no I am not getting tile or hard floors down here. It's too cold.

Yeah it can get to about 60 in the basement here so the floor feels very cold. Lvp or tile would not work.

 

[IronWing]

Yeah it can get to about 60 in the basement here so the floor feels very cold. Lvp or tile would not work.

Here's your chance to install radiant floor heating.