For anyone who knows about getting carpet installed? I have a question

[QueBert]

I'm looking to get my bedroom recarpeted, as I pretty much expected every website I've went to, just to get an "online quote" I have to fill out a contact form where I'm sure I'll get called and harassed. I know how theses work, you don't actually get a instant quote, some dude from the company will call you in 30 minutes. I don't want to talk to nobody, I know the room size and I just want a quote on the website. I found a few where I punched in the room dimensions and the carpet I liked and got an estimate. But I can't order anything until they come out to look. I understand why they have to come out 1st, but it's annoying still.

Home Depot says the carpet I like's $4.46/sq ft installed. But they need to come out and measure. I've never been the one to handle having carpet installed, but I lack trust for quotes from any services where they need to come out and look before. I think it'll be 1 price, but when they get here it always ends up "Sorry, but you'll also need x because of [insert possibly made up reason] and we recommend you switch to a different product to get better results because of [insert probably made up reason]" And they've never recommended a change that wound up being cheaper, imagine that.

Maybe carpet installers are different, but when it involves a group of people coming out and I don't know the exact price yet. I've never gotten anything else done for the $$$ I was told it would be before they came. So I'm suspicious here, I know carpeting is pretty basic, but is there a chance they'll tell me I need upgraded padding or something? I'm thinking if they came out for a measuring and consultation the $4.46/sq ft will somehow magically become $6.46.

"After tearing up your old carpet and padding, your concrete's extra concrete-y, and if you don't go with the deluxe thick padding the carpet will wear much quicker and we won't be able to provide a warranty, sorry." I just made that up and it's probably not a thing, but I could imagine hearing something similar.

I don't want to get told "Ok, we're here and ready to do the work, but sorry it's not going to cost you $638, it's actually going to be $923, how will you be paying for this so we can get started?"

My question is, is there any chance in hell I'll get this done for the price I'm seeing online? It seems like an easy yes, but I just don't trust any process that involves a quote that can change once they come out to do the actual work.

 

[spacejamz]

I would recommend replacing your carpet with anything but carpet and then using a large area rug or something. The amount of dust, dander and god knows what else that will get stuck in your carpet/carpet pad is insane and no amount of vaccuuming will really get it.

I have replaced all of the carpet (myself) in my home with mostly laminate (been very happy with the pergo duralast stuff) and some traffic master vinyl stuff. I tried some of the cheaper end flooring and definitely recommend avoiding that.

You would not believe how bad it was pulling up the carpet and the pad. To top it off, there were so much debris behind the baseboards since I replaced them with taller ones (I bought the house new back in 2003 and replaced the carpet about 6 years ago)...more junk, nails, screws/dry wall scraps, dirt, etc....

The 'funnest' part was replacing all of the carpet on the stairs....definitely saved that project for last bit...

Living room with the pergo laminate:


Before/After pic of the stairs (put the carpet pads on the stair treads for my puppy):

 

[QueBert]

I was thinking of going Laminate and figuring out how to do it myself. But I'm about to redo my TV setup to a 5.1.2, and a lot of the audiophiles I've been chatting with are saying I should stick with carpet unless I want all sorts of reflections and overall poor sound. They're even recommending I get the plushest carpet I can find.

From stuff I found on Google, they're right. I think laminate with the setup I'm gonna have would be a terrible idea, and unlike Laminate I don't think installing carpet would be a task a normal person would want to undertake.


*EDIT* I was wrong... I found peel and stick carpet tiles, and after watching a YT video, even I could install them. Never even heard of this shit, but it's impressive looking and doesn't require much of any skill or knowledge. And they come with the padding on the back.

 

[BoomerD]

I prefer carpet in the bedrooms. I HATE getting out of bed to pee in the middle of the night and walking on a cold laminate/tile floor...plus, the carpet helps make the room quieter, absorbing some of the external noises and preventing "echoes."

 

[A///]

I was thinking of going Laminate and figuring out how to do it myself. But I'm about to redo my TV setup to a 5.1.2, and a lot of the audiophiles I've been chatting with are saying I should stick with carpet unless I want all sorts of reflections and overall poor sound. They're even recommending I get the plushest carpet I can find.

get a thick synthetic rug. you'll be good to go.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

When you pull carpet up, you'll understand why you don't want to put carpet back down.

Laminate is plastic ... in some form.

If you can afford it, go with natural wood planks. You'll need a moisture barrier if you have a concrete slab. I don't know (or care) about acoustics, but I would imagine wood would be better than plastic. Wood is also a mild insulator, so it won't get as cold as plastic.

Rugs on any smooth surface is a recipe for slip and fall. Less of a risk if you go big enough to be planted under the legs of the bed or other furniture and you can still pull them easily for cleaning.

 

[purbeast0]

Not trying to thread jack but I also have a question about carpet installation.

Is there anyway at all carpet can be installed without removing all furniture from a room? Like doing half and half?

Reason I ask is I'd love to redo the carpet in my basement but I have some very heavy, larger items, that I simply will not move upstairs just to get the carpet redone. It's not a necessity just something I'd like to do, but I'm not moving all of my heady speakers, arcade games, and pinball machines upstairs jus to do so. I could easily cram them all to be in like 1/3 of the room though but wasn't sure if that's possible because I know they have to stretch it out and shit.

 

[jmagg]

Generally, you'll go and choose your carpet and pad at the store, then they send someone out to measure the space. Don't cheap out on pad, since the quality of pad increases the life of the carpet. Even high priced plush carpet will mat down quickly in high traffic areas with cheap pad.

In reply to Purbeast0.
No, the installers wont be able to properly stretch the job with heavy items in the room. A glue down job would be ok.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Is there anyway at all carpet can be installed without removing all furniture from a room? Like doing half and half?

A good installer can do that. Generally carpet is 12-13 feet wide so doing an area wider than that will require a seam. That's usually done with a heat and carpet tape that bonds the pieces together.

Some rental places have machines, but that's not something for some one who has never used one.

Scheduling might be an issue as they'd have to make at least two trips to give you time to move your stuff.

 

[Stopsignhank]

OP, the public is stupid. Some people will say they have a 12'x12' room and then when the installers show up it will be 13'x12'. Or the installers will show up and there is a 125 gallon aquarium in the room and the people will just say, can you just work around that?

Any good place will want to send someone out to look at the space and verify the measurements and check out the working conditions. Conversely, you want the company to come out and check out the working conditions. That means they know what they are doing and they are prepared for the job.

 

[spacejamz]

I was thinking of going Laminate and figuring out how to do it myself. But I'm about to redo my TV setup to a 5.1.2, and a lot of the audiophiles I've been chatting with are saying I should stick with carpet unless I want all sorts of reflections and overall poor sound. They're even recommending I get the plushest carpet I can find.

From stuff I found on Google, they're right. I think laminate with the setup I'm gonna have would be a terrible idea, and unlike Laminate I don't think installing carpet would be a task a normal person would want to undertake.


*EDIT* I was wrong... I found peel and stick carpet tiles, and after watching a YT video, even I could install them. Never even heard of this shit, but it's impressive looking and doesn't require much of any skill or knowledge. And they come with the padding on the back.

floor prep is the probably the most important thing for the peel and stick flooring...you want the best possible surface for the tiles to stick to...

 

[Captante]

I've done several "peel and stick" TILE floors but never tried it with carpeting.... it's not that hard if you luck out and your tiles happen to fit the room you have in mind precisely or very close to it.

Which they will 100% not do. (ever)

Cutting the last row of tiles abutting the walls down to proper "snugness" against the wall/baseboard when (inevitably) they won't fit @ full size in your "not perfectly square/rectangular" room is a freaking bitch and a half .... make sure you get a substantial number of "extra" tiles for when (not "if") you make measuring mistakes too.

Better yet, suck it up and PAY A PROFESSIONAL to do it right. Five years from now you'll be glad you did.

 

[spacejamz]

I've done several "peel and stick" TILE floors but never tried it with carpeting.... it's not that hard if you luck out and your tiles happen to fit the room you have in mind precisely or very close to it.

Which they will 100% not do. (ever)

Cutting the last row of tiles abutting the walls down to proper "snugness" against the baseboard when (inevitably) they won't fit @ full size in your "not perfectly square/rectangular" room is a freaking bitch and a half .... make sure you get a substantial number of "extra" tiles for when (not "if") you make measuring mistakes too.

Better yet, suck it up and PAY A PROFESSIONAL to do it right. Five years from now you'll be glad you did.

If you don't remove the baseboards, (and most don't), many installers will just add quarterround trim to the baseboard to cover that gap between the tile and baseboard...

 

[Captante]

If you don't remove the baseboards, (and most don't), many installers will just add quarterround trim to the baseboard to cover that gap between the tile and baseboard...

Oh it's certainly possible (and all too common!) for contractors to cut corners like that... it's easy when you don't actually take any pride in your work. For them it's "good enough".

Personally IF i'm going to do a job at all I take the time and give the effort to do it right. (ie: baseboards come off!)

OTOH if "half-assed" shoddy work that won't hold up is what I'm looking for, Home Depot and their lame-o "professional" (lol) installers are right down the street.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

There's a REAL easy and accurate way to cut that last row of tiles, no measuring involved. Works for vinyl and ceramic, not so sure about carpet, but I can't see any reason it wouldn't.

 

[Captante]

There's a REAL easy and accurate way to cut that last row of tiles, no measuring involved. Works for vinyl and ceramic, not so sure about carpet, but I can't see any reason it wouldn't.

Is this supposed to be surprising? But then "No measuring" sounds about par for the course for you lol.

 

[spacejamz]

Oh it's certainly possible (and all too common!) for contractors to cut corners like that... it's easy when you don't actually take any pride in your work. For them it's "good enough".

Personally IF i'm going to do a job at all I take the time and give the effort to do it right. (ie: baseboards come off!)

OTOH if "half-assed" shoddy work that won't hold up is what I'm looking for, Home Depot and their lame-o "professional" (lol) installers are right down the street.

Instead of the standard quarterround option, I went with this look to cover my gap...I was pretty happy with the result...

 

[Captante]

Instead of the standard quarterround option, I went with this look to cover my gap...I was pretty happy with the result...
View attachment 82357

Not terrible .... but the "edge" is still pretty obvious. (sorry) Another plus to removing/replacing the baseboards is that you don't NEED the divide to look "perfect".

It should last but I wouldn't be happy unless it was my first try .... in which case not bad!

 

[spacejamz]

Not terrible .... but the "edge" is still pretty obvious. (sorry) Another plus to removing/replacing the baseboards is that you don't NEED the divide to look "perfect".

It should last but I wouldn't be happy unless it was my first try .... in which case not bad!

No worries...I am still happy with it and knowing I didn't have it put with half-assed contractors trying to short cut everything made it even more worthwhile...

 

[jmagg]

Not terrible .... but the "edge" is still pretty obvious. (sorry) Another plus to removing/replacing the baseboards is that you don't NEED the divide to look "perfect".

It should last but I wouldn't be happy unless it was my first try .... in which case not bad!

Not sure what you're looking at, but it looks like his cuts are all under the trim. Great job spacejams.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

'The Method' for cutting edge tiles is laid out on every box of tiles I've ever seen.


Shoe molding is common. It allows you to remove it when doing flooring so you don't have to remove the baseboard and damage the wall paint or paper. It also protects the baseboard from ... shoes, boots, furniture etc. damaging the baseboard in normal daily traffic.

 

[QueBert]

OP, the public is stupid. Some people will say they have a 12'x12' room and then when the installers show up it will be 13'x12'. Or the installers will show up and there is a 125 gallon aquarium in the room and the people will just say, can you just work around that?

Any good place will want to send someone out to look at the space and verify the measurements and check out the working conditions. Conversely, you want the company to come out and check out the working conditions. That means they know what they are doing and they are prepared for the job.

I understand this, but I know the room size, and they have a price per sq installed on the website. And I'm curious if that amount usually stays the same once they send somebody out to look. Seems like a perfect opportunity to spring "oh, you'll also need this because of your baseboards" on the customer.

No matter, I've decided to go with peel and stick and do it myself. It will be, uh fun? Well probably not fun, but it will be something new to try, and after watching a couple how to videos on YT it looks pretty easy. Don't even think I could mess it up.

Also, doing it this way I won't have to clear the room out at all, I have a bed and shit that would have to be taken apart to get them out. But this way, I can move everything to the left, do half the room then move everything to the right and do the other half.

 

[purbeast0]

A good installer can do that. Generally carpet is 12-13 feet wide so doing an area wider than that will require a seam. That's usually done with a heat and carpet tape that bonds the pieces together.

Some rental places have machines, but that's not something for some one who has never used one.

Scheduling might be an issue as they'd have to make at least two trips to give you time to move your stuff.

Thanks for that info, that is good to know.

And yeah, if there was a seam but was basically invisible, I wouldn't care at all.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

*EDIT* I was wrong... I found peel and stick carpet tiles, and after watching a YT video, even I could install them. Never even heard of this shit, but it's impressive looking and doesn't require much of any skill or knowledge. And they come with the padding on the back.

I have carpet squares in my home office/gym room. I'm using 24" squares with 1/8" MDF on top of the subflooring to make a level base.

I bought my squares from a wholesaler overstock and used 2 different colors to create apattern I liked and paid under$1/sq ft. I took all the squares and laid them into a pattern I wanted and picked the edge that would be most hdden to be "cut". Very simple, measure - use a box cutter and then cut.

I used a staple gun - pneumatic - and roughly 4 staples per square. They sink in pretty deep so you cant see or feel em.

 

[Charmonium]

This may have been covered but w-to-wall carpeting requires, at the very least, what I'll call tie-down bars around the perimeter. Think - thin wood strips small nails pointing out of the top. Of course they also have to be nailed down. Without those, the carpet and padding just become a crumpled mess in short order.

The problem is if you have nice finished wood floors, I do. The problem being the holes in your lovely wood floors.

I thought it was fascinating to watch the carpets being installed though. They also require what they call (or used to) in the trade, a "knee kicker." It has a carpet friendly claw on one end and a thick but firm cushion on the other end. Shove claw into carpet, kick the other end. This is also crucial for a well behaved carpet because it ensures that there is zero slack that might otherwise cause a problematic lump or wave.

As for audiophiles, assume that the vast majority are mostly clueless. If you're worried about sound being reflected, carpet the walls first.