After over a month of having people working in my basement, the carpet was finally laid yesterday. Not only does it look great and even smell great, it feels great. My wife and I are “barefoot people” – we like to be shoeless at every opportunity. So picking a quality carpet and pad was an important investment that will help us enjoy the space even better.
There are a lot of places you can choose to cut back to save money when doing a renovation, but flooring is one of the last places you should look to cut corners. You really need to focus on quality when purchasing and installing a carpet and pad, hardwood, tile, or even vinyl flooring. The floor is going to take a beating over the years and the cheaper you go, the quicker it will wear out and look bad.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to know if you’re getting quality until a few years later, but here are a few measures you can take to reduce your risk and check the quality of your product and your installer:
When purchasing carpet, it’s best to get your hands on it and really work it hard. Take a sample and pull on the threads, bend it at least 90 degrees, and twist it as hard as you can. If the pile come loose easily, if you can see the burlap backing when bending it, or if it twists too easily, you may not have a quality carpet.
Get at least a “6 pound” carpet pad, but preferably at least an “8 pound”. The better pad you buy, the longer your carpet will last and the better it will feel under your feet. A thicker pad draws away some of the force when walking on the carpet and helps the carpet stay in good condition longer. And for “barefoot people” like me, it makes for a softer (and warmer) step when barefoot since it acts as both a cushion and an insulator. If you’re installing it in a basement, make sure to upgrade to a mold-resistant pad.
Inspect a few tile samples before buying in bulk. Ceramic tile is usually fairly uniform, as long as the tiles all come from the same run. But natural stone tiles, such as marble, vary widely due to their natural sources. You want tiles that have similar coloring and are thick and strong enough to withstand years of use and abuse. And if you’re installing tile in a bathroom, make sure to get tiles that have some texture. The last thing you want to do is crack your head open by slipping on some wet, smooth marble tiles.
Hire an installer on recommendations. Sure, you can hire installers from a home improvement retailer such as Lowe’s, but they are merely subcontractors who happened to bid the lowest and meet the retail chain’s minimum quality standards. Our house’s upper two floors were installed by Lowe’s subcontractors and we already have some trouble spots just two years later. We opted to hire a different installer for our basement because he came with the highest of recommendations from multiple sources. The job he did was fantastic and you can barely tell where the carpet seams are and the stairs are magnificent.
Remember that your flooring is the hardest thing to change. Furniture can be moved around, walls can be repainted, and decorations can be added, but your floor probably won’t change for at least a decade or two. Good flooring is truly an investment in the space it fills. If you get poor quality or it is installed improperly, you’ll see it and regret it every day you walk around the problems. Flooring is the one place it truly does not make sense to go cheap. Buy and hire for quality and you’ll love the results for years.
Photo by: Rachel’s flickrs
