Any time you make a change to your home, it’s exciting. Remodeling can be fun.
If you’re looking for an easy way to change up your decor, and give your home a fresh, new perspective, look no further than your floor. Whether you get your dream floor, add a pop of color, or just want to refresh a tired look, your flooring should top your lists of things to do this fall.
But having buyers remorse from the moment the installation is complete is one of our biggest worries. It stops many homeowners in their tracks, unsure of what to do. Is there a way to ensure you don’t make mistakes when buying new carpet? We have a few tips for you.
Making a decision based on a promotion
Watching home improvement shows can get your creative juices flowing. They often start with a room that’s barely livable, and turn it into something extraordinary. What’s not to love about watching transformation in process?
And tucked in between the hour long show is a variety of commercials to push you towards making decisions for your own home. You’ll often find flooring dealers hawking their wares, promising you a great deal to carpet every room in your home. Should you trust them?
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Companies are in business to make a profit. No matter how they advertise a “deal” in a commercial, they invariably have worked out a way to profit from every job they take.
Let’s say they promise you carpeting for one room for a $99 charge. Sounds good. But what they don’t tell you is all the hidden charges that will be tallied up on your final bill. They’ll charge for tack strips, staples use, seaming tape, and more. But the biggest question of all is: Is the carpet they promise a high quality carpet?
If they give you a deal, they have a specific carpet in mind. You won’t get to choose, except possibly the color. And that means they found a way to get a great deal from the manufacturers. It might not be a quality carpet that will last and look good throughout the years.
To avoid mistakes when buying new carpet, your first tip is to think, and fall in love with your choices only after you know and trust the company you’ll ultimately do business with. That is the best way to ensure you have a reputable company that will ensure you install a carpet you’ll love for years.
Assuming all carpets are the same
This can be difficult to do, especially when you aren’t a carpet expert. It looks the same, doesn’t that make it the same?
Unfortunately, the answer is no.
This is especially true when you compare carpet bids from two separate retailers.
We often field questions like this when homeowners come in and find carpet from reputable carpet manufacturers, and notice they might be priced higher than what they find from the same manufacturer at a big box store. Why is it so?
It may be from the same manufacturer, but it isn’t the same carpet. That’s because manufacturers make a variety of different makes and models, depending on demand.
Carpet manufacturers for big box stores are created in mass. If you look closer, you’ll start to notice their differences. Compare fibers, weight, style, and quality. Look at their warranties, how many years out do they give you? It’s easy to find the differences when you look closely. Then it’s up to you to determine what’s important with your investment.
Focusing on weight
We’re used to focusing on numbers and statistics to help us make the better deal. If something has a higher ratio, a larger number, and greater value, we assume it to be a better deal. However, that isn’t always the case.
As you look at carpet, you may notice that one carpet has a weight of 40 ounces, while the next moves up to 50 ounces. That doesn’t necessarily make the second better than the first.
There are a variety of things to look at when selecting carpet.
Carpet density ratios will tell you how close together fibers are stitched together to the carpet backing.
Fiber twist is determined by the number of times strands of fiber are twisted together within a one-inch length of fiber.
The type of fiber is also important. Is it natural, such as wool or sisal? Or is it synthetic, including nylon or polyester? Each fiber will handle in their own unique way.
While all of the characteristics together will start to paint a picture of carpet quality, if you take any one individually and try and compare it, you’ll miss out on how good the quality really is.
Not paying attention to the carpet pad
What’s more important, the carpet or the carpet pad? If you said both, you are correct.
Yet many homeowners select the highest quality carpet they can afford, and skimp on what’s underneath. This isn’t the best way to go.
It’s hard spending money on something that doesn’t even show. But carpet padding is an insurance policy to help you get the most life from your carpet.
The carpet pad saves wear and tear on the fibers by absorbing the shock of foot traffic, so your carpet doesn’t have to. Instead of letting the fibers take the brunt of the impact, it sends the shock down to the padding. Installing a better grade pad will help your carpet look better, longer.
It also makes your floors more comfortable to walk on. It adds the cushion to your steps.
If you’re trying to stick to a budget, we would recommend that you lower your investment on the carpet and spend a bit more on the padding. You’ll be happy with your investment.
Staying true to your lifestyle
It’s easy to fall in love with a carpet choice in the showroom, only to feel regret from the moment it’s installed. When we hear stories about this happening, it’s almost always because they didn’t consider their lifestyle before finalizing their selection.
That cream color shag may be perfect for individuals who live alone, but large families with kids and pets can turn it quickly into a stained nightmare.
Pay attention to stain resistance. You can also look for carpets that hide dirt easily, especially if you have a busy household. Berbers and Friezes both do the job well.
The carpet you decide to install may not be your dream, the one you saw being installed on the home improvement channel on TV, but it should be the one that works perfectly for your family.
That’s the easiest way to avoid buyer’s remorse, and love your carpet for years to come.