| Is there a perfect carpet? |
|
You can get close if you own the London Savoy or Paris Ritz and have unlimited cash resources to source the best wool fibres and then have them manufactured so that they are so dense that they absorb the highest wear factors.
Unfortunately £100 per foot square foot is beyond all but billionaires.
|
Families making the very best oriental rugs will, when the rug is finished, remove a tuft and replace it with a black tuft.
They do this because in their religion only Allah is perfect.
|
|
|
What is my choice of carpet?
|
I will always spend that little bit extra for a wool or wool mix carpet. Particularly in a 'main room.'
If cost is not an issue then I would always advice wool before a 'man made fibre' carpet. That said most of my customers prefer the cheaper man made option and replace the carpet more often.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Beware advertising! |
Advertisers are judged on what they sell - not how honest they are.
Use the Yellow Pages, find local carpet shops that advertise with a family name. A tradesman using his or her name has nothing to hide, they will be proud that their name is linked with quality workmanship and fair prices.
GCW or Global Carpet World (made up names) is a red alert for, 'enter our doors at your peril.'
|
What type of wool carpet do I recommend? |
The best you can afford.
One manufacturer offers the same colour in 49 choices!
7 weights and 7 different finishes from velour to a twist pile.
Appearance may affect your choice, velour's can look wonderful in little used rooms, twists are more practical, looped piles can snag, particularly if used with upright vacuum cleaners.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Free Underlays? |
In 45 years of fitting carpets I have never witnessed a decent underlay given away for free.
I have seen hundreds of 'free underlay offers' were customers get an underlay you would not sell to your worst enemy.
|
Why are some wool carpets dearer than others, for what appears similar offers? |
Two shops may advertise a 40 ounce wool twist pile carpet for widely different prices. One could be made legally, from old recycled wool, and the other superb New Zealand Drysdale wool.
Wool is bought at auction so price fluctuates.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What do I look for in an underlay?
|
There are to many underlays to go into the merits of them all. Ignore anything ''rippled' an underlay needs to be solid and dense to support furniture and people walking on.
My personal favourites is 'high density' foam underlay.
|
Should I get my own fitter?
|
Yes/No
If you have a fitter you have used before then use them by all means.
If you are buying an expensive carpet I would advice the shop fits it; if there is an inherent fault in the carpet you don't want to be caught in a shop/fitter dispute of 'why did fitter not see fault before he cut carpet.'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Where best to buy underlay? |
Buy direct from your fitter, it could save you £'s and he will be most likely to advice you towards quality not what gets him the best sales commission.
Avoid retailers, in all probability they will be trying to recoup that fancy sale price offered, take the carpet - leave the underlay.
|
My worst value for money experiences? |
Carpets purchased by customers off the internet or from catalogues. To understand a carpets weight and density you need to feel and touch it.
Catalogue customers come off worst as they are lumbered paying over the odds with interest added to make a mountain of debt that will probably outlast the carpet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Stain repellent carpet |
You might never find one, they are advertised stain resistant, meaning they can do the very thing you think they can't (stain), and Trading Standards can't do a thing about it.
Some do have a lifetime guarantee, but only if you have them cleaned annually by member of the professional Carpet Cleaners Association and can support with invoices.
|
Positives & negatives of 'man made fibre' |
Low cost. Factories can produce more chemical than demand so cost is forced down.
Virtually indestructible, but lose appearance rapidly compared to natural carpet.
Nylon loop piles, in my experience, look sad within six months of purchase.
Difficult to clean either with a vacuum cleaner or water extraction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Vinyl? |
Thickness of the vinyl does not tell full story.
How thick/strong is the top wear layer?
Large areas should be 100% adhered.
Vinyl may be advertised 'non slip' but watch out if its wet.
Only the most expensive will offer real mark resistance.
Avoid joins, unless they hidden. Finish with silicone sealant to prevent water getting under vinyl.
|
Positives & negatives of wool and wool mixes |
Expensive, wool it usually bought at auction and currently prices are sky high. Occasional manufacturers have their own flock of sheep so that they can advertise made from a specific type of sheep.
Wool vacuums and steam cleans with ease, saving in after care costs.
Will lose it appearance of many years, often to the point that you change it because you want to update the decor, not because it is flat and dirty.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Wood effect laminate |
Love to be positive but can't, sorry.
Why glue together lenghts of glued saw dust, covered with highly glossed paper? To aggravate me more the 'planks' never match end to end, get wet and they warp, need to get to a pipe under the floor and its mission destroy.
|
Best colour to select?
|
Scientific evidence says blue, followed by biege are the most relaxing colours. Most customers will talk of blue as a cold colour, can colour be hot or cold?
Boring biege goes with most decors.
Dark colours show 'bits' - light colours show marks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Wood floor |
The best I have seen was glued direct to a concrete floor, no movement, greater wear. Rather than all planks one size the boxes was in various sizes making for an easier on they eye finish. Each plank was bevelled on its edges do avoid the poor finish you get with plain flat laminates. Finished with new matching replacement skirting board it looked great, best I have seen by some distance. Cost without fitting circa £40 square meter, but looked value for money. |
Your queries?
Need a carpet cleaner?
|
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
My recommendation is DREAM CLEAN (Dave)
07833751502
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Should I buy a roll end? |
Be careful, if its a colour or size the shop can't get rid of it will be marked low in price. If its a regular colour/size its odds on it will cost you more than buying the same carpet to the size you want off the roll. Saving £50 off a fictional price is not as good as saving £10 for real by buying off the roll.
|
The salesman's favourite, 'felt back carpets don't need underlay!'
|
Check the thickness of that felt, most are so thin you cannot measure the depth. Underlay and gripper every time, the benefits from sound and heat installation will out weigh the cost, and always the best underlay you can afford whatever the room. If the work under the carpet is correct, it will be correct for years after. The carpet might need replacing but the underlay will last for years longer.
|
|
|
| Simple quality checks |
Run your fingers along carpet edge, lower quality carpets will fray.
Check the weight, the same carpet may be made in several different weights, the higher the weight the greater the pile density.
Look at the back of the carpet, the closer the weave the denser the pile content.
What is the carpet made from? Wool costs more to buy than man made filaments and adds to carpet value.
|
Do not let a carpet fitter use a glue gun to stick underlay to the floor!
|
They don't work for longer than it takes the fitter to get out your front door. I have seen hundred's of examples when the glue gunned gripper has been loose when I have lifted or replaced the carpet.
No Nails (or similar) is the answer, takes longer, often has to be applied 24 hours before fitting the carpet, but - it works!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
