Carpet advice

fozzybear · 29 Aug 2013 at 13:04

Looking to get some bargain basement carpets down in my flat soon.

I just need something really cheap as I'm not sure how long I'll be staying in my current flat. I've been quoted (Carpet Right) around £180 for a 5m x 4m room (fitted with cheapest carpet (£2.99m2) & underlay).

Would it be cheaper to buy the carpet myself from elsewhere and then get a carpet fitter from my local area to fit it?

Finally, can someone point me the way to some carpet that doesn't need underlay? Would that be cheaper than buying separate carpet and underlay?

Cheers.

Nikumba · 29 Aug 2013 at 13:52

Depends on what your putting the carpet onto you dont need underlay I would guess, a lot of people use it as it adds warm and comfort.

Depending on the shape of the room, just do it yourself

fozzybear · 29 Aug 2013 at 14:05

Nikumba said:
Depends on what your putting the carpet onto you dont need underlay I would guess, a lot of people use it as it adds warm and comfort.

Depending on the shape of the room, just do it yourself

Going onto a concrete floor so I'm presuming underlay would be a plus.

Depending on the shape of the room, just do it yourself

Not really an option. I'm a walking disaster with things like that.

kirbz · 30 Aug 2013 at 20:25

Order the underlay, grippers and door metals online and get the carpet shop to supply and fit the carpet. Carpet shops make their money on the accessories.

FerretBoy · 30 Aug 2013 at 21:00

I'd order everything online and get a carpet fitter to fit it. My daughters room is 3m x 4m, so carpet was £100, Cloud 9 Cumulus underlay (seemed one of the better choices, can't remember what I payed, but a dam sight cheaper than carpet right charge for underlay).
Fitted the grippers and underlay myself and had a mate fit the carpet, but given that it took him about 30mins MAX, i doubt that part would cost much.

I've ordered two carpets from here, http://www.onlinecarpets.co.uk/ both where competitively priced and arrived soon after order.

fozzybear · 31 Aug 2013 at 00:34

Thanks for the suggestions.

I've been quoted £125 for a carpet (£95) (5m x 4m) and fitting (£30).

I explained it was on to a concrete floor and he suggested I didn't need underlay. He also said they would glue the carpet as grippers are hard to use on concrete.

I think underlay is a must and I'm also in two minds about them glueing both the underlay and carpet down. Could probably do that myself.

Nikumba · 31 Aug 2013 at 10:19

If you have grippers no point having it glued down just makes it an arse when you come to change it.

I have carpet in most rooms both on concrete and floorboards and just used grippers, only place flooring is glued down is the bathroom

fozzybear · 18 Sep 2013 at 23:38

I ended up buying carpet and underlay for £120. The carpet is surprisingly good considering it was only £95 for 5m x 4m

I managed to get the underlay down without issues. It took me 2 minutes before I realised I'd screw it up if I tried to lay the carpet. Paid the pros £30 to do it instead. Looks great considering no grippers were used.

ci_newman · 19 Sep 2013 at 09:14

So what have they used to stick it down if you have underlay down as well?

fozzybear · 19 Sep 2013 at 14:23

ci_newman said:
So what have they used to stick it down if you have underlay down as well?

I glued the underlay down (edges only). The carpet has been glued on top of the underlay.

I don't know how they've managed to make the carpet look so neat at the edges without using grippers. Good effort.

tom_e · 19 Sep 2013 at 14:29

That sounds like a right bodge job, don't know why but gluing carpet on top of underlay which is only glued round the edges just seems like it's asking for trouble.

ci_newman · 19 Sep 2013 at 15:21

As above, that sounds like a right bodge - I hope this is just so you can tart the house up before selling it, that sounds like a complete nightmare in the making.

Your floor is going to be completely uneven next time you come to lay new carpet / underlay.

fozzybear · 19 Sep 2013 at 15:55

It's not a bodge. I'm here and looking at it. Believe me, I'd have been the first to complain if it didn't look fine.

Anyway, I plan on finding a new flat in the near future so it'll do until then.

Your floor is going to be completely uneven next time you come to lay new carpet / underlay

Why? It won't be hard to remove the carpet and underlay together. The underlay is only glued at the edges.

tom_e · 19 Sep 2013 at 15:58

fozzybear said:
It's not a bodge. I'm here and looking at it. Believe me, I'd have been the first to complain if it didn't look fine.

Anyway, I plan on finding a new flat in the near future so it'll do until then.

Why? It won't be hard to remove the carpet and underlay together. The underlay is only glued at the edges.

To be fair in the short term I imagine it will be absolutely fine but I wouldn't have thought there'd be a great deal of longevity in it.