5 top tips for choosing carpet

Choosing carpet for your home or rental can be a tedious process, it’s not something you usually have to think about so where do you start? With most modern carpet manufactured to last upwards of 15 years you’re going to spend a long time maintaining it, looking at it and walking on it. Here’s some handy tips to get it right the first time.

Plan in advance

One of the worst things for a customer’s experience is selecting a product that ticks all the boxes then finding out it won’t be available in time for the install date. Unfortunately, we can’t always guarantee every range and colour will be in stock all the time (especially due to Covid affecting supply chains), sometimes there may be months between production runs, plus if it’s an overseas product add shipping time to that. The best way to mitigate this is by coming to us a couple months in advance for a chat and we help find the right carpet and make sure you don’t miss out.

Wool or Nylon, which one’s better?

This one is definitely at the top of our FAQ list, yet a lot of people still find themselves scratching their heads after reading into it. At the end of the day, it really depends on personal preference. Solution Dyed Nylon is harder wearing and easier to clean as the colour is part of the nylon fibre as opposed to being applied onto it, so on average it can take a bit more wear (definitely the preferred option for a rental). You’re still going to get the same longevity out of wool carpet, it just needs to be maintained a bit better, getting any spills cleaned up promptly will help. Wool has the added benefit of being a climate regulator, it draws moisture out of the air and stays warm over the colder months and conversely releases that moisture and cools the room during the summer (plus it’s the most eco-friendly option, that’s a big yes from the planet). Other popular materials are Polyester & Triexta, the former being a slightly less durable alternative to SDN (Solution Dyed Nylon) and the latter is the newest form of synthetic carpet. Triexta is naturally stain resistant like polyester due to its hydrophobic fibres though it’s noticeably softer and comprised of renewable materials, always a good option to keep in mind.

What does Pile Height & Weight mean?

Our most popular style is a Cut Pile Twist (as opposed to a loop pile carpet), the carpet fibres are cut to the same height and twisted tightly so they maintain their upright structure. The pile height refers to how short or tall the individual fibres are in a cut pile carpet, a short pile show’s less tracking and shading and requires less vacuuming & maintenance. The longer the pile height, the more it will resemble shag carpets of the 60’s.  Long pile carpets have that plush feel underfoot and tend to feel more luxurious. The weight of the carpet is exactly that, how many ounces it weighs per square inch, this ranges from around 26oz to 70oz. Whilst pile height will affect the weight of a carpet you can get short pile carpets that are relatively high weights where there are more fibres woven into a smaller area (for those who want a soft carpet underfoot without as much tracking and shading).

How much carpet do I need?

When shopping around a lot of customers provide us the size of the property in square metres to work out an estimate, unfortunately this only gives us part of the picture. When we measure a job the amount of carpet is calculated based on lineal metres, this is due to rolls of carpet coming in 3.66m or 4m widths. A room measuring 3.2m by 6m will require 6 lineal metres of carpet, as opposed to 19.2 square metres. To make things more confusing the carpet must be run the same direction throughout joining rooms. The best way to figure out how much you’ll need is to get in touch with us for a free measure & quote, we’ll work out the most efficient way to run the carpet so you can shop for something in your price range.

Shop around!

If you shop around you’ll find most places you visit have a wealth of knowledge to draw on and suggestions to get the ball rolling, it also helps to see the carpet in person as colours and patterns don’t always translate well through a screen. If you’re particular about the colour of your carpet it’s important to take samples home and view them in situ, countless times we’ve had customers come back in store to try new colours as once they took the sample home it looked different. Whilst it may take a bit of time, doing your research and due diligence will ensure you come out with the perfect carpet that will be around for many years to come.

Whether you’re looking for luxury, utility or something in between we’ll make things easier by guiding you through the process from start to finish.