Residential Carpet Installation

There is no standard carpet that fits everyone. Different building styles, tastes, preferences, environmental conditions, budgets and even allergies make a big difference in one carpet type to the next for facility managers.

As a result, choosing a carpet for a building has often been compared to shopping for a car or truck. The right vehicle depends on the buyer.

The wide number of choices and variety also make it easy for salespeople to influence buyers who might be overwhelmed by all the questions and details, and that can also lead to costly mistakes.

What To Look For in Residential Carpeting

Approach Carpeting Like an Investment

The fact is, choosing a carpet means being willing to live with the choice for the next five to ten years at least or until the building is sold. Carpets don’t get changed every other month or even every year. So, the carpet chosen needs to be the right one for a lot of reasons. The only way to get close to that result is to do one’s homework ahead of time.

There are some qualities most people want in a carpet, no matter what style they choose. The qualities include durability, ease of cleaning, stain resistance, appearance, and safety. And there are a number of choices that can include most if not all of the criteria if one knows what to look for.

Durability

Durability is one of the biggest benefits to carpet in the home.

Hands down, nylon carpeting wins the award for longevity and resilience to damage. At the same time, nylon is extremely easy to clean. That makes it a top contender for areas where there is a heavy amount of daily traffic or stain risks. However, what makes things confusing is that nylon carpet tends to be proprietary. So, there’s no tag that just says nylon carpet, making it easy to find.

Instead, a customer sees things like 100% Stainmaster or 100% Stellar Nylon. These are all marketing names for proprietary products. Instead, what folks need to look for is the nylon rating. The best is 6.6 nylon. Going lower means lower quality as the rating decreases.

Quality Level

Poor carpeting doesn’t last very long, but it tends to dominate the lower-priced options. In fact, poor quality carpeting is almost always used in contracted facility builds and barely lasts up to five years before needing replacing. These products are typically pitched with big discounts, but nobody should fool themselves; vendors are still making a good profit on these brands even at low price points.

The clearest way to check the quality of a carpeting fast is to bend it backwards. If at the bend the backing is visible, it’s poor quality. This is only doable when the density is thin, making the backing easy to see. Another clear sign of quality is the face weight. A higher rating at 40 oz or more signals a better carpet that will last longer. Under 35 oz, and you’re asking for trouble. The same goes for tuft-twisting which should be above 5 at least.

Get Multiple Bids

Don’t settle for just one offer. Shop around and get multiple bids. Also, don’t forget the underlayer. The carpet pad thickness can make a big difference in the cushion effect, especially if your carpet will be on top of a cement foundation and not just adhered, like typical facility tile carpeting.

Residential Carpeting Installations from S&R Carpeting

At S & R Carpet and Floors we are here to help you choose the right carpeting for your facility. We’ve been in the flooring business since the 1970s, and have one of the largest selections of flooring available.

Look around and then contact us; we’ll treat you right, show you the competitive difference between carpet products, and why one works better for you specifically than another. That’s because your carpet is your building investment, so you want to do it right the first time.

Call us today at (978) 540-8540 and let’s get started with your home flooring solutions!