High quality carpet

[tgr]

Afternoon folks,

I need to carpet an apartment - about 90m2.

I'd like to know where the point of diminishing returns is regarding quality and price - preferably I would like to know the absolute best of the best, advantages and disadvantages and work backwards from that until I get the best match to my budget.

I'm prepared to pay a lot - but only if I know what I am buying for my money.

As an indication my homework up to now has indicated that I shouldbe looking at pure wool carpets with mothproofing from the likes of Cormar.

Will be paired with the best quality underlay. I'd appreciate some leads from those in the know.

Thank you!

[FlyingPanda]

I never really knew anything about carpets until we took the plunge whilst doing our house up, and went for this 100% wool carpet:

https://www.crucial-trading.com/product/grey-orchi...

which we're told is great for high-traffic areas. It's moth proof. We had it coated with Intec stain protector and it was laid on a 10mm Plush Walk underlay. All I can say is it feels absolutely fantastic underfoot, really luxurious!

As with most things, I think you do get what you pay for.

[Ace-T]

If you have pets especially cats, do not get loop carpet. Even if it's made with maidens eyelashes. It will be destroyed in about 3 weeks.

Yeah. Happened. Luckily I I had not paid for it, previous owner put it in. Still had to replace it though.

[POIDH]

I've always been told that the underlay and fitting is as important as the carpet. I've just had a whole new build house done - opted for 80/20 wool with a wool underlay in the lounge. It's noticeably better than the 80/20 wool carpets but with foam underlay we went for upstairs.
All the carpets are Comar and Westex, supplied and fitted by local shop who came in significantly cheaper than 'big store'.

[tgr]

Thanks all, yes I looked this afternoon at Cormar Westex and Lewis Abbott then (significantly more expensive) Alternative and Crucial.

Not sure I really understood why Alternative and Crucial were double if not triple the price.

Good to hear that underlay is important - I had gathered that - but I will investigate wool underlay, do you have a brand name for it?

[Jeremy-75qq8]

I would start with the style you like and go from there.

Velvet comes in all sorts of depths for example and the thicker the more expensive etc.

But clever does compress is walk zones and will show hoover stripes which you may love or hate.

Add in a decent underlay and you will fall into it if that is what you want.

Thick carpets and under floor heating don't mix. Same with thick underlay.

I have loop carpets as I like the looks but they don't join as well.

So first decide what you want and then find the carpet.

[DonkeyApple]

It's worth considering footfall through the flat. A carpet that's perfect for a bedroom is often not good in the hallway or living room. Sometimes the cheapest carpet is best for a hallway, like a Berber (hard wearing, cheap to replace and makes the room carpets feel even better etc), a compromise carpet for the living room and a lovely wool for the bedrooms.

[Bluesgirl]

Cloud 9 underlay is excellent, I have it throughout the house (11mm thick). Available on eBay in 15m rolls. I’ve also bought room-sized remnants, good brands such as Associated Weavers, Cormar and Crucial Trading, from burts.co.uk, who are online only. Those brands are the same as the ones you find in high street carpet stores, but they change the name of the range, so you need to do a bit of research to match them up. It’s worth it though as they’re a lot cheaper and do fast delivery.

[dave7108]

Cloud 9 is a must. Brintons bell twist is very good.

[Mogul]

fibre

Wide range of wools, flatweave, recycled PET, and sisal… some of which is on the options list at Princess Yachts…

Artisan

A range including some very high-end handwoven but manmade fibre carpet that can retail for up to £200/m2

Available from all good independent carpet shops in your area (fibre also through Tapi).

[The Three D Mucketeer]

Try this long established carpet manufacture for Axminster

https://www.hughmackay.co.uk/residential/

[Cheib]

We got Westex carpets fitted upstairs when the house was refurbed about a year ago. They’ve been excellent and have some kind of moisture repellent which means spilt drinks sit on top and give you a chance to lessen the potential damage…found this out thanks to my teenage son !
Not cheap but very good and seem to have a great range of different carpets and also colours.

[fourstardan]

Ive had cormer for a good few year now and holds up well.

[megaphone]

Be careful with wool carpet it can be eaten by moths/wooly bears. I had to replace all my 'moth proof' wool carpet in a flat I once had after it was eaten away. They hide in dark areas, under sofas, under cupboards, or in corners.

I only buy synthetic now.

[mikeiow]

FlyingPanda said:

I never really knew anything about carpets until we took the plunge whilst doing our house up, and went for this 100% wool carpet:

https://www.crucial-trading.com/product/grey-orchi...

which we're told is great for high-traffic areas. It's moth proof. We had it coated with Intec stain protector and it was laid on a 10mm Plush Walk underlay. All I can say is it feels absolutely fantastic underfoot, really luxurious!

As with most things, I think you do get what you pay for.

£100 per sqm (plus u/lay) reminds me why I get bored very quickly of shopping for carpets

We found a small carpet shop who does a decent job.... he has expanded, but still recognises us when we pop in when we do a room up. He also has room-sized remnants that often do the job for us. On the occasions we have had to buy, we have used them.
Oh yes, & quality laminate downstairs I fitted myself: very hard wearing, & you can then just buy a rug if needed!

[tgr]

megaphone said:

Be careful with wool carpet it can be eaten by moths/wooly bears. I had to replace all my 'moth proof' wool carpet in a flat I once had after it was eaten away. They hide in dark areas, under sofas, under cupboards, or in corners.

I only buy synthetic now.

This is interesting. So "moth proof" is nothing of the sort?

[Crumpet]

Pretty sure ours is a Cormar in 80/20. One thing we’ve found is that because the backing is incredibly stiff it hasn’t sat well with the ultra thick underlay and has popped up at the edges. They had to glue a load down.

[DonkeyApple]

tgr said:

This is interesting. So "moth proof" is nothing of the sort?

It's more an upselling feature. The only real protection from moths is to spot one on a wall and to hoover under furniture, freeze clothes and spray the obvious areas. And if you're going to be spending good money on good carpets you're probably going to be vaxing them at least once a year.

[megaphone]

tgr said:

megaphone said:

Be careful with wool carpet it can be eaten by moths/wooly bears. I had to replace all my 'moth proof' wool carpet in a flat I once had after it was eaten away. They hide in dark areas, under sofas, under cupboards, or in corners.

I only buy synthetic now.

This is interesting. So "moth proof" is nothing of the sort?

I assume they coat or spray the carpet with something that repels them, it probably doesn't last long. Same with 'Scotchgaurd' stain protection, eventually looses its protection.

[JD]

Ace-T said:

If you have pets especially cats, do not get loop carpet. Even if it's made with maidens eyelashes. It will be destroyed in about 3 weeks.

Yeah. Happened. Luckily I I had not paid for it, previous owner put it in. Still had to replace it though.

I came here to post exactly the same.

We spent a fortune on lovely loop carpet, cat has ruined it within 6 months.

I think it will have got to me by a year and will get replaced.