Discussion
We are looking at new carpet for our new house next month and although we haven't measured up formally, I estimate 160sqm so 180 with wastage.
As this isn't going to be cheap, I want to try and make it as cost effective as possible but not to the extent we want budget products. So, initially we did the obvious and went to places like Tapi and small local carpet shops and looked at stuff we might like. I suspect we are going to be in the £30/35sq m territory given our ultimate budget, we might be able to go a bit higher but that in itself depends on what we can get the whole price for.
Do I have another option of going direct to a carpet fitter (if I can find one) and asking them to measure up, then buying online direct myself and getting them to fit that, or do they not like me cutting out the middle man? What I want to avoid is going to a high st carpet supplier and paying them to markup the products for what exactly? Store it? I'm struggling to see the benefit of buying that way, or am I missing something?
Surely, if I can find the product I like (I know I want Cloud9 underlay at about £5 a sqm) and the carpet manufacturer, surely it's as simple as buying it and then getting a fitter to quote for fitting and ancillary stuff? Ordering and delivery/storage isn't a problem as I have a 7m wide empty garage.
Has anyone done this and did it actually work out cheaper?
As this isn't going to be cheap, I want to try and make it as cost effective as possible but not to the extent we want budget products. So, initially we did the obvious and went to places like Tapi and small local carpet shops and looked at stuff we might like. I suspect we are going to be in the £30/35sq m territory given our ultimate budget, we might be able to go a bit higher but that in itself depends on what we can get the whole price for.
Do I have another option of going direct to a carpet fitter (if I can find one) and asking them to measure up, then buying online direct myself and getting them to fit that, or do they not like me cutting out the middle man? What I want to avoid is going to a high st carpet supplier and paying them to markup the products for what exactly? Store it? I'm struggling to see the benefit of buying that way, or am I missing something?
Surely, if I can find the product I like (I know I want Cloud9 underlay at about £5 a sqm) and the carpet manufacturer, surely it's as simple as buying it and then getting a fitter to quote for fitting and ancillary stuff? Ordering and delivery/storage isn't a problem as I have a 7m wide empty garage.
Has anyone done this and did it actually work out cheaper?
Decent 80/20 wool carpet on line for £22 m2. Just need to work out the right width to buy to suit your cutting plan.
https://www.onlinecarpets.co.uk/carpets.html?p=3
Id ignore the cloud9 type underlays and find some treadair red, much much better. heavy and thick rubber underlay so much better than foam.
TimmyMallett said:
Surely, if I can find the product I like (I know I want Cloud9 underlay at about £5 a sqm) and the carpet manufacturer, surely it's as simple as buying it and then getting a fitter to quote for fitting and ancillary stuff? Ordering and delivery/storage isn't a problem as I have a 7m wide empty garage.
Has anyone done this and did it actually work out cheaper?
Yes, that simple.Has anyone done this and did it actually work out cheaper?
I fitted the grippers and underlay myself and paid a fitter £30 to fit the carpet itself.
I've since fitted a carpet myself and it's not a job I enjoyed.
Maybe it's all of my years working in retail coming through but I feel that if you used a showroom to differentiate the carpet you like then I would haggle with that shop and try to get them to fit it for you. A bit cheeky going into a shop, finding the product you want and then sourcing it cheaper online with a company that doesn't provide that service.
Unless I've misunderstood what was said in the OP in which case try and find an independent carpet fitter.
Unless I've misunderstood what was said in the OP in which case try and find an independent carpet fitter.
I use a local chain (only 3 locations) - I didn't have an exact carpet in mind but they were dirt cheap (I don't get expensive carpet though) and the fitters were £50/room up to 2 rooms and £40 a room after that.
Independent fitters recommended by the shop, and they must be coining it in as the pair of them took about ten minutes per room. That included gripper rods - they came around 1pm and said they had 23 more jobs to do and and then an early finish!
Independent fitters recommended by the shop, and they must be coining it in as the pair of them took about ten minutes per room. That included gripper rods - they came around 1pm and said they had 23 more jobs to do and and then an early finish!
I buy underlay in bulk as it is much cheaper than in stores and never have any issues with the carpet shop or fitters. Fitting is pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things.
There are lots of fitters who will also supply but it really depends on what you want. If you are going for designer carpet (e.g Crucial Trading ) then you can save £20m/sq++ off a £80-90m/sq carpet buying direct but at £30m/sq which is the sweet spot for 'good quality' there won't be much of a saving. I've also found that manufactuers sell the same carpet under different brands / colour names in different stores to reduce people doing this.
There are lots of fitters who will also supply but it really depends on what you want. If you are going for designer carpet (e.g Crucial Trading ) then you can save £20m/sq++ off a £80-90m/sq carpet buying direct but at £30m/sq which is the sweet spot for 'good quality' there won't be much of a saving. I've also found that manufactuers sell the same carpet under different brands / colour names in different stores to reduce people doing this.
Edited by CharlesElliott on Tuesday 1st December 14:03
CharlesElliott said:
I've also found that manufactuers sell the same carpet under different brands / colour names in different stores to reduce people doing this.
Just like beds then, try finding the same bed in two different stores to compare prices. It can't be done, each brand names their beds differently for different stores.bennno said:
Id ignore the cloud9 type underlays and find some treadair red, much much better. heavy and thick rubber underlay so much better than foam.
Isn't rubber less cushioning? Happy to learn though as I'd always thought that Cloud9 premium stuff was about the 'best' you could get. All I do know is that I'm not going to scrimp on the underlay this time. We did on our current house and aside from the 3 bedrooms with normal cloud9 in, the rest was cheap and awful.Ref comparing carpets, as Charles said, I've found it pretty near impossible to compare exactly the same carpet across suppliers, so whether it's a local shop or online. Unless you get lucky and find a carpet you like from Axminster (the manafacturer) in 2 stores, it's really hard to the price compare and I bet that's for a good reason.....
I just want to avoid being in a position where someone is charging me £7 a sqm for underlay where I can buy and store it for £4 for exatly the same product which will save me £540 right there on the meterage I'll be looking at.
Edited by TimmyMallett on Tuesday 1st December 14:25
Rubber is heavy and awful Pu is much nicer to work with. Have a look at the specs and compare but Pu will feel nicer overall. Rubber may wear a big better but is firmer. Also depends on type of carpet your fitting. Our 75oz plastic Saxony carpet with 11mm pH foam I'd more comfortable than the bed 
TimmyMallett said:
Do I have another option of going direct to a carpet fitter (if I can find one) and asking them to measure up, then buying online direct myself and getting them to fit that, or do they not like me cutting out the middle man? What I want to avoid is going to a high st carpet supplier and paying them to markup the products for what exactly? Store it? I'm struggling to see the benefit of buying that way, or am I missing something?
Surely, if I can find the product I like (I know I want Cloud9 underlay at about £5 a sqm) and the carpet manufacturer, surely it's as simple as buying it and then getting a fitter to quote for fitting and ancillary stuff? Ordering and delivery/storage isn't a problem as I have a 7m wide empty garage.
Has anyone done this and did it actually work out cheaper?
I got my carpet fitter to buy the carpet (as the mill would only work with trade) and then he fitted it. I let him sort out the underlay. Worked out fine.Surely, if I can find the product I like (I know I want Cloud9 underlay at about £5 a sqm) and the carpet manufacturer, surely it's as simple as buying it and then getting a fitter to quote for fitting and ancillary stuff? Ordering and delivery/storage isn't a problem as I have a 7m wide empty garage.
Has anyone done this and did it actually work out cheaper?
We've always paid the fitter seperate to the carpet shop, when we had some fitted wardrobes put in and the carpet sorting, I rung the shop, they just said ring Chris direct and sort it with him.
Another fitter moved in to the other half of dad's semi, I got to talking to him, he was self-employed as well, worked a lot for a carpet mill shop, but also advertised locally to do fittings and alterations for anybody.
Another fitter moved in to the other half of dad's semi, I got to talking to him, he was self-employed as well, worked a lot for a carpet mill shop, but also advertised locally to do fittings and alterations for anybody.
Trustmeimadoctor said:
Rubber is heavy and awful Pu is much nicer to work with. Have a look at the specs and compare but Pu will feel nicer overall. Rubber may wear a big better but is firmer. Also depends on type of carpet your fitting. Our 75oz plastic Saxony carpet with 11mm pH foam I'd more comfortable than the bed
In old house we bought some saxony polypropylene and some wool blend. After 5 years the Poly saxony was flat and discoloured where we walked nut the wool blend looked as new.I’d never use PU again, this stuff is magic in terms of warmth, sound reduction and insulation, everybody who came round commented on how nice and thick the carpet was, but it was really the underlay.
https://www.underlay4u.co.uk/carpet-underlays/tred...
bennno said:
Trustmeimadoctor said:
Rubber is heavy and awful Pu is much nicer to work with. Have a look at the specs and compare but Pu will feel nicer overall. Rubber may wear a big better but is firmer. Also depends on type of carpet your fitting. Our 75oz plastic Saxony carpet with 11mm pH foam I'd more comfortable than the bed
In old house we bought some saxony polypropylene and some wool blend. After 5 years the Poly saxony was flat and discoloured where we walked nut the wool blend looked as new.I’d never use PU again, this stuff is magic in terms of warmth, sound reduction and insulation, everybody who came round commented on how nice and thick the carpet was, but it was really the underlay.
https://www.underlay4u.co.uk/carpet-underlays/tred...
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