Carpet for the house

Post by **Sam** » Wed May 09, 2012 11:55 am

Wife wants new carpet. We had white, or off-white, Berber carpet and now, stains and unsightly mess. Tons of carpet to choose from, from the Home Depots and Lowes, to shops that specialize in it to even Sears. And then pad thickness.

My concern is the ability to withstand wear and tear, a dog that may at times miss the wee-wee pad, and stain resistance.

Suggestions? Websites to read up? Pricing guidelines?

Thalay Sagar · Post by **Thalay Sagar** » Wed May 09, 2012 3:06 pm

Having been in your shoes, Sam, the answer is wood. None of the carpets will really hold up. Then get area rugs.

Post by **Sam** » Wed May 09, 2012 4:43 pm

I want to go that way. We did Pergo in the kitchen two, three summers ago and it has held up wonderfully. It was a floating floor, but I would go with Pergo or engineered hardwood, and have it nailed down for the rest of the house. We have a parquet-like entry way and would redo that and then the stairs as well, maybe with carpet in the middle of the stairs, I dunno. I am told that it is the pad that makes a good bit of the price and quality of the work

merkri · Post by **merkri** » Wed May 09, 2012 6:21 pm

It depends on where it is. I like wood or tile wherever possible, but tile can crack and get cold (and look cold), and wood can get water damage (this includes urine) and get sunbleached.

The carpet we've come to like is SmartStrand (http://www.mohawkflooring.com/flooring- ... trand.aspx). It's fairly indestructible, holds up well, and doesn't easily stain (the recommended cleaning solution is actually bleach).

We have it in multiple places in our house, and the only problem we've had is that the berber-style model frays easily. Then again, we have cats and they *love* pulling on the loops, so that definitely has contributed.

The other styles of the SmartStrand have been incredible, though. With the right padding, it's been wonderful.

I probably would still go with wood or tile in a lot of places in our house, but there are some places where it didn't make sense or was too expensive (e.g., in our basement), and in those places the SmartStrand was great.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Thu May 10, 2012 4:35 pm

I believe in wood Sam. Our house is 110 years old and the original wood floors are holding up nicely.

jww · Post by **jww** » Thu May 10, 2012 6:22 pm

Next time we talk carpets, I am getting it all pulled out and going with hardwood. We have laminate in the basement - better than hardwood with the risk of damp warping the wood - we got good laminate and had it installed. Very happy with it, but wouldn't go with laminate on the main living areas.

Steve-o · Post by **Steve-o** » Fri May 11, 2012 6:59 pm

Modular carpet. It's carpet tiles, but not the -- umm, stuff -- that home-improvement centers sell for 99 cents apiece. This is truly commercial-grade stuff. It's the carpet you see in airports, hospitals, shopping malls, ... though there is an incredibly wide pallete of patterns and colors than you see in most establishments.

Modular often is treated with stain guards and anti-microbials. If a stain gets past the stain guard, you can spot-treat it right there or even pick up the square of carpet, rinse it out, and put it back in place. If the stain or wear resists even that, remove that square and put down a new one you saved from the initial install.

I went with modular in most of my house (kitchen and basement excepted). The place that sold me my carpet also sells it to the local international airport, and that carpet survives eight years of feet, luggage, motorized carts, dropped food, dragged mud and snow before they replace it. My carpet holds up to dogs and wheelchairs, too. If it can last eight years at the Airport, it'll last forever here. If I do wear it out or tire of it, though, it's 100% recyclable. Send it back to whoever made it and it'll be new carpet for someone else some day.

I'm a fan. Carpet without the disadvantages of carpet.

Rufus · Post by **Rufus** » Sat May 12, 2012 7:11 pm

jww wrote:Next time we talk carpets, I am getting it all pulled out and going with hardwood. We have laminate in the basement - better than hardwood with the risk of damp warping the wood - we got good laminate and had it installed. Very happy with it, but wouldn't go with laminate on the main living areas.

Several years ago we got rid of all the broadloom in our house and replaced it with hardwood, except for the basement broadloom, which we'll replace with quality laminate and main hallway (ceramic tile); we even have hardwood in the kichen. We've bought rather nice Persian carpets and Turkish (Hereke) carpets for all our rooms, which gives the house a very warm and luxurious feel. It all cost a lot more than the bog standard broadloom, but it's well worth it.

BullGoose · Post by **BullGoose** » Sat May 12, 2012 9:06 pm

Thalay Sagar wrote:Having been in your shoes, Sam, the answer is wood. None of the carpets will really hold up. Then get area rugs.

+1. That is our next project and it cannot happen soon enough. Our carpet has gotten a bit nasty and I am ready to get it all torn out in favor of hardwood.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun May 13, 2012 5:43 am

Ten years ago we went with a combination of Pergo and carpet, then had a couple of water leaks which sent a lot of flooring and pad to the landfill, so third time's the charm, when we had a major flood (defective pipe, now fixed, knock on wood!). That resulted in spending the bucks for quality tile in the major traffic areas (impervious to water damage), and a matching carpet over the concrete floors for the remainder of the floors. It's been almost 4 years since we made that decision, and we're very happy with it now. My trusty homeowner insurance company started to get jumpy (actually freaking out would be a better description) when we also had to replace a roof due to major hail damage and then a new main electric junction box due to lightning. It seems they keep close track of claims and such!