How
to Shop-at-Home for New Carpet!
By
Alan Fletcher - Carpet Expert and Trusted Consumer Advocate
Welcome
to my website! I'm Alan Fletcher, aka The Carpet
Professor, a 30-year veteran of the Carpet business. I
retired
from the Carpet and Flooring business and no longer sell or
install flooring. My
mission is to help educate and inform homeowners about how to Choose
New Carpet Wisely, How to save the most money
possible and keep from becoming the Victim of a
Carpet
Scam!
Beware
of Copy-Cat Carpet Information Websites:
There
are many carpet information websites on the internet today, but most are not
worth reading as they lack sufficient hands-on knowledge and at least 20
years of experience. Many websites copy my original content and post it to
their websites and claim it as their own. This is not only illegal but it is
shameful!
I
have been providing free unbiased carpet buying information to
consumers for over 18 years! You need honest and accurate carpet buying
information to make wise choices and I provide that to each and every
homeowner free of any cost or obligation!
Shopping for Carpet
At Home
When
a carpet retailer brings samples to your home for you to view and consider,
this is called in-home carpet shopping. In-home carpet shopping
is growing in popularity but also has certain risks that you need to be aware of,
and that is one reason why I created this website. Many homeowners fall
prey to carpet sales scams every day.
If you are not very careful, you could
easily end up selecting the wrong carpet, get a poor installation job and
end up paying
hundreds or thousands more than you need to.
Take my free Carpet Foot-Traffic Test to what grade of
carpet you need to buy.
Don't
believe everything you read online or hear from a salesperson about the
quality or durability of a particular carpet. You must consider the carpet
specifications. This means you have to ask for the carpet specifications
from the dealer or salesperson PRIOR to making your final choices. If
they do not provide them for you, then you have no way of knowing if the
carpet is capable of tolerating your level of foot traffic you have in your
home.
Learn
more about Carpet
Specifications
Amazing
TV Ads by Lowe's, Home Depot, and Empire Today?
Huge
discounts on new carpet and flooring? Two rooms for the price of one? Half
off new carpet, flooring and free installation? Are you reaching for your
phone to call the right now?
Buyer
Beware! You have heard the old adage: If
it sounds too good to be true... There
are a few nationally advertised Carpet and Flooring companies that constantly offer incredible sounding deals, incredible discounts and
unbelievable specials and even
next-day installation. I believe these dealers should be avoided at all costs.
When
it comes to buying new carpet, flooring and installation... you usually get what you pay for!
However, many homeowners fall prey to outrageous carpet sales
gimmicks and sleazy carpet sales tactics. Why do I think you should you avoid doing business with
any nationally advertised Carpet and Flooring conglomerates? They
typically use strong-arm sales
people, they often hire poorly trained installers, they often sell inferior products and
they hope to get away with over-charging you for materials and labor! Not
only that, but when you have a serious problem or complaint... Well, you
know what happens don't you?
Any
simple Google search will reveal hundreds of complaints by unsuspecting
homeowners. Here are some reviews to get you started:
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/lowes.html
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/home_depot_floors.html
https://www.complaintsboard.com/empire-today-b119513
Costco,
Abbey and
Empire
These
are three conglomerate companies that quickly come to mind... From
my experience, they all use private labels on their products to confuse you and make
comparison shopping nearly impossible, they tend to push Polyester and
P.E.T. Polyester carpets (prone to matting and crushing of the pile) and are
reluctant to provide you with a complete set of
Carpet
Specifications.
Costco just refers your
carpet query to another national retailer and then takes a cut right off the top of
your purchase. They may give you a gift card as an incentive, but in the end
they make a nice profit just for the referral. Be super careful if
you plan to buy flooring from any of these shop-at-home flooring retailers and always get at least three
estimates from other locally owned dealers!
Where
to buy new carpet and flooring? See
Who I Recommend Near You!
Lowe's
and Home Depot
These
Two Big Box Retailers don't offer Shop-at-Home carpet or flooring
services, but they do charge a hefty fee for in-home measuring, (and
they contract out to other companies to do their measures) and they like
to make darn sure there is WAY more than enough carpet or other flooring
materials to complete the job! This usually means you will be paying for more
materials and more installation costs than is necessary to get the job done,
(and they also contract out all their installations to
other companies). Learn the truth about their $37
Carpet Installation Specials or their latest TV ads offering carpet and
installation specials.
Learn
more about the Best
& Worst Places to Buy New Carpet
If
you are considering calling a mobile shop-at-home service, or a local Carpet Retailer
to will bring samples to your home,
there are a few important things you need to know to protect yourself from
being scammed, overcharged and sold the wrong goods or materials.
If
you are looking for an honest, reputable, locally owned carpet retailer,
visit my Preferred
Carpet Dealer Directory to see who I recommend
near you.
Common
Carpet
Scams and Rip Offs!
One
thing you need to learn about "shopping for carpet at home"
is how to not fall prey to high
pressure sales tactics. For example, pushy salespeople may try to pressure you
into signing a contract before you have a chance to comparison shop by telling you that the price quoted is a "Today Only"
price.
Honest and reputable shop at home
carpet retailers will not strong-arm you into buying right now. Sure, every salesperson would
prefer you to buy from them right now, however, you need
to make sure you take the time to comparison shop and get more than one bid or estimate
before you make your final choice. You should
always consider your carpet choices carefully and take a few days
to compare prices, colors, styles and quality.
Not
all shop-at-home Carpet
Dealers
are honest and reputable. There are dozens of Carpet Scams you need to
avoid regardless of who you choose buy carpet from. So take your time, read all my carpet buying
articles below
and learn everything you can about
buying new carpet before you visit any local carpet stores or have any carpet
dealer bring carpet samples to your
home. Take my free Carpet Foot-
Traffic Test to what grade of
carpet you need to buy.
Even
if you are able to avoid all the carpet scams you encounter, you still need to
select the
right carpet. If
you choose the wrong carpet, it may not last as long as you expect. That's why I
decided to create a simple Carpet Foot
Traffic Test.
My simple two-minute test will help you
determine your level of foot traffic in your home and can help you choose the right grade or quality carpet that can meet your needs and goals. Check
out my powerful Carpet
Durability Rating Chart to make sure you choose wisely!
Some
carpets are rated by the manufacturer. Shaw uses what is called The PAR Carpet Rating System.
This is where they assign each carpet a number from 1 to 5 that indicates the durability
level of the carpet. I think this rating system is flawed and I don't recommend you rely
solely on any carpet rating system to make your carpet choice.
Choosing
the right carpet will require
that you answer some basic questions about what you want to accomplish. For
example, how long do you want your new carpet to last?
Best
Carpet
Selection - Choosing Wisely!
A
common problem consumers face when buying new carpet, is choosing the right
quality of carpet. Every homeowner has different needs & goals that need to
be predetermined before a suitable carpet selection can be made. Some folks are retired
or have no kids or pets and therefore may have light
foot traffic. Other folks have
heavy foot traffic from having
large families with lots of small children, pets or active teenagers.
Each different home scenario requires a different grade or quality of carpet. I refer
to this as "Carpet Durability". No matter what the
circumstances, each and every home has very different needs and goals that
need to be identified and considered very carefully before the proper carpet
durability and quality level can be determined.
And unless you consider all the variables and factors carefully, your new carpet will not last as long as you might hope. Read
more: Costly
Carpet Buying Mistakes
How
is Carpet Durability Determined?
If you are not familiar with
carpet
specifications then you should read more about Carpet
Specifications. There
are several carpet specifications that will help you determine if a carpet can handle
your level of foot traffic.
The main factors are:
There
are several different types of carpet fibers to choose from. For example;
Nylon is known as the most durable fiber available today and is also the
most expensive to manufacture. But not all nylon fibers are created equal.
Some are more durable than others and some nylon fibers are made softer
than others due to the diameter or "denier" of the strand. The
thinner the fiber strand the softer the carpet will feel. But does a
softer feel make for a less durable carpet?
Learn
more about Carpet
Specifications
Carpet
Tuft
Twist
When
groups of fiber strands are gathered together and twisted they form into
"Tufts" These tufts are inserted into the carpet backing to
create various styles of carpet. When the tufts are twisted together they
use heat to "set" the tufts - similar to how women use a curling
iron to curl their hair. The number of twists formed per lineal inch is
how they determine the "Tuft Twist" rating. Most plush style
carpets have a tuft twist rating of 4 to 6. Frieze styles are known for
having a tuft twist rating of 6 to 8.
Generally speaking, the higher the
tuft twist rating the longer your carpet will retain it's "like
new" appearance. This is because over time tufts may begin to
lose their twist or "blossom", causing the carpet to gradually
lose it's like new appearance.. Some carpet fibers are able hold their
"twist" better than others and this ability is known as being
more "resilient" Nylon is the most resilient carpet fiber
available today. Polyester is typically known to be the least resilient carpet
fiber which means the tufts will mat down quickly on stairs, hallways and in main walkway areas
where there is medium to heavy foot-traffic.
Carpet
Face-Weight
Carpet
face-weight is the weight of the fiber that is used to manufacture the
carpet pile. Face weights range from 20 ounces to 120 ounces and most
residential carpets sold today have a face weight between 30 to 60 ounces. Generally
speaking, the higher the face-weight, the more durable the carpet will be.
But this does not always hold true. If the pile height is too tall, it may
be more prone to matting and crushing. Depending on your level of
foot traffic, you may need to limit the pile height and increase the face
weight. This is what we call the "Pile Density" rating.
Learn
more about Carpet
Specifications
Carpet
Pile
Height and Pile Density
Using
a mathematical formula we can take the Pile Height and Pile Face-Weight to
determine the Pile Density rating. Generally speaking, the higher the pile
density rating the more durable a carpet will be. This holds true more often when
the Pile Height is not too high as to limit the potential for matting and
crushing of the pile. Once the carpet tufts begin to fall over, crush and
collapse the carpet will lose its like-new appearance. This is
especially true with Polyester fibers and Berbers made of Olefin.
Some carpet fibers
are more prone to matting and crushing than others. With nylon carpet, a
good cleaning may help restore the tufts to their original upright
position and allow your carpet to regain some or all of its like new
appearance. However, carpets made from other fibers, like Polyester and
PET Polyester my not yield the same
favorable results. What is the best specifications like pile height and density rating for
a carpet that will best serve your needs and goals?
Check
out my useful Carpet
Durability Rating Chart. Use my chart to see what grade of carpet will meet
your needs and goals based on their unique specifications.
Every
carpet has it's own unique manufacturing specifications.
Buying
New Carpet? Get the Specs BEFORE You Buy!
It's your job to
find out what these specifications are and make sure you buy a carpet with
sufficient specifications that will meet your needs and goals. I know it must sound
daunting to you, and it is. However I will help you make sense of it all and
make it less confusing.
If you are not familiar with the carpet
specifications listed above, then you should read more about Carpet
Specifications You must understand what these terms mean in order to
know how to choose the right carpet for your home.
Look at my special Carpet
Durability Rating Chart and
learn about the PAR carpet rating system.
Start with my free Carpet
Foot
Traffic Test to see what grade or quality of carpet you need to buy. Then
we will go forward from there...
Alan's
Preferred Carpet Dealers