Carpet Q & A
By Alan
J Fletcher - Carpet Expert & Consumer Advocate
The Questions below were
Answered at an earlier date for a specific individual and not intended as a
blanket response for all consumers in a similar situation.
Should I Buy Carpet from Lowe's or Home
Depot?
I
will shop at home improvement warehouses when I need lumber, lighting or tools,
and I think they have good prices overall. But I think that buying new carpet from
Lowe's, Home Depot or any other big box retailer may not be the best way to go.
I say that partly because they typically farm out their installations to another company,
charge a fee for in-home measuring and use private labels to hinder you from
comparison shopping. But there are many other reasons why I don't recommend
buying carpet from a big box retailer.
Good
Questions! Wrong Answers...
From
what I've experienced myself, I find that many of their salespeople are relatively new to the carpet
and flooring business and lack sufficient product knowledge and experience to
accurately answer homeowners carpet questions. Working by the hour at a home
improvement warehouse is a demanding job and many workers who have lost their
career jobs from the downturn in the economy have had to seek out other
employment opportunities just to make ends meet. This means that there might not
be any passion for the job at hand and your carpet questions need to be answered
by someone who knows what they are talking about!
Carpet
Conglomerate
I
think it's obvious that Home Depot and Lowe's got into the carpet business
because they saw an opportunity to make some serious money. They have deep
pockets and spend millions on advertising to lure in homeowners. In doing so
they have forced many reputable locally-owned flooring stores to go out of
business. I don't think displaying a
bunch of carpet samples and hiring inexperienced salespeople to write up the orders
is good for unsuspecting homeowners. What Grade of Carpet Should I Select?
Why
I prefer locally owned, family run businesses.
Lowe's
and Home Depot have certainly met homeowners basic needs for DIY home improvement products
and I shop there for those items like most folks do, but knowing what I know, I would never buy
carpet or flooring from them. Why? Once you pay for the materials and labor
costs (which they want paid
in full upfront), the big box retailer is basically done serving you. They are
only in business to sell you the materials, they subcontract out the in-home measuring and
installation to other
businesses or subcontractors.
And
what do big box dealers have to say when you call them with a carpet
complaint? They will likely say that since THEY didn't install your carpet and
since THEY didn't manufacture your carpet, YOU have to seek a remedy with
either the carpet manufacturer or the carpet installation company. Basically,
this means you are on your own with little or no help from them!
This
means if you believe you have an installation problem with your carpet, you will
have to contact the installation company directly for a remedy. When they come out to inspect your carpet they
may say your problem is a
carpet defect - not an installation problem. Now you have to contact the
carpet manufacturer directly to allow them to take a look. They in turn will inspect your carpet and likely say it is an installation problem or
blame you for improper care or abuse. This is the vicious cycle that makes
homeowners furious because no one is willing to accept responsibility for your carpet complaint.
And what about those $37 carpet installation specials? It sure
sounds good at first, but is it really a good deal in the long run? Do you
know what they mean by a "basic" installation? It means that
anything you might need above and beyond their very limited definition of a "basic
install" will add a significant additional charge to your final bill.
You might not discover how much more this will cost you until the day of
installation when the installers arrive with your carpet and then ask you to pay
hundreds of dollars more for additional services before they will begin.
This is
just one of many reasons why I only
recommend buying carpet from a reputable, locally owned, family-run floor
covering business. They have a vested interest in your community and will go
the extra mile to make sure you are satisfied. I don't like hearing about huge corporate profits and mega salaries paid out to
corporate CEO's while millions of Americans are out of work and struggling to
pay their bills. The typical corporate mindset is mainly concerned with making
as much money as possible and spending as little as possible on wages, benefits
and customer service. Buying local is better for our economy!
Now
you know several reasons why I only recommend buying from a locally owned, family run carpet business that
has been in the carpet business for many years. Not only will they treat you
like gold, but they will take good care of you before and after the sale. See
who I recommend near you.
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Is
a "Soft" Nylon a Good Choice?
We just bought a house and need to re-carpet. We've got a quote from Lowe's for a Mohawk carpet,
53-oz face-weight, 6.5 tuft twist, BCF, 100% Lisse® nylon, "textured" carpet. We like it but I have been rethinking
it because I'm not sure it is dense enough. This carpet is for our entire
upstairs, two bedrooms, one office and the main stair well. It's only
the two of us, but I want to make sure we are making a good investment. Does
this carpet sound like a wise choice? Would you advise something more dense? We checked out a more dense carpet made by Pacific Coast (I
think) and it would be $500 more for the same amount. I just don't know if the higher density justifies the added cost. Let me know what you think!
Thanks! D.W.
Answer:
Your carpet selection basically seems fine to me based on what limited carpet
info you have told me. 53 ounces is a good carpet face weight. But you didn't
say how much the carpet cost per yard or what carpet pad you selected and how
much that will cost, or the density ratings of the carpet or padding.
The carpet you are considering might be a good selection for your needs and
lifestyle, but without knowing all the details I can't say for sure. Lisse'
is one of the newer "soft" nylon styles and is more expensive than a standard nylon carpet
because it
feels more soft to the touch. Other branded "Soft" nylon styles are
called Tactesse®, Lisse® and
Caress® to name a few. Tigressa®
is another soft nylon brand you might encounter.
My thoughts about
"Soft" Nylons: They create this softness by making the nylon filament thinner. By doing so,
it may reduce the resiliency of the fiber. Resiliency is the ability of
the carpet fiber to spring back to it's original shape after being walked on. If
the resiliency is reduced by making the strand thinner, the carpet may not retain it's
like-new appearance as long
and might mat down or "crush" more quickly than a standard denier nylon fiber. Matting and
crushing of the pile is not typically covered under the manufacturer's warranty. Once
carpet
fiber begins to mat
down, there is little that can be done to restore it to it's like new
appearance.
I do like the look and
feel of soft nylons but the added cost and potential reduction in resiliency
could make me hesitate if I wanted more than 10 years of use or for heavy
traffic applications.
Have
you ever read a manufacturer's carpet warranty completely? You'd be surprised to discover how many hoops
you have to jump through just to keep from inadvertently voiding your carpet
warranty. Learn more about Carpet
Warranties
Read more about Common Consumer Carpet Problems & Complaints
Alan's
Preferred Carpet Dealer Directory
It's
hard to find a reputable carpet dealer these days! I have built a special
list of hand-picked carpet retailers who are locally owned, give free
estimates, offer fair prices, have knowledgeable staff, provide honest
measuring and hire qualified installers. See
who I recommend near you!
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