|
|
More Carpet-Buying
Questions & Answers
Page 1
4.
Q. Does this price sound reasonable for Kathy Ireland brand carpet?
I am installing a DriCore sub-floor system in the 1,200 SF basement of my newly constructed home. The basement will serve as a family room & play area for my family which includes 2 children under the age of 5 and a declawed (front & back) cat. I have been looking for a good quality frieze carpet to put over the sub-floor. I have received a quote of $4.17 per square foot installed on the Kathy Ireland carpet listed below. I have had carpet installed from these folks before and have been very pleased with the installed carpet and the professionalism of their carpet installers. The carpet installation is $.44/SF. The carpet pad is an 8 lb. 7/16" rebond made from virgin materials which costs $.50/SF. This leaves the cost of carpet only at $3.23/SF. Does this price range sound reasonable for the style listed below? The carpet sample from the store does not have any information on pile twist, density, face wt., etc.
Response:
This is excellent carpet and may be just right for you. Kathy Ireland is a brand name carpet and thus is higher priced than other non-branded carpets. However, $5000+ is a lot to spend on 133 yards of carpet! I think you can do it for about $4200 or less and still get the high quality you are after, if you choose a less famous brand name.
The labor cost is reasonable, but I think the padding price is a little high. Wholesale on 7/16', 8lb. rebond pad is about $2, and $3.50-4.00 would be the norm. They are charging you $4.50. Pad prices have been on the rise, so this may become a more common price.
My advice: If you want to save some money here's what you can do: Select a non- branded carpet instead. Sure, Kathy Ireland has great colors and some that cannot be matched, but take the carpet sample, and shop at some other stores and see if you can find a comparable carpet to the one you are considering now. You should be able to find a comparable carpet for about $20-24.00 range. Padding cost should be $4 or less. Labor is about right at $4.00
Since you have two young children, and children spill a lot, you may want to consider a lesser grade of carpet and plan to re-carpet in 5 to 10 years. Many people do this because in a few years the children will not be as hard on the carpets and spills and stains will not be such an issue. No carpet warranty covers all types of stains. Either way you go, a nylon frieze is a good choice for you.
5. Nylon Carpet Test? Is there a simple test to see if a carpet if Nylon or Polyester?
A. There are no simple tests that I am aware of to quickly determine Nylon from Polyester.
Nylon is stronger and more resilient than polyester but you would have to
have a reference point in order to quickly identify them. Polyester is
softer than nylon and there is also a difference in the melting point of the
fiber. I am sure that a
chemist would know a way to test these, but for consumers, it is not easy to
tell the difference with the naked eye. Great question! Thanks!
6. Stinky Carpet
Response:
One of my most important rule for consumers for making a major purchase, (car,
appliance, carpet) is to never buy a product that has just been released to
the public. I always wait until all the bugs have been ironed out and make
sure that the product has stood the test of time. In this case, it sounds like
you have purchased Mohawk's newly released Odor Eaters Carpet. Now, while I do
not know what the smell is, I would be willing to make an educated guess that
it has something to do with a reaction between the Odor Eater chemicals, and
the type of padding you have used. I am very interested in knowing what the
carpet rep has to say. Please keep me informed!
(Answers to questions listed are the opinion of the author)
Page 1
Click Here to 