How Much Does it Cost to Carpet One Room?
Not much makes a room look more tired and worn than old, discolored, matted carpeting. New carpeting brightens up a room giving the entire space a fresh appeal. Selecting new carpeting for one room is confusing. A number of factors are involved, each requiring a decision. After you've decided on the color of the carpeting you must still choose from several options that affect the cost.
Other People Are Reading
-
Size
-
How big the room is a major factor in how much the carpeting costs. A small room costs less than a large room because less material and labor are required. Materials include the carpet itself, padding and installation materials.
Quality of Padding
-
A pad goes underneath the carpet on top of the subflooring so the carpet is more comfortable to walk on and so the carpet lasts longer. Installing the carpet directly on a subfloor creates friction between the backing of the carpet and the floor. That friction wears away at the carpet. Padding comes in different materials and thicknesses. The most common are felt, rubber or urethane. Sometimes the cost of the carpeting includes the padding. It may make sense to upgrade if the padding is of poor quality or not very thick.
-
Type of Carpeting Fiber
-
Carpeting comes in various types of materials ranging from expensive to budget priced. Wool is most expensive. Other carpeting materials include acrylic, nylon, polypropylene and polyester. Each has advantages and disadvantages. For example, wool is durable but stains easily and is the most expensive. Acrylic cleans easily but is prone to matting.
Quality
-
Prices depend on the quality of the material and how much of it is used in manufacturing the carpet -- a tighter weave uses more fiber and therefore is more expensive -- and how the carpet is manufactured. Bending the carpet back on itself in the store will show the difference in how tightly the carpet is woven. The more carpet backing you can see, the less material the manufacturer used.
Labor for Installation
-
While it may look like it's easy to install carpeting, it does take skill and special tools. Carpeting comes in widths of 12 feet. If the room is larger than that, the widths must be joined. A seamless juncture looks better and leads to less shifting. Both the padding and the carpet must be secured to the flooring for stability. Installing carpet squares is not as demanding, and you can try it yourself.
-
References
- Photo Credit Background carpet image by fotolia © 2happy from Fotolia.com
