Any ever have new carpet installed in their house?

[Krystee]

Hubby and I are wanting to have new carpet put in throughout the entire house and I was wondering if anyone has ever had this done and if they could give me any advice.
Our 16 yr old Rat Terrier is incontinent (sp?) and has had many accidents in the house. We are tired of being embarrassed to have anyone over because we are worried about any odors. She has some doggy diapers on the way but the damage is already done so we need new carpets... plus, Tobie has done some tearing up in a couple of places.
Anyway, Home Depot is having a $139 whole house installation with carpet purchase but of course that doesn't include cost of tearing up and disposing of existing carpet, moving furniture... ect.
So if anyone has experience with this... these are my questions

How much do the "extras" cost? Would the money saved be worth us tearing up the existing flooring ourselves? How much labor does this REALLY involve? What do we do with our furniture while the carpet is being installed? Our house is only 900 something square feet and if we are having the whole house done where would the furniture go?

Gosh, having carpet installed seemed like such a simple thing until I really started thinking about all the little things. I'm going to ask Home Depot when we go up there but I would like to hear from someone who has actually gone through the process. TIA!

[RowdysMom]

First of all, most of us with yorkies would recommend anything but carpet. Many of us have ripped out the carpet and put down wood, laminate, or tile. Whatever you do, it sure it nice to have new flooring!

We ripped out our carpet ourselves, it's really no big deal. You will need to wear a dust mask though - you will be horrified at all the crap that is under that carpet. We just ripped it up from the wall tacks, rolled it up and dragged it outside. You will need to haul it off - or have HD haul it off - be sure to ask how much that costs.

The furniture will have to be moved around from room to room to get the carpet installed. The installers will do that and yes, there may be an extra charge for that. Add ons do really increase the cost of the carpet - the $139.00 whole house install sounds nice, but that won't be all the costs. We had Home Depot put some tile in our bathrooms and they wanted some ridiculous amount to remove the toilets and put them back, so we did that ourselves.

I'd go talk to them and they will have to tell you how much all the add ons cost.

Good luck and congrats on getting new flooring!

[Krystee]

Oooh yes, we WANT to do the laminate flooring but I'm worried about how much the install is going to be. On their website it says $1.99 a square foot but again that's before all the extras.
I actually came across some excellent reviews for a carpet that HD started carrying in July that destroys odors. One person said that they got a sample and wanted to test how well it got stains out and marked on it with a permanent marker. They cleaned it per the instructions with one part water and one part bleach and the marker came out without fading the color! Something about the color in the nylon fibers is chemically bonded instead of them being dipped in dye.
Another person said that the only down side of the carpet was that it got rid of smells so much that it actually got rid of the good smells too like scented candles.
Here is one article that I found:
TY: Smelly Carpets, Meet Silver Ions - Puresque

If it's as good as everyone is saying then this might be our answer. When we go to HD we are going to check the price of this carpet and get some estimates on the laminate too. If we can afford the install on the laminate then that's the one we are going with but this carpet might be a good alternative if the install is only $139 plus the extras.

Thanks so much for your help

[RowdysMom]

If you and your hubby are the least bit handy, you can install the laminate yourself. There are many how to videos and it is not hard at all. If you don't have a saw to cut the pieces, you can rent one. The install for anything, be it carpet, laminate, wood, tile, etc. is usually about as much as the carpet, laminate, etc itself. I know the $139 whole house install sounds good, and it is a better deal than usual, but that won't be all you have to pay. If you install yourself (laminate) then you save bunches!!!

[Krystee]

Originally Posted by RowdysMom

If you and your hubby are the least bit handy, you can install the laminate yourself. There are many how to videos and it is not hard at all. If you don't have a saw to cut the pieces, you can rent one. The install for anything, be it carpet, laminate, wood, tile, etc. is usually about as much as the carpet, laminate, etc itself. I know the $139 whole house install sounds good, and it is a better deal than usual, but that won't be all you have to pay. If you install yourself (laminate) then you save bunches!!!

I love doing home projects so I would be totally up for doing ourselves; however, my husband doesn't so it would take a lot of convincing. lol. It's funny because the tools we have are pretty mine. I re-did my kitchen cabinets all by myself... I primed and painted them, added crown moulding and rope trim to the tops, changed the hinges and added knobs and pulls to the cabinets and drawers all by myself... I was pretty proud. lol. Maybe I can convince him that the only way we could have the laminate that we want is to do the installation ourselves. I guess it's worth a try!

[BamaFan121s]

Tearing it out yourself really isn't that much trouble. The worst part is finding somewhere to move your furniture in the meantime. Aside from that, it would only invovle getting a starting point near the baseboard and peeling it back. Then you would have to use a utility knife to cut the pad and carpet small enough so you could carry it out of your house.
Generally, you can clean pet stains out of carpet, especially if they are scotch guarded first. It is when urine soaks through tot he padding that you can't clean it up and you have lingering odors. They do make a special padding that is plastic coated for pets--the mess wouldn't soak all the way though, but it is quite a bit more than regular padding.

[jeanm1963]

Originally Posted by Krystee

Oooh yes, we WANT to do the laminate flooring but I'm worried about how much the install is going to be. On their website it says $1.99 a square foot but again that's before all the extras.
I actually came across some excellent reviews for a carpet that HD started carrying in July that destroys odors. One person said that they got a sample and wanted to test how well it got stains out and marked on it with a permanent marker. They cleaned it per the instructions with one part water and one part bleach and the marker came out without fading the color! Something about the color in the nylon fibers is chemically bonded instead of them being dipped in dye.
Another person said that the only down side of the carpet was that it got rid of smells so much that it actually got rid of the good smells too like scented candles.
Here is one article that I found:
TY: Smelly Carpets, Meet Silver Ions - Puresque

If it's as good as everyone is saying then this might be our answer. When we go to HD we are going to check the price of this carpet and get some estimates on the laminate too. If we can afford the install on the laminate then that's the one we are going with but this carpet might be a good alternative if the install is only $139 plus the extras.

Thanks so much for your help

Home Depot is VERY expensive for instalation...due to the current economic status I would almost gaurantee that if you looked or placed an ad on Craigslist, you would probally get some unemployed carpenter or even flooring person to do it at less then half that cost... seriously my ex husband although still working has lost most of his overtime, he used to do carpet and floor instalation when we were married several years ago.. he has since began to do it on the side for a few extra bucks... Lamenate flooring can be purhased on line and delivered to your home at a cheaper price then Home Depot and My bet is you can deffinatly find someone cheaper... please consider this option before going with carpet.

[jeanm1963]

here is one ad, just to show you what I am talking about.

Expert Floor installer, 27 years exp. Wood, Carpet, Tile, Vinyl, VCT

Although home depot appears to charge very little, you pay extra for the tackless, padding and padding installation.. be very careful with them, my mom thought it was a deal last year , she lives in florida what was supposed to be 200.00 turned into 700.00 because it is the extras that you pay for..

[Krystee]

Originally Posted by jeanm1963

Home Depot is VERY expensive for instalation...due to the current economic status I would almost gaurantee that if you looked or placed an ad on Craigslist, you would probally get some unemployed carpenter or even flooring person to do it at less then half that cost... seriously my ex husband although still working has lost most of his overtime, he used to do carpet and floor instalation when we were married several years ago.. he has since began to do it on the side for a few extra bucks... Lamenate flooring can be purhased on line and delivered to your home at a cheaper price then Home Depot and My bet is you can deffinatly find someone cheaper... please consider this option before going with carpet.

'

Good advice, thank you!! I didn't think about people needing the extra money because of the economy. I'm started to get excited because I might just get my laminate after all! LOL. I'm sure glad that I posted this... is there anything that you YTers can't help with? hehe

[MauiGirl]

Well, I "feel" for you it is a huge undertaking, much the same as moving (depending on how much stuff you have). I have a large house, overstuffed closets, etc. and am facing the same chore in the upstairs half soon.

All your smaller movable stuff will have to be put in boxes & moved out to a porch, patio, or kitchen or bathroom that aren't getting carpet. Clear as much of the room as possible including lamps, chairs, tables, etc.. When it comes to heavy items like sofa, beds, dressers, you can get those moving pads (look like small disks) to put under the legs so you can push furniture around easily.
Once you get all the small stuff out, installers charge a fee per room to move furniture, sometimes $25 to $50 per room, but get a quote first.

Removing carpet is easy. Loosen it from the tack strip and start rolling it up. Use a utility knife to cut it into strips about 4' wide to make rolls easier to carry out & secure the end w/duct tape. Same with pad. Wear a mask, and gloves, as handling all that exposes you to the toxic chemicals in the carpet backing, pesticides, etc. as well as the yuck of whatever is absorbed and hidden below. Disposing of it is another dilema; find out where you can take it as not all landfills will accept it. What subfloor is under the carpet & pad, concrete or wood? You might want to use an odor killer like Natures Miracle if there are concentrated urine spots, so it won't attract peeing in the future.

I replaced my main living area carpet with tile last year, and am now looking at getting rid of upstairs carpet and probably putting in wood flooring. A task I'm not looking forward to as I have too much stuff to move.

Good luck.

[Krystee]

Originally Posted by MauiGirl

Well, I "feel" for you it is a huge undertaking, much the same as moving (depending on how much stuff you have). I have a large house, overstuffed closets, etc. and am facing the same chore in the upstairs half soon.

All your smaller movable stuff will have to be put in boxes & moved out to a porch, patio, or kitchen or bathroom that aren't getting carpet. Clear as much of the room as possible including lamps, chairs, tables, etc.. When it comes to heavy items like sofa, beds, dressers, you can get those moving pads (look like small disks) to put under the legs so you can push furniture around easily.
Once you get all the small stuff out, installers charge a fee per room to move furniture, sometimes $25 to $50 per room, but get a quote first.

Removing carpet is easy. Loosen it from the tack strip and start rolling it up. Use a utility knife to cut it into strips about 4' wide to make rolls easier to carry out & secure the end w/duct tape. Same with pad. Wear a mask, and gloves, as handling all that exposes you to the toxic chemicals in the carpet backing, pesticides, etc. as well as the yuck of whatever is absorbed and hidden below. Disposing of it is another dilema; find out where you can take it as not all landfills will accept it. What subfloor is under the carpet & pad, concrete or wood? You might want to use an odor killer like Natures Miracle if there are concentrated urine spots, so it won't attract peeing in the future.

I replaced my main living area carpet with tile last year, and am now looking at getting rid of upstairs carpet and probably putting in wood flooring. A task I'm not looking forward to as I have too much stuff to move.

Good luck.

I'm not sure what's under the carpet.... I can just go take a look in the spot that Tobie has torn up. LOL.
Yeah, I'm a little afraid of what it is going to look like under there once we start tearing it up I did read that you can use a bleach solution to clean any spots on the flooring underneath. They also suggested that the plywood (if that's whats under there) can be painted with a primer and that would basically seal it from absorbing anything else in the future. I'm not sure how well that actually works though.
If we do carpet then the kitchen, laundry room and bathroom will be the only rooms that won't be done and they are pretty small and won't hold much. If we are able to go with laminate then the kitchen would be done also so I'm not sure where we are going to put all of our furniture. We could put some stuff in the garage but I don't know what we would do with the coach and loveseat. Oh well, I'm sure we will figure out some way.

[Krystee]

Does anyone have laminate floors that they really like that was around $2.00 per square foot or less? I'm looking around at prices online but I have no idea what the difference between the $0.69 per square foot and the $4.00 per square foot is.
After reading some reviews, lots of people have said that it's fairly easy to install so I'm really thinking that we might give it a try and if for some reason we can't finish then we can find someone to finish it for us. I really think we could do it though and it would save us a lot of money.
I'm dreaming of life with no more steam cleaning

[RowdysMom]

There are some old threads about laminate and wood - search for them and read what YTers have to say. Some laminate is great, some will buckle with the least amount of water/urine. I think the different brands/quality makes a difference. We put in wood and it is wonderful and water/urine does not do a thing to it, even when I don't see it till it dries. We got it at Home Depot, it is Harris-Tarkett brand. I don't remember how much it cost - but it is really good.

Be warned though, that you don't need to buy the baseboards that you can get that match laminate or wood, nor do you need the matching quarter round that you put between the floor and the baseboard to hide where the floor comes up to the baseboard. These things that match the laminate are REALLY expensive!!! You can use your existing baseboards and you can get the regular quarter round at home depot and paint it the same color as your baseboards - it does NOT have to be the color of the floor - and it is MUCH less expensive than the matching stuff they will try to sell you. If your baseboards need to be replaced, just get them at HD - the regular ones that you paint yourself. You do have to buy the flat matching transition boards that go between rooms. If you look at laminate at HD, you will see what I mean.

[pookiebear]

After the dogs got sort of house trained we ripped out the old carpet ourselves and paid Home Depot who then paid a subcontractor to put down real wood in my dining room, greatroom, and hall ways. I was afraid to put the laminant down because of the stories I had heard about buckling and the fact that it doesn't look as good. Then we had the carpet installed in the bedrooms. I know that you can pay $35 for Home Depot to come out and measure then if you buy from them they deduct that from your purchase. You can pick your floor out and they will give you a pretty good estimate. We had no problems with the Home Depot purchase.

[BonBon]

I tore out the carpeting in my old house all by myself. Just get a good box knife & you can slice it into manageable sizes. But, it is a LOT of hard, dirty nasty work.

My plan was to also lay my new laminate flooring myself. My ex-husband knew a lot about repair & maintenance stuff, and I learned enough from him to be able to do many things around the house. But, I could not install the laminate. I bought one of the least expensive ones I could find but it was inexpensive for a reason - you couldn't snap it together nearly as easily as some of the better quality flooring. And really you need two sets of hands to install it. So, I had to hire someone to install it for me costing me another bunch of $$$$. Once it was done, my floors looked great & I loved them. It's sooooo much better than carpet! If you're thinking of laminate, spend a little more and get a better product. With 2 sets of hands you should be able to install it yourselves - but it will be a lot of work, too.

ETA: In my current house, I have stained concrete flooring throughout (the house was built that way). I love it! Never again will I live in a house with carpeting.