Help w/buying carpeting

[Saddlebum]

My living room is 21'x16', no closets or indents etc. My dog is too old for laminate flooring (he's big and would slip around too much) so am going to go with carpeting.

My first time buying nice carpet and having it professionally installed. Problem, I don't know where to buy it at or how to decide on type of material. No experience here.

My one dog (have two) is a senior and I want him to be comfortable walking.

I know I don't want Berber as I have purchased a remnant and ugh, it unraveled so much. I want pet friendly, low pile.

I've been to 4 places and liked how the people helped me at the first place but, I did some research on the manufacturer of the carpet I liked and the reviews are not so great. The people at the other 3 places were not helpful and made me feel like they did not know their products. I'm trying to stay away from the big box stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Menards. Wanting to deal with people who just deal in flooring. The 4th place is within 10 miles but had few samples and everything was a la carte.

My budget is limited to no more than $4.50 per sq. ft. which includes install and padding. The first place will come out and measure for $100 but deduct it from the total price of the carpet. Install is included in the price along with a 10% discount.

The brand of carpet I liked is Beaulieu but the reveiws from what I can find on line are not so great, bummed. Most of the reviews were older, don't know if that matters or not.

How do people select where to buy carpet, what material, where to find a dealer who deals with that material etc. etc.

[angela9823]

We called a local real estate agent to find out where to buy carpet. They are also a home builder/contractor too. They deal with carpet people all the time and different types of carpet. They see the good and not so good in carpet. The recommendation of that real estate agent paid off and that company installs every carpet we have ever installed (my husband is now a general contractor too).

Good carpet is relative to your preferences IMO. I'm like you. I want dog friendly carpet which is not usually "good" carpet. It doesn't run, it doesn't catch dog nails and it is easy clean for dog accidents.

I don't do carpet anymore though. We went with Bamboo in our latest install and have found it to be very dog friendly. We got the hand scraped type meaning it isn't easy to slide on for the dogs. We have a 13 year old, a 12 year old and a 4 year old (hard player!) that have no issues on it. I do have Brazilian Cherry that is smooth throughout other areas of the house that I would not suggest. It feels colder, it scratches easily and it is easy for the dogs to slide on.

[Tarlo Farm]

I went to a local floor place run by people I know and trust. Sorry. Look for "Industrial" or "Commercial" Application. The kind of stuff put in offices and banks. It's durable, low pile, and often not too expensive.

[Sunshine2Me]

If you are just doing your living room, what about a large area rug? Perhaps you can even find one used, and if the dog(s) have accidents on the carpet, perhaps eventually you can throw it away.

[Josette]

Have you considered shopping for carpets at HomeDepo? They do installation and I believe would guarantee the installation. Plus, variety of carpets with various longevity warranties.

[Tuffytown]

Low pile commercial grade carpeting. Is there a Great Floors or Carpet one near you? If not call an office furnishings store and see if they have a reccommendation on suppliers.

You want advanced generation nylon for stain resistance and a denser oz weight for durability. They have a lot of nice shorn loop patterns.
Shaw is a good brand as is mohawk. There are lots of other good commercial manufacturers. You can also consider carpet tile which allows for replacelment of sections if something is soiled, good with pets.

https://shawfloors.com/flooring/carpet

https://www.mohawkgroup.com/carpet/carpet?sort=Newest&subFamily=Broadloom&page=1

[Saddlebum]

Tarlo Farm: I live near Traverse City MI and wonder if you are referring to a business in the vicinity. If so, please let me know who they are and I will go and talk with them. Thanks!!

Won't do an area rug as I am down to the sub floor and money is a consideration. Thanks Sunshine 2 me.

Josette, I'm wanting to use a dedicated flooring business and not a big box store. This is my first time to get something that is nice, not a remnant, not used, not top dollar either but NICE. Thank You.

The one place I went to and they were helpful, they had Beauliew (manufacturer) carpeting which I really liked because they were pet friendly and also had Silver Release, I liked the pattern and color. Problem, the reviews I've seen on line have been awful for this particular manufacturer.

[Josette]

Saddlebum - just a word of warning with a local business. Make sure you check their installation warranties and for positive feedback from other customers in your area. I had a very bad experience years ago that almost went to court. It took over 2 years to resolve. Finally the manufacturer representative flew out and inspected our horrible installation and he made this local business replace a $7K floor job. The floor product was fine but problem was the guys did not know how to properly install it. Lesson learned.

[Hayburner]

I had Beaulieu in my previous home and I did have an issue with it. If I remember right it had to do with the color not being consistent throughout. Since it's been 10 years I can't remember all the details, but I had to fight like heck to get it replaced. They gave some goofy excuse as to why it wasn't consistent and said majority of carpets do what ours did. They actually had a name for what was happening on brand new carpet!

Possibly things have improved, but I probably wouldn't buy that brand again.

As for big box - I would shy away too, but my nephew bought his at Lowes, they had an issue with stains not coming out and it was replaced. Sometimes the big box stores have more power than the little guys

[texsuze]

We've always gone with Mohawk or Shaw. Color (puke-hiding capability!) is a big factor with us. We re-carpeted the Rehab Room (a.k.a. Man Cave) and a dressing room not that long ago, using a local, family-owned flooring store. Took advantage of a spring sales event. I didn't realize at the time that the carpet was so thick it is a major struggle to get the vacuum cleaner over it, even at the highest setting--just something to think about. Ditto researching the commercial/business application carpets, but be careful if you are going with a pattern, since visually they can be very weird looking for large areas that aren't broken up by furniture, etc.

The carpet pad underneath is just as important as the carpet itself, and they come in different densities, durabilities, etc., so don't forget about that aspect of wear and tear.

You can probably google "broadloom carpets" and get some basic industry info as a starting point.

[Saddlebum]

The padding that has been recommended by everyone because of the 'pet friendly' request has been padding that has a water barrier on one side, which would be the up side of the pad.

That's important as one dog is elderly and the other is young and both are house trained but ya never know.

[Racetrackreject]

Mohawk makes a great pet-friendly carpet called SmartStrand. Shaw makes a nice, reasonably priced carpet, and there is always the standby Stainmaster carpet.

We (home builders) have had problems with Beaulieu carpeting that clients have chosen for their new homes. Mostly, it can be incredibly fuzzy, shedding everywhere and clogging up vacuums, and showing tracks. Also, as you mentioned, there can be color irregularities. Of course, all products have some color variation from lot to lot, but this should not happen within the same roll of product!

Due to the size of your room, you will have a seam, so be mindful of where that is going to be placed as you determine which way to run the carpet. It shouldn't be noticeable but sometimes it is (depending on the carpet, and after some time has passed) and sometimes you can feel it. Most carpets come 12' wide, but some will come 15' foot wide, for residential usage. Also, avoid carpets that have a pattern as that will add to your price since the carpet will have a pattern match that will have to be allowed for when ordering product, due to the seam.

[Tarlo Farm]

Saddlebum, it's Easy Living Flooring in Ludington. The last flooring I've had installed though not carpet, came from Lowes and their installers were fabulous!

[Quelah]

Buy the best quality smooth plush carpet you can. Plan on having it professionally cleaned by a truck mounted carpet cleaner twice a year. It's surprisingly affordable to do that. Our house came with off-white/very light beige plush wall to wall carpets and tile entry (thank god). 17 years of farm life and 4 German Shepherds later, carpet still looks fantastic. Caveat, I don't have kids or cats and we take our shoes off when we come inside.

Also, I put carpet down in some of my horse paddocks over gravel. Big pieces we get for free when clients are replacing perfectly good carpet. DuPont stainmaster is legit quality. I've had it last 10 years with horses walking on it.