Buying the wrong carpet can be a costly mistake. So what are the things you should look out for?
Article taken off lifestyle.iloveindia.com
Carpet Buying Tips
Carpets and rugs add luxurious look and brighten up dull flooring in an instant. It can also make a sparsely furnished room look fuller and cozier. Fancy Persian carpets and bright-colored carpets from Kashmir can lend an oriental touch to the home décor and interior designing. Selecting the right carpet for your house however, depends on many things like the measurement of the room, the area to be covered, color co-ordination, etc. An eye for details such as any damage, loops that are used and other such things is required and helps when you are buying carpets for your home. Given below are some tips that will tell you how to buy carpets for your home.
Measure the area of the room to be covered with carpet beforehand for better estimates of carpet size needed and price incurred for it. Carpet suppliers and fitters are more experienced in taking the exact measurements to prevent any wastes and disputes later on.
Carpets can be used as flooring or even as wall covering to cover the chipped paint areas.
Rough price estimates can be calculated by multiplying square yard/s of the area to be covered with the price of the carpet per square yard. Do not forget to add sales taxes, underlay and installation charges.
You may also fix a budget limit and then estimate the size of the carpet you can afford and incorporate it in your room décor. This works better for smaller budget decorations for home, where you may just lay the carpet under the coffee table or the seating area instead of using it as flooring for the entire room.
Laying carpet is an art and a plan will help you in avoiding or minimizing the chances of wastage or seams and better fittings of the carpet.
Make a detailed enquiry about the estimate, type and quantity of carpet, manufacturer’s name and code, width and color of the carpet, description of underlay and cost estimates that include the underlay, installation and tax charges before ordering and laying of the carpet.
Besides measuring the exact size of the carpet, ask the fitter beforehand for the date and time for delivery and fitting the carpet and whether there will be separate charges for related work needed to be done such as moving furniture from the room and back in it and removing doors and putting them back.
Carpet installers can also advice you on seams and width of the carpet that you must choose, according to the area or space to be covered. Sewn seams often cost more than stuck seams, so enquire about that too.
Patterns on carpet may make it necessary for more careful installation to match the two pieces to make the pattern at the joint look whole and the perfection in matching the direction of the pattern.