Talk sense into me about new carpets...

[Gentleness]

I need talking down a bit - been waiting nearly 3 years to get decent carpets for our stairs and landing, and a large double bedroom that we're going to use as a family/play/study/guest room. What is here is so grotty that I've got a bit fixated on having lovely quality carpets underfoot, and am losing focus on the bigger picture of budgets and master plan (moving on from here in around 5 years).

When it finally gets done (within a couple of months), the whole place will have been reskimmed and painted and then we'll replace the internal doors - so I'm getting lots of internal justification for going over-budget and getting something gorgeous. In our big plan, we'll be moving from here in around 5 yrs and naturally, gorgeous will stay gorgeous with 3 kids under 3.5 (new babe arriving for Christmas)!

So - the non-negotiables are having good, not too deep underlay in the family room, and we ARE having carpet (I have vetoed laminate). Would you stick to my (3yr old picked from the sky) budget of £500ish - which means I can go up to a little over £15 (room is ~4 x~6m). Or would you spend less because it isn't a "public" room? And is my dream of neutral 100% wool loop a bit silly for a room where the paints might well come out and I'll be sewing and lego will no doubt cover the floor? Yes, even I can hear the irrationality coming out - so what IS rational?

For stairs - there are 2 opposing views across our families. Either spend to get something hardwearing, easy to walk on and attractive OR accept stair carpets get trashed fairly fast and just expect to replace more often (so maybe in order to sell in around 5yrs time if everything goes to plan). Who do you side with?

The stairs are narrow, shallow and steep and the first thing you see as you come in through the front door. The landing is narrow and dog-legged. Is this another area where I can slash the budget (£500 again)?

We've not budgeted for the hideous job of sanding back and finishing the original floorboards throughout the hall and living room, so saving to get that done would be helpful and maybe saving money would help me justify a 3d/4d scan of our new baby - lots of reasons NOT to go for lovely carpets really, BUT I WANT TO.

[Gentleness]

ooh - just found an article about stain resistant carpets - any comments on those?


(sorry to sound so thick - I've somehow managed to creep towards my 40s and only ever bought one new carpet and feel pig ignorant)

[lookoveryourshoulder]

...if it is any help - don't go the full "wool loop" .....

We did this when we first moved into our house with the view that "it would last for ages"

Yep it has lasted - and the moths appear at dusk year after year after year... they have eaten most of the carpet in those "hard to hoover" corners..... I can't wait to rip the the rest of it that they have left......

[Gentleness]

Ah - the irony - the wool loop would work on the stairs and landing then, with no hidden corners, but not in the family room. Bother.

Can you spray wool carpet with stainguard type stuff?

[Rhubarbgarden]

I thought most new carpets already came scotchguarded, don't they? Mine did. Or did I pay extra for that doing? It's possible. It's a few years ago.

[Gentleness]

Ok, scotchguard or stain resistant is important, but looking at everything else ever written on mumsnet about polypropylene, I'm much preferring an 80/20 mix. But will paying an extra tenner a metre for a better carpet be worth going overbudget by £270 to us over the next 5 years and help us sell well?

Would 80/20 still attract moths? Would scotchguarding prevent moths? How many questions one simple task can generate!

[fresh]

I think you should spend the extra. Over 5 years £270 isn't that much. If you go for cheap carpet now, when you come to sell it won't look good, which could put buyers off. A good quality 80/20 should still look good in five years. And I'd go for twist pile rather than loop.

For your last 3 questions: (1) Less likely to attract moths (2) No (3) Ooh, how long have you got? You haven't even started talking about colours yet.....

[Gentleness]

Mmmm - colours! My dream of having a grown up look like this is doomed I know... I would so love to NOT have a shade of beige but it's just soooo practical!

[BettyandDon]

I have a 21mo DD and a cat. We have lived here for 2 years and completely renovated. I spent £1700 on carpets for 3 rooms and it is the worst money I have ever spent...

The colours are beige and cream. They are very high wool content and short pile which is meant to be easiest to clean.

The lounge and hallway are literally shot to shit. I am really embarrassed by them. I have spent at least £350 with professional cleaners aswell. The bedrooms with less use are ok looking but still carry a few stains.

The main problem I had was that they are simply impossible to clean. It is impractical to always take shoes off and occasionally the buggy has to come through the lounge. We have a chimney so soot can come down (the cat) and the cat is going outside so has mucky feet. Then there are crayons, chalks from DD ( no paint that's for outside), but she also eats in the lounge. Even fruit has stained our carpet. We use rugs to hide as much as we can too,

The problem I found with high wool content although it is durable is that it stains with water. You have to be extremely careful in moping up stuff. Gentle cleaners (fairy washing up) have stained this carpet. I have learned that it is best to mop stains with paper then vacuum immediately. It needs vacuuming everyday tbh.

If I could do it again I would buy cheap soft carpet in a darker or patterned colour that was not wool. I would buy cheap or midrange and replace every few years rather than go for high quality thinking it will last.

I'm seriously hoping for some sort of flooding or small fire so I can get them replaced on insurance!

I very bitter bout my carpets ..,

[mamijacacalys]

• 80/20 wool/polypropylene
  
• stripey stair carpets are quite in at the moment which I am hankering after as will probably be practical and not show the dirt in high traffic areas
  
• that said I cannot justify replacing our 10 year old existing stair carpet (80/20 plain beige) as it is still going strong
  
• I would not consider carpetting any room where there would be painting/crafts/small children. Hard floor every time. If you insist that the playroom should be carpetted then go for the cheapest mid range you can find and accept it may need replacing when you come to sell.
  
• would use local independent carper supplier/fitter rather than CarpetRight or other chain, as IME you will get an overall better deal and service.
  

HTH

[Gentleness]

Mmmm - I love the idea of stripey stair carpet, but ours are so steep and narrow that it might look a bit odd - maybe a soft narrow stripe.

BettyandDon - do you think the main problem is the colours you chose, or the style or the wooliness? I know you mentioned the water spillage, but that's not been a problem for us with a heather beige/natural 80/20 twist we have in our bedroom.

Mamijacacalys - do you have any problems with keeping your 80/20 clean? The room is going to be so multifunctional that I'm thinking carpet will be the cosiest, AND quietest which is a big consideration. On reflection, I can't think why I'd let the kids paint up there - it'd just be me and only when they're all in bed!

Now to find independent carpet suppliers in Birmingham...

[bumbez]

We've had our red striped carpet on the stairs 4 years now - I Hoover once a week, it doesn't have any stains and tbh looks as good as the day we had it fitted.

Our house is currently on rightmove and you can see the carpet if you like. I don't know how to link but it's on with pittis at 310 ryde isle of wight and is sstc

[smogwod]

bumbez your house is beautiful, why on earth do you want to move?! Seriously making me consider the stripes for ours when previously set on the beige wool all over. Where do you have the switch from stripes to landing carpet upstairs?

[TeWiDoesTheHulaInHawaii]

I wouldn't have carpet in high traffic areas either really. What about engineered wood floors?

Much nicer than laminate, but still practical. In budget prices available if you look around.

[bumbez]

Thank you - my Dh wants a garage to store his (crap) treasures in. On the landing we switched to cream the stripe ending on the horizontal. Cream was a big mistake - expensive carpet but has a few stains. Next house I would do stripes again and a speckly neutral carpet. I also really like a black and white patterned carpet I've seen in a posh shop.

[Abzs]

Something to watch is your hoover. If you have a loop pile carpet a hoover with rotating brushes will damage it.

[mamijacacalys]

Gentleness
The stair carpet has lasted fine but we had the same carpet in the lounge and it needed replacing after about 5 years because of general staining (had two babies/small children in that time!) despite my best efforts with the Vanish and various other carpet cleaners. I would agree with Bumbez about a speckly carpet for your playroom.
HTH and happy shopping .

[Deux]

I have expensive 80/20 carpet in our public areas and I loathe it. It shed fibres something terrible and I had to Hoover every day because of the shedding and it was intensive hoovering. In fact I had to replace the Miele turbo brush as it was so badly clogged and I was constantly taking it apart.

I recently got new carpets for DC's bedrooms and it's been a revelation. I got one hundred percent polypropylene with some kind of stain guard and you can scrub them with bleach. They are lovely, lovely. If I could chose again I would get these downstairs too. No shedding either. They aren't cheap and nasty fall apart type. They have good backing and good underlay.

So my view, based on my experience would be to get a good quality polypropylene carpet and forget about natural fibres when you have young DCs.

[Gentleness]

Wow - lots of lovely advice to think about - thanks!

Deux - is your 80/20 loop pile or twist? I'm not keen on housework at the best of times, so making more for myself is a very persuasive argument against wool!

I've had a bit of a rethink - leaving the floor-sanding and resealing of the livingroom and hallway till next year no longer really makes sense as the carpets will have to come up and go down, but we hadn't budgeted to spend on the sanding this year. So I'm getting some quotes to get a professional job to see if that's affordable or impossible, and then going to adjust the carpet budget accordingly and see whether 80/20 is still possible for the stairs & landing. I reckon a decent 100% poly is the way to go with the family room.

Thanks so much everyone. Now if you happen to have any advice about floor sanding and sealing...!