Can’t afford to carpet my council house

Will any local companies do a payment plan?

In fact, she specifically stated she was grateful in her OP.

Good idea. They also have them in B&M, though I can't remember the price.

I bought some to use at the bottom of a cupboard, to insulate and muffle the noise of a boiler. A bonus for me was that they were easier to cut than carpet tiles.

Forgive me for not reading the thread (time)
Congratulations on getting a new home.

My budget solution to flooring issues including concrete dust is this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heavy-Industrial-Concrete-Floor-Paint/dp/B07C3WH5XY/ref=sr_1_8?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iXV0wyGyOQOoMd_kzgoDmm5QmyyJh47oBI1l0yoDblqbTfNEfcUFkxyWOwZgYax1raM8w4sKo3U1TruBTTBxW0tgATErbVT6pHAX3NJKnzHNANl4oRmMLwfDPSU_6WURifhqo_JkTcfijLIpfFDX20LwXVJi93D1ijOpCMLLbUxfdfQJyJBIjNuvXmixhcmgjzJtOR57UPdNqCdpH3uv0vDlWmKkUR1d7B4yfmOJyNp_ntRiwGwxX_QCRDwWdi5riQROjExIS8lPr8YiL-h0JYrUOHeObvX-zJRNaNfLpy8.3-swm9_oWWieGA5oi_Igev_MrFykT-IhYGnHq7MsM_g&dib_tag=se&keywords=garage%2Bfloor%2Bpaint&qid=1714756462&sr=8-8&th=1
You can buy it in smaller more affordable amounts as well, but this is the cheapest way in the long run. It's easy to mop and once you start getting bits of lino, rugs etc, does't look as industrial as you think. You can later use stencils and sponge paint through them if you want something more interesting. Mess it up? You just paint over.

If you're creative, woven T shirt rugs work really well, or if you're less ambitious you can just plait strips and work outwards from a spiral, and tack stitch them to stay together. People pay good money for them.

If you tell free-cyclers you're looking for no longer wearable T shirts to make from, you may be surprised how many you can quickly get.
(I managed to get 600 odd brand new ones in one hit from a university student union event and around 70 left over promo ones from a local event.)

Over time rugs, lino off cuts and put a wanted add on your local freecycle and trash nothing, keep an eye out on Gumtree freebies, but also if you google 'second hand office carpet tiles' you will find everything from the ridiculous to some good sale offers. You can glue them to backing rather than the floor if you choose. I've done them onto a brown paper roll and used Duck tape on the underside to create a solid carpet.

It's normal to not be able to afford much in the beginning (or for other reasons) and if you treat it as a creative challenge you may surprise yourself.

Would foam interlocking tiles like this be a temporary solution? Soft, warm and comfortable for your toddler to play on too

That sounds just what's needed. Hope that this or something similar is available for the OP.

This is a universal problem in all council houses as they all have carpets removed before new tenants move in. If you contact your local citizens advice centre and local councillor they maybe able to direct you local charities that can assist.

I'm sure the OP is grateful: she's simply come on here looking for advice.

Concrete floor paint the lot to keep the dust down, then get some big rugs or carpet off cuts or anything you can get hold of on freecycle etc. Congratulations on your new home!

Seal the concrete then paint it, then some rugs. When we purchased our house it did that in hallway and kitchen, lived with it for years. Also painted the bathroom floor.
Open a credit union account and apply for a loan.

I’m in the US so I can’t be sure of pricing in the UK, but I covered my old apartment’s awful flooring with peel-and-stick tiles. For the bathroom and the (fairly large) kitchen it was only $200 and it held up great. Took me a few days to install, but it was an old building and didn’t have a single proper right angle or straight wall. I also have it in my bathroom in my current house - that only took a few hours. It’s not carpet but it would be better than dusty concrete!

I also installed my own laminate click flooring in my current, but that was fairly expensive just for materials and is definitely a 2-person project, so I’m not sure if that would work for you.

@Florafloral If either of your parents, or the father of your children were in the Armed Forces, SSAFA would be worth contacting, as they work with the military charities to support people in your situation.

Is it worth trying to do it on a credit card and paying back a small amount off each month, I know debt isn't ideal...

Fitting laminate or carpet yourself? I don't think it would be that tricky to lay your own flooring and would save you a lot of money. YouTube would be your friend.

If you’re NW based look on Facebook at Floors Fur Thee, not for profit who will fit and supply offcuts - their work looks great and much more affordable

Sorry,just seen the OP mentioned a house.

The op said it's a house.

ever heard of flats?

For my first flat I found a local carpet shop that kept lots of remnants for me of similar carpets and they fitted that, it barely cost more than the fitting. I have friends who have also carpeted with the super cheap cord you can buy online and others who have bought remnants from eBay too.

Try freecycle and FB market place. We put all our downstairs carpet in alright condition up for free recently and was snapped up straight away! Or do a room at a time.

I was homeless to for while. We were also very very blessed and given a new build. We had the most amazing local MP who helped us get second tabs carpets. We lived with them for 17 years. Could try that?

Carpet is seen as luxury at the end of the day

Back in the late 90's I was offered a council house where they had taken out the carpets the previous person left 'to make it standard'.
Or maybe the real reason was because they were rank....the floorboards stank of urine.

Anyhow, it was all horrible, but I put cord carpet down throughout, no underlay - the soft cord type with wider cords - and fitted it myself using double sided sticky tape. I think there were still nail strips left on the stairs so I reused those.

It did the job for a few years although there was the odd wrinkle here and there.

It's about £3m2 online nowadays. Could that be an option?

Haven't read whole thread but you can often interest free credit for this sort of thing. Otherwise do it room by room. Get your measurements and look for remnants or free carpets online. We had no carpet for two years when we purchased years ago ire interest and I put newspaper down in dome parts of the house whilst i saved up.

Where are you located,
I have hallway/single bedroom, large bedroom and living room carpet that is only 18 months old but I won't be taking it to my house.