To ask for help with a maths problem?

[MatildaTheCat]

Ok, not really unreasonable but posting here for traffic.

We had measurements taken for new carpeting but there is no actual square metre given for the whole area. Can it be worked out from the following information? I have forgotten my algebra.

Underlay paper £0.50/ sq metre
Underlay £9.50/sq metre
Comfort underlay £8.50/ metre ( some areas have the more expensive one)
Carpet £20/ sq metre.

Total cost £3201.52

It has me flummoxed. I can see the different underlay makes it tricky so even a close approximation would be useful as I'd like to shop around.

Thanks.

around 83 sq. meters ?

if 38.8 (0.5+9.5+8.5+10) x x is £3201.52

then x is 3201.52 divided by (£)38.50

?

Do you have all the elements for the cost you've quoted (I don't know that much about carpets)?

If you have everything then it's £38.50 per square metre and so the area in square metres is £3,201.52 / £38.50 = 83.15 square metres.

But if you only have some of the elements for that cost then it would be different.

So total cost per square metre is the sum of all the above which is £38.50

Total areas to be covered should equal price divided by price per square metre = 3201.52/38.50 = 83.15msq

But you should know how many metres square you need.

not quite LH
Assuming 50% posh underlay and 50% cheap underlay
(9.5+8.5)/2 +20+0.5=£29.50/m^2

can I just check does the final price include vat? I presume the individual bits don't include it.

That wasn't actually very difficult, was it?

Thank you.

Hang on, that may not be right.
Are you saying that some areas have £9.50 underlay and others £8.50 underlay?
In which case you need to know the area of each bit.

Or use £9 as an approximation which means £29.50 per sq metre which gives you an approx. square metre area of 108.

once we know whether both components and total price include vat or not we can do the final calc.

(everyone - read the question properly!)

Is it 50/50 on which areas have the more expensive underlay, though? You can't just add it all up because each area only has one type of underlay.

Cross post :)

Ok, more posts with questions. I think VAT is included. I also think John Lewis don't much want to give the full sq metre info to make it more awkward to shop around.

Full cost including fitting and disposal is £4365 which seems quite pricey. It is two flights of stairs, landing and four bedrooms.

sorted that out Million, we just need to know the vat now. Usually vat is added on at the end.

Matilda, is vat included at the end of the quote or per item?

xpost with million can you tell I'm procrastinating?

It could also be a fitting fee plus all the underlay, carpet etc, so it could be

((0.5+9.5+8.5+10) x X) + Y = £3201.52

Where X is the sq m of the carpet in question and Y is a fixed fee for fitting. You can also complicate matters with the size of the carpet rolls used.

If Shop A sells carpet in 4 m width rolls and shop B sells it in 3 m width rolls, they may charge differently even with a similar price per square metre if your room is 3.5 metres wide.

If you want to shop around, what you need to know is 'how much to carpet this room' without necessarily looking at the specifics of how they arrived at their price. Some shops offer 'free' fitting or 'free' underlay, but obviously the cost has to be built in somewhere.

Actually yes there's lots of unknowns.

Bloody hell, that is expensive. but what you'd expect for John Lewis.

I had a lovely carpet fitted from a local place when we moved in 10 years ago. It's still in good condition today and they came and measured up and did all sorts of tricks to save money, like use the offcuts from the living room to carpet the stairs.

ok, full cost prob includes vat too, but the £3201.5 prob doesn't.

So 108m^2 I think then.

can you not measure the area and come back and tell us?

Do you need new underlay? Is there some down that could be reused?

What about gripper rods and doorway strips?

Don't reuse underlay if you're spending that much on carpets! My underlay is knackered so the carpet looks rubbish even though it's fine.

Right, the costs I gave in my first post are just for the paper, underlay and carpets. It definitely does include VAT. The extra costs are for disposal, new gripper rods etc. We definitely do need new underlay,mits at least ten years old.Yes, I agree it seems very expensive hence wanting to shop around and just wanting to find out how many metres of carpet we need roughly.

So, it about 83 sq metres or 101? Any other clever bored people care to help?

Matilda, it's impossible to work out without more information. Could you not just call John Lewis? They will have used the figure to work it out.

They're not trying to stop you from shopping around, it's probably just not on the plan output.

Or ya know, measure your own house?

If you live in an area with the same houses, have a look on property sites for floor plans

You need to measure the rooms yourself. As others have said the costs will vary for the size of the rooms. If the carpet comes on a 12 foot width, you will have to pay that even if your room is only 9 ft wide. By using the same carpet on the stairs as the bedrooms you should be able to save money as there will be off cuts. Carpet shops won't give you a breakdown we the measurements as they don't want to measure for free and you to then go with someone else for the carpet