Can’t afford to carpet my council house

[Florafloral]

I have recently moved into a council house with my 5 year old after being made homeless. It’s a new build so All rooms are painted which I’m grateful for but I can’t afford to carpet it. It’s concrete flooring throughout which is impossible to keep clean, is very powdery and dusty. It’s making our clothes and furniture dusty too. I applied for a grant for flooring with the council but was turned down because my DD isn’t under 3 and we have no health conditions. Does anyone have any tips or how I can try and get cheap flooring. I’ve been quoted over £2000 for the whole house. It just seems impossible

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

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.

@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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Will any local companies do a payment plan?

Thanks everyone for the help and advice and links, I have looked through them all and they are a great help. Had a rough year or so, so to have mine and my DDs forever home is the best feeling. Just posted on here for tips and advice, that’s all, as the floor is dusty and cold!!

I'm glad that things are looking up for you, OP.

This is the flooring currently throughout. None in kitchen or bathroom either so will go for vinyl option in there I think. I do want to focus on getting the living room and my DD bedroom carpet flooring sorted first so will have a look at all the ideas

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Hi OP. We had no flooring in our house for about a year as we couldn’t afford it either. After a few weeks of regular hoovering it definitely becomes much less dusty. We had a rug in the lounge and wore slippers. Honestly you get used to it very quickly and it just starts to seem like the normal flooring.

What about upstairs?

This is one of those Mumsnet threads where I look at the OP and I look at the number of replies and wonder - why is it so disproportionate? Surely whoever suggested sealing the concrete floors had it in one?

I've lived in my house for 20 years this year, and never been able to afford to re-carpet it. Luckily my Mum has now died and left me some money in her will, so it will get done.

Yet here you are adding in your unhelpful non advice.

Try https://www.nofloornomore.org OP. They're based in St.Albans so may not be local to you but may be able to help.

Yes - sometimes local carpet places have offcuts that they sell for much cheaper. Have you asked about that? Mine were selling 70% - 100% deep wool carpets offcuts for so much less.