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

I bought carpet tiles when I had a council property as I was in a similar position to you. I dont know how much they are nowadays but were very cheap back then ( 8 years ago )

My first thought with concrete floors is can you 'finish' them in some way? Some people have concrete floor so there must be some kind of product that seals them. Might be a cheap option for downstairs for now. Then some cheap rugs if you need

Get precise measurements for all rooms. Shop around at smaller carpet fitters. Ask for off cuts for smaller rooms especially. Priorities what rooms need doing first and don't do them all at once

My sister viewed a council house and it had laminate all downstairs and grey carpet upstairs, it was in such good condition she asked the officer if she could keep it. They said yes but she had to sign some stuff to say she was happy with the condition of it and would take personal responsibilty of any damage. Well when she moved in the whole lot had been ripped up 🤦🏻‍♀️

I've seen stick on floor tiles...my friend used them. They looked pretty good. Sorry no idea how you attach them or if you can do it straight onto the concrete or what...but I'm sure there's some tutorials on YouTube

Putting fitted carpet throughout the house is probably the most expensivd way to cover floors

Cheaper ways:

• look for freecycle or 2nd hand
• look for offcuts

- large rugs/mats from ikea etc. Eg langsted 133x195cm. £45 use multiple as needed, or vindebak 2 x 3m

• carpet tiles - b& q etc.

What a ridiculous waste!

Can you find out if there are any local charities which would help you? There is one in my area who would give you a grant in these circumstances.

I would do room by room with carpet tiles. I was fortunate enough to have council housing when I was younger and the carpet was stained with blood and had fleas. The council weren’t very helpful with dealing with that either…

fleas were much worse to keep under control despite no pets. My baby kept get bitten and it was a very stressful time.

So I think dust is favourable. Try carpet tiles :) one room at a time….

Also do it bit by bit, one room at a time, starting with the rooms you spend most time in

Rugs, remnants would suffice. Look on marketplace, gumtree etc. Bank Holiday weekend will see people doing DIY so keep your eyes peeled.

Don't be afraid to ask family and friends either.

We had some carpet fitted recently by a family run company, not a chain, and the fitter was telling me they have rolls and piles of offcuts, even large bits that they give away of facebook every so often. Maybe find a local company to you and ask if they have good sized offcuts they'd be willing to give you for free if you just pay for fitting.

SHEIN has rugs from 2.80 - they are quite nice and would work on your sealed concrete floor until such time as you can carpet. Definitely seal the floors though, as PP have suggested

Dunelm have very large rugs 200 x 290 cm from under £100 , if you could run to a couple of those for some rooms .

Have you watched grand designs at all? People pay a fortune for polished concrete floors and they have children.

Carpet right have cheap carpets and if they are square rooms it's actually fairly easy to fit them yourself. Their underlay and gripper rods are expensive so source them elsewhere
You might find offcuts are ok for your rooms too and can work out cheaper.

We have typically paid £100-300 per room depending on the size for carpet £50 for underlay. Pick a room at a time. Vinyl can be a cheap way of flooring hallways, kitchens and bathrooms and is fairly easy to fit if there aren't too many fiddly bits. We did our utility room for less than £100

A family friend moved out of her council house a couple of years ago and had to remove all the carpets before she left. She was horrified.

What about pay weekly carpets? I have no idea if they are overinflated so please ignore if this is the case but my SD recently got some flooring from them and she said it was the same price or cheaper than B&Q. Might be worth getting a quote and if they aren't massively more expensive you could pay £10-£15 per month if you could afford it (although it will take a while to pay).

Could you do it on interest free credit and pay monthly?

I'd call around small (suburban high st) carpet shops are see if they have remnants, vinyl is a better option for the downstairs hall, kitchen and bathrooms

I got a local carpet fitter to come and measure up, then i bought the carpet and underlay myself from ebay. It was considerably cheaper than the ones supplied by the fitter.

I would ask on your local Facebook groups for donations. Explain what has happened and what you're currently living with and ask if anyone has any cheap or free carpet remnants, vinyl or rugs.

I used to work in homelessness prevention and resettlement and often used to get grants for housing costs when people got housed.

A lot of charities wanted 3 quotes, and it always turned out that a small, local independent shop was cheaper than Carpet Right when you factored in the cost of fitting and/or underlay.

I had great success with grants from a charity called Glasspool Trust but I'm not sure if you can apply direct, or if you have to get some sort of professional to apply on your behalf. It might be worth checking.

I'm surprised that PPs have been shocked by the OP being allocated a property with bare floors. The 2 councils I'm most familiar with will put vinyl flooring in kitchens and bathrooms but nothing in other rooms. If the previous tenant has left carpet down and it's in good nick, they'll leave it, but if it's worn or dirty they rip it up and leave new tenants with bare boards.

They also have a rule that tenants in flats above the ground floor must have carpets to reduce noise transmission, which seems a bit mean.

Came here to say the same thing! Seal the concrete to stop the dust, and get some rugs for rooms where you want things to be comfier underfoot

I'd also perhaps consider checking out some of the insta or Pinterest pages where people have sanded and painted stairs and used stick on stair treads. They are really cheap and can look amazing.

@LakieLady ”They also have a rule that tenants in flats above the ground floor must have carpets to reduce noise transmission, which seems a bit mean.”

Try living in a flat under a laminated floor, and then tell me it’s mean! That’s responsible landlording.

Have a look to see if there are any local charities that offer grants or anything? I only know through my work previously have supported families with this kind of thing obviously don't know in your area specifically.