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Original poster

To not understand how I didn't realise that having new carpets fitted would be such hard work !tted

51 replies

limetrees32 · 05/09/2025 10:50

The moving all the furniture out and still being able to walk down the hall , finding places for everything .
Admittedly I did choose to remove the old carpet which obviously added to the work load .
I'm glad I did though because it meant I could thoroughly clean up all the dust , powdered foam backing and general mess.
How do others manage?

OP posts:
JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 05/09/2025 12:14

roses2 · 05/09/2025 11:15

I don't understand why carpet fitting companies make it so difficult - they want you to remove beds, wardobes, tables etc and refuse to work around the furniture and move themselves.

If they offered this service I would:

  1. Pay more for fitting and
  2. Get carpets changed more frequently

Surely they would make more money this way - I am baffled why most don't offer this.

The company I used moved all the furniture as they went. I didn’t have to lift a finger. It was great!

IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere · 05/09/2025 12:31

Oh the pain (and stress!) We were having the same carpet fitted in the hallway and living room. Two separate lots of measurements. Two separate pieces of carpet.

The fitters came on the day appointed - two weeks after we had ordered - and found that the carpet they had been given, whilst fitting the hallway, was too small for the living room so it had to be re ordered and we needed to live with bare boards and rugs for a fortnight until they could come and fit the newly ordered carpet.

It was cold and messy. I have never appreciated carpet so much!

Original poster
limetrees32 · 05/09/2025 12:46

Honestly bare boards and rugs are the least of it in my opinion.
But we're all different and I bet your place is cleaner and tidier than mine , even on a good day!

OP posts:
Kurokurosuke · 05/09/2025 12:49

Nearly50omg · 05/09/2025 11:57

It’s not brain surgery moving some furniture out of a room, cleaning it and then once the new carpet goes in moving the furniture back! It’s also not something your do more than when you move house or every 10 years on average 🤷‍♀️🤣

Think you have found your helper! This person thinks it’s a breeze!

SoftandQuiet · 05/09/2025 16:38

Lol, Nearly50omg, some people are Nearly60omg, or Nearly70omg. Or Disabled omg. Have a bit of compassion!

PicaK · 05/09/2025 16:42

OP - I hate my brown lounge and bedroom carpets with a passion. But the work involved in moving stuff means I'll prtobably live with it another year!

Original poster
limetrees32 · 05/09/2025 18:45

@Fraudornot I'm almost 100% certain that you don't need to dismantle the wardrobes .
I'm sure if you ask them they'll explain how they will fit the carpet around the wardrobes.
They do have really narrow metal edging .
Like they use for a door threshold but v slim.

OP posts:
XenoBitch · 05/09/2025 18:51

My lounge carpet needs replacing badly. It is 15 years old and cream. I have a dog so it has got pretty grim over the years.
I live in a mid terrace with a narrow hall. When we moved here, the sofa would not fit though the house and we had to have the double glazing windows removed so the sofa could get into the house.
So I would have to do that again somehow, or just move it about in the same room.
Carpet is so expensive now anyway, I am just going to replace the lot with carpet tiles. It will look like an office but I don't care.

NigelFaragesFakeRoarofLaughter · 05/09/2025 18:53

Like a PP I used Tapi, and they moved the furniture, took off doors where needed, and their joiner came and trimmed and rehung the doors.

These services all add to the cost, but by golly they're worth it. I actually couldn't have had the new carpet without it. (Really it was the new thermal underlay I was after, as my house had none)

Re the fitted wardrobe: they'll cut around it as if it were a wall. You can ask them to give you the offcut, just in case one day you change wardrobe.

PiggyPigalle · 05/09/2025 19:44

limetrees32 · 05/09/2025 11:36

Yes, I've done it on my own .

Courage @PiggyPigalle ,it is possible .
It took me several days .

Lots of thinking .

I used these DIY Doctor - The Original Deluxe Super Sliders - Furniture Sliders For Carpet - Furniture Movers - Furniture Sliders For Wooden Floors - Appliance Sliders - Gliders For Furniture : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools https://share.google/t1towHxvOYvRxgyes
they really do make it easy to move chairs, wardrobes etc .
If you have somewhere to move them to of course.
I emptied everything first .
Cheap hanging rails from Amazon.
Do you have a local forum ,Next Door or something .
Could you pay a young able bodied teen looking for a little extra spending money?
Have only one room done at a time.
I used a local ( SE London ) firm .
For a reasonable fee they will take carpet up and also dispose of if you want them to .
They charged £10 an item for furniture left in the room and they move it from side to side.
I left a bed in one room and a sofa in another.
I did take the carpet up myself ,I cut it into strips which I rolled up into manageable portions and used gaffer tape to secure the rolls.

There's some amazing tips there. Thanks a lot for taking the time to post them.
I did ask my tall courier driver to click a roman blind into the cassette once, as added problem is, I can only lift one arm high. Took him a minute and I slipped him a tenner. I have no qualms asking as I never expect help for nothing.

Mistletoewench · 05/09/2025 19:49

limetrees32 · 05/09/2025 10:50

The moving all the furniture out and still being able to walk down the hall , finding places for everything .
Admittedly I did choose to remove the old carpet which obviously added to the work load .
I'm glad I did though because it meant I could thoroughly clean up all the dust , powdered foam backing and general mess.
How do others manage?

Oh god I feel your pain, just had our kitchen /diner wooden floor re sanded and varnished and that was a faff and so much moving of furniture.
just sat with furniture/crap all around me ready to be go tomorrow, after a shite week at work as well.

Doggymummar · 05/09/2025 19:58

It's for a couple of hours, luckily we live in a bungalow and we aren't horders. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes to do any room in our house.

singthing · 05/09/2025 20:03

Daleksatemyshed · 05/09/2025 11:07

I really need to recarpet the living room but can't face it yet Op so I know what you mean.

Same. I am at least 10 years past when my carpet should have been changed, but I just can't face it!

Coffeeisnecessary · 05/09/2025 20:16

I've had carpets replaced a few times and never had to lift or move anything, they've always done it and put everything back where it was, I didn't realise companies didn't do that!

NigelFaragesFakeRoarofLaughter · 05/09/2025 20:16

XenoBitch · 05/09/2025 18:51

My lounge carpet needs replacing badly. It is 15 years old and cream. I have a dog so it has got pretty grim over the years.
I live in a mid terrace with a narrow hall. When we moved here, the sofa would not fit though the house and we had to have the double glazing windows removed so the sofa could get into the house.
So I would have to do that again somehow, or just move it about in the same room.
Carpet is so expensive now anyway, I am just going to replace the lot with carpet tiles. It will look like an office but I don't care.

If it's just one item the fitters can juggle it around in the same room. Always best to warn them in advance, and make sure your or their muscle is on hand to help.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 05/09/2025 20:26

LegoPicnic · 05/09/2025 12:03

That assumes that you a) have room somewhere to move the furniture to and b) that you have people around who can help.

I need a new living room carpet. Absolutely no way I can move either my sofa or sideboard, so I’m just putting up with the one I have.

Show quote history

Yep, this. I live in a one bedroom flat. My bedroom furniture could probably be squeezed into the lounge/dining room to allow the bedroom carpet to be replaced, but there is no way all the lounge/dining room furniture will squeeze into the bedroom in addition to the bedroom furniture to allow the lounge to be done. I could fit a small amount of overflow into the kitchen, but I'd have nowhere to move the sofa and armchair to.

I am lucky that my boyfriend could help my move stuff, but once one room was done it would take ages to move that room's furniture back plus move the second room's furniture out. I certainly don't see how they could carpet two rooms in the same day, I'd need hours to do all the furniture moving in between. I could do with new carpets but the logistics of it makes my just put up with the old ones.

Toddlerteaplease · 05/09/2025 20:34

I’m considering having new carpets, but not sure how to go about moving things as there is no space to move beds and the sofa too. How do the fitters manage it?

basinbasin · 05/09/2025 20:34

I want fitted wardrobes put in the bedroom, should I change the carpet first?

PiggyPigalle · 05/09/2025 20:48

limetrees32 · 05/09/2025 11:39

In my town there used to be a service from a storage company I'd definitely use if still available. It was a towed canvas sided unit, like a single horse box. They'd park it outside your house and either they or yourself filled it and they'd pick it up after job done
That is just the most fabulous solution.
Wonder if they still do it ?
I moved stuff mainly into the corridor, luckily they are quite wide.

They do say on their website that if you don't have transport, they will come to you to collect your storage. Maybe I could come to some arrangement with them.

NigelFaragesFakeRoarofLaughter · 05/09/2025 20:54

If you can get the mattress out, they can stand a bedframe on its end, but if the room is truly crammed I don't think new carpet can be laid.

It's just one of those things.

And yes, doing it room by room is also one of those things.

I found with Tapi that they were happy to order the carpet (and take payment for it), then hang onto it in their store until I was ready for it to be laid. So if you're wanting the same carpet all through but need to play with furniture, they could probably accommodate that.

I found my local store incredibly helpful. They knew a lot more about these problems and the best solutions than I did – naturally enough!

Original poster
limetrees32 · 05/09/2025 21:07

One room at a time.
Fitters will cope with juggling a large item about , possibly two .
Ask the firm , they will have come across it all before.

OP posts:
OnTheBoardwalk · 05/09/2025 21:15

My kitchen floor needs replacing. Issue is all down stairs flows in a very long U shape and is the same flooring throughout so I need to replace it all at once

kitchen wouldn’t be so bad but I’d need to remove everything in the living room upstairs together enable to replace it all

PiggyPigalle · 05/09/2025 21:23

XenoBitch · 05/09/2025 18:51

My lounge carpet needs replacing badly. It is 15 years old and cream. I have a dog so it has got pretty grim over the years.
I live in a mid terrace with a narrow hall. When we moved here, the sofa would not fit though the house and we had to have the double glazing windows removed so the sofa could get into the house.
So I would have to do that again somehow, or just move it about in the same room.
Carpet is so expensive now anyway, I am just going to replace the lot with carpet tiles. It will look like an office but I don't care.

I have one of these and find it absolutely brilliant. I cant believe how much gritty dust it lifts, even after using a Miele cat & dog vacuum.
Problem is it's a striped carpet, which was here when I moved in. Hate it with a vengeance.
Platinum Power Max Pet-Design | VAX UK Official Website

VAX Platinum Power Max Pet-Design

The VAX Platinum Power Max Pet-Design rejuvenates your carpets removing stains, dirt and pet messes whilst killing up to 99% of bacteria.‡‡ Leaving your carpets revitalised and smelling beautifully fresh and clean, perfect for busy homes with pets. +...

https://www.vax.co.uk/carpet-cleaners-and-washers/vax-platinum-power-max-pet-design-carpet-cleaner?msclkid=edc4bf2c3db816ac7b6bd79778932cc9&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%F0%9F%A7%A0%20PMax%20%7C%20Brand&utm_term=2332407760467936&utm_content=Brand

PiggyPigalle · 05/09/2025 21:40

basinbasin · 05/09/2025 20:34

I want fitted wardrobes put in the bedroom, should I change the carpet first?

I would have thought yes, but I did a search and there are two schools of thought on whether to or not.
Years ago I had sliding door wardrobes fitted and it looked nice when opening the doors to have the same carpet throughout.

Fraudornot · 05/09/2025 21:41

@limetrees32thank you - I’ll phone around a few firms and see what they say