Can a carpet be too thick?

[ThickPile]

We moved recently and desperately need to replace carpets in bedroom, hall, staircase and playroom. It seems previous owners were not ones for cleaning much (generally) and they had a dog. The carpets are bald and stink.

Anyway, I have never had to buy carpet before and am looking for some advice. We went to CarpetRight to have a look and thought none of the carpets felt/ looked very nice and were expensive. The guy there told us that you need a different type of underlay on the stairs (rubber?).

We then went to a local company who have amazing reviews. They have some lovely, thick ‘premium’ carpets for less than the crappy feeling ones at CarpetRight.

I really liked the feel of the deep/ thick pile carpets. However I’m unsure if this is really a good idea. I don’t want it to feel like I’m walking on sponge for one. Also am worried it would be too thick for the stairs and maybe be slippery. The guy in the shop said it would be ok for stairs though. Also wonder if a thicker pile gets flattened/ matted more quickly? I think the ones we liked were either 24mm or 27mm.

Thoughts or advice welcome!

Also to say that we have been recommended to get a 100% synthetic carpet because we have small kids (so it’s bleachable). I like the wool loop ones but DH very keen to get some cats…

Carpet is warmer underfoot and gives better sound insulation. I wouldn't have hard flooring in bedrooms or on the stairs and landing and especially not if you're in a terrace or a semi.

I was looking at carpet yesterday at a local independent and have ruled out synthetic for the hall, stairs and landing as it all has a sheen I don't like and the shop owner advised it will flatten where it's regularly walked over in a way wool or wool mix doesn't. Get a regular twist pile - you can get different weights and the heavier weights are better for high traffic areas. You can also have carpet treated to repel liquids, etc.

Don't get a dark, solid colour whatever you do. They show every speck of dirt and dust.

ThickPile, neither am I! That's one reason I vastly prefer fitted carpets to hard floors: fitted carpets hold on to the dust and keep it in one place until you get around to vacuuming it up, whereas with hard floors every crumb and hair showed, floated around, and could be felt underfoot. I was forever sweeping and wiping. With carpets, after the first month of vacuuming every day, we vacuum as and when needed. Usually once or twice a week, though some areas need every day (cat fur!) so we also have a rechargeable vac for a quick grab-and-go.

And I'll let you in on a secret. Children. I don't like vacuuming the stairs, so I delegate that job to the dc. They've been doing it since they were about 10. I do have to tell a child to do it, they rarely see that it needs doing

@WeAreTheHeroes yes I was concerned about the noise from hard flooring, although we are in a detached. It is a dormer bungalow (so think that’s right?) so we have an upstairs but it’s in the eaves of the house. So I’m not too worried about heat retention as the upstairs does quite hot with heating on. It’s a tough one, I think I prefer the look of hard flooring but there are pros and cons to both. LVT is more expensive but we could afford it. I would still have carpet in the hall and stairs though.

@WashAsDelicates haha good tip, although I think my six year old would be horrified if I asked her to do it, the three year old would definitely be up for it 😂

The first carpet I bought for this house was a deep pile one for the sitting room and I don't think i'd have another. It's got squashed down in the middle of the room and looks bad where the door has rubbed it over time.

All the others i've had since then for bedrooms have been either berber or a short, but good quality pile.

A thicker pile will show a tracking path pretty quickly in the main walkways. Also not a good idea to have a thick pile on stairs as it can become hard to judge the edge of the step and it's easy to slip.

I bought as-is, so no idea re cost, unfortunately.

Personally I like the aesthetic and don't find it cold, and in summer, especially the recent hot ones, it feels breezy and clean.

Having seen what's down there when old carpeting in other houses was pulled up, I can't bear the thought.

If you do go for carpet, get berber rather than pile.

With our dealings with Carpet Right it wasn't the carpet that was too thick but the staff!
They insisted we signed a document that stated that the fitter was nothing to do with them, and when we found our own (cheaper) fitter they got very difficult and said we couldn't do that it was a 'package' and if we cancelled the order we would lose the deposit.

Eventually they backed down but we vowed never to use them again.

Polypropylene carpets are much more practical, and as said you can put bleach in them if really needed! It can be very hard to tell the difference between a good synthetic and a wool these days.
I think hard floor would be good in the playroom, and could be done through the whole downstairs but bedrooms will feel cosier with carpet.
I worked for Carpetright many years ago - I think it is down to each individual store and the staff as to experiences. Plus, they are tied somewhat from head office unlike an independent. So please don't take it out on the staff if they can't do certain things!

Good quality wool carpet will look as it did when fitted when you've vacuumed it. I can tell synthetic carpet a mile off and the price now is often as expensive or even dearer than wool. There's a difference between thick pile and long pile carpet. The labelling system will tell you where a carpet is suitable for.

Yes carpets can definitely be too thick! My son chose a carpet for his room and it had a luxurious feel and was thick. It was professional laid and looked great - but the bedroom door had to be adjusted by taking 3/4" off the bottom - but that meant that there was no supporting wood in the door at the base and the door started to disintegrate from the bottom up quite quickly. It was a real nuisance because all the doors on the landing match and we didn't want to replace one and have it odd, neither did we want the expensive of replacing them all. I'd advise to look into the depth of carpet and whether that will impact the door.

I'd go for the LVT and use rugs around as they can be cleaned and changed.

If you're going to get carpet, get the best padding and then something short and the easiest to clean most stain resistant in a medium neutral dirt colour. Make it as easy as possible for you with kids and pets.

Are you a shoes in the house family? I'd change that habit and it'll save so much time cleaning floors.

I wouldnt worry too much about resale as any style will be dated looking within 10 years.

The house I'm in now is 6 years old and has a mix of flooring. Downstairs is entirely these large marble tile squares. Then a dark wood floating staircase no carpet on it. The entire upstairs living areas has this hideous carpet that flattens easily.

Here's a close up. Flat and then I ran my hands over it a couple times to fluff it back up.

Green grey was popular when it was built so the carpet has a sickly green cast to it where the feature walls are.

As for the noise, when there's half a dozen kids upstairs, even with the carpet, they still sound like a herd of elephants running around. 😂

@StickofVeg this is really useful to know, thanks. We are getting new doors installed next week so definitely won’t want them disintegrating anytime soon!

@emptythelitterbox thanks. I do prefer LVT but DH is really keen on carpet, and we have a lot we want to do to the house so he’s saying we should spend the money elsewhere. We’ll see if I can bring him round!
I’d love to have half a dozen kids running around upstairs, we have moved very far from where we were living and DD is struggling to make friends at her new school, but that’s a whole other story!

I've had some lovely thick carpets in the past. They didn't age well, also combined with the fact they were light coloured though.

I've gone for light wool mix this time with a short pile and they're wearing well.

If you're the one who is going to be cleaning up the messes and caring for the flooring, you should choose what works best for you.

Is there any particular reason he's so keen on carpet?

Does he realise how much filth they harbor and they are never truly clean?

I hope your new house soon has some herds of other children running around and playing with your DD!

If I were doing it again, I would put karndean or similar right through the hall from the front door into the kitchen leading to to the back door. It's a pain to have to take shoes off for a few strides then put shoes back on.

In our living room and bedrooms though, love carpet. The sound is nicer than friends with similar homes who have laminate throughout. Their places are echoey.