Where cheap carpet?

[Wes2008]

Hi guys,

I am currently living in Melbourne. Anyone know a good place to pickup cheap carpet? I understand the carpet's price vary depends on the quality, but is there any place generally cheaper than the average?

Thank you.

Cheers,
Wes

[Gumby]

Depends where in melb you are but I get carpet from a factory outlet which sources new and used commercial grade carpets and sells it at from around $45/m. I recently bought some brand new office carpet for $80/m which was originally $250/m retail. Apparently one business partner order it for his office while the other partner was away. When he came back, he didn't like the colour so they ripped it all up again. It had hardly been walked on.

Obviously the range varies and depends on wjat they can get but some of the other carpet they had came out of the Rialto so it's top quality stuff. They steam clean it, and lay it for you (being commercial grade, it's better laid by somebody who is used to handling that quality.

McMats Recycled Carpets Pty Ltd
Dorset Rd (cnr Gabriella Rd) Bayswater North 3153
(03) 9761 4451

[wombat47]

I have carpeted bedrooms off a polished floor board hallway - chosen the carpet to match individual room colours, rather than the same colour throughout. All have been bought from a second hand carpet dealer in Sydney and laid by a local carpet layer. Most of the carpet has come from commerical premises and one can get high quality carpet for a fraction of the cost of new.

For example, one room was done with a $100 piece of pure wool broadloom, in as new condition, which the layer estimated would cost around $350-$400 per metre.

You may have to wait to get exactly what you want but it's definitely worth it.

[cdm]

Try Metcalfe Carpets in Kilsyth Bargain Centre on Canterbury Rd, Kilsyth

They often have some cheap stuff gettin' around.

All the best,

Chris

[jackiew]

sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Start off by looking at expensive carpet, handle the sample pieces, bend them in half and look at how much of the backing you can see - repeat it with cheap carpet and compare the difference. When the salesman isn't looking try pulling out tufts of the carpet from the sample. Will it all end up inside your vacuum cleaner?

If you're on a limited budget try to avoid pale colours - they look great when they are first down but all the wear marks and stains will show very quickly. If you can get a carpet which has flecks or a subtle pattern of dark and light colours in it then go for it in preference of a carpet which is one solid colour. I would avoid carpets with structured pile ( this is where there is a pattern in the carpet due to different lengths of pile ). My experience is that this is a pig to vacuum. If you do go for something with a pattern look at the size of the repeat - if they can't get it out of a single width then you will pay extra to match the pattern in the adjoining piece unless you are very lucky.

Look at the suggested longevity and use of the carpet - if there is no rating on the carpet then don't buy it. Any manufacturer should at least have the confidence to say that the carpet should last 5 years in the lounge or something similar. the cheapest stuff is "bedroom" quality and will look like nothing in three years if you use it in the bedroom ( where it gets little walking on ) - in your lounge it will get walked on more and look terrible quicker. By avoiding a solid colour the wear will be less obvious.

That said you can be better off sometimes buying a cheaper carpet and a more expensive underlay than by buying an expensive carpet and using newspaper as an underlay.

If you can get recycled office carpet then go for it ... the difference in quality between commercial and domestic carpet is huge.

If you do go for cheap carpet you can considerably extend its life and appearance by having a shoes off at the door policy. The amount of grit and stuff which gets tracked into a house on people's shoes is incredible. Much of it gets caught in the bottom of the carpet and the action of people walking on it acts like grinding paste and increases the likelihood of tufts being severed.

cheers

Jackie

[Wes2008]

Hey guys... thanks for the advice!!!!