Posted by Steve-WA on June 25, 2005 at 21:14:54:
tell Scott that the pictures (that was a lot of them!) will be posted tonight! I’ll post shortly when they’re up.
15’ Berber carpet - Posted by ange (WA)
Posted by ange (WA) on June 24, 2005 at 21:09:32:
We’ve been using 15’ berber carpet from Lowe’s for our homes. With this size we avoid having to seam and just put floor metal over joints in doors and hallways.
We found it to be cheaper and better quality than comparable priced level loop, sculpted or short pile carpet and seems to give a modern look to the homes.
People walk in and say " Ooooh, Berber".
With 6 1/2 pound pad it makes a real cushy feel, too. We often make buyers take off their shoes " because it’s new carpet" but really so they can feel the cushy floor. Last guy said “I could watch the game all day lying on this floor.”
We used to buy all from Lowes and Home Depot, but we found most Discount carpet shops beat them on price for pad, floor metal, adhesive, vinyl flexible moulding by a big margin.
Ange
Re: 15’ Berber carpet - Posted by jeff in Ohio
Posted by jeff in Ohio on June 25, 2005 at 15:32:36:
Could you explain what you are calling “floor metal”. I have not heard of that term before. Thanks.
Jeff
Re: 15’ Berber carpet - Posted by Tony Colella
Posted by Tony Colella on June 25, 2005 at 11:03:19:
I have installed the 15’ wide berber in the living room areas of my doublewide properties. I use the traditional 12’ wide carpet in the bedrooms etc.
I prefer Lowes to our local home depot. Lowe’s has taken the customer mindset and eliminated the higher math conversion (from feet to square yards and back again!) and now list “linear feet” which is what I want to know anyways.
If I want 10 feet of 12’ wide carpet the little signs tells me how much it is per each of those 10 feet. From there I can do the math!
Tony
Re: 15’ Berber carpet - Posted by JeffB (MI)
Posted by JeffB (MI) on June 24, 2005 at 21:47:54:
I just carpeted an entire 16x76 home for about $1400, from Home Depot. This was after their 10% off sale they are currently running. It was one of those “guaranteed to be installed within 72 hours” carpets.
It’s a cut pile carpet and looks and feels fantastic. I’m looking forward to being very choosy with my buyer since this home looks so nice.
The carpet itself was only $8/yard or so but the pad and labor were almost another $7/yard. Total cost of about $15/yard. I hear other SFR investors in my area talk about $11/yard installed carpet, but didn’t really find anyone locally to beat home depot’s price. Perhaps I’m not looking in the right places.
floor metal - Posted by ange (WA)
Posted by ange (WA) on June 25, 2005 at 16:37:46:
Maybe you call it something else, like flat bar or carpet cap. I mean those gold or silver aluminum bits that come in lengths of 6-12’ that you cut with a hacksaw and put where carpet joins vinyl or other seams in high traffic areas.
look here for examples in profile
http://www.tools4flooring.com/floor-metal-c-106_107.html
To cut the tack strip we’ve been using long-handled pruning shears.
Ange
Re: 15’ Berber carpet - Posted by ange (WA)
Posted by ange (WA) on June 25, 2005 at 17:00:35:
15’ in living areas, 12’ wide in bedrooms has worked for us, too, with the least amount wasted.
Since you do rentals, Tony, have you had a chance to find out if this type carpet wears well?
$12/yard installed - Posted by Kevin IL
Posted by Kevin IL on June 27, 2005 at 09:24:30:
Jeff,
Find a “stick-built” landlord in your area that has more than 10 rentals. They will most likely know a good & cheap carpet installer. That’s how I found my installer. I got a nice berber with pad & installation for $12.25/yd. They also removed and hauled away the old nasty carpet.
Re: 15’ Berber carpet - Posted by ange (WA)
Posted by ange (WA) on June 25, 2005 at 16:47:06:
Hi, Jeff,
sounds like you got a nice professional job done. I’m always amazed at the difference it makes once the new carpet is in. So far we had to do new flooring in every home. It’s spendy, but we both feel it’s what sold the home to a good buyer. This next one we might try and salvage.
The berber I’m talking about is actually the lower end stuff around 5.50/yd. although its been going up lately. I don’t know if all stores carry the same brands and the available patterns seem to change. We’ve used one called Mohawk/Dakota, and Encore. I just hope it holds up well. Since Scott got all the carpet tools from his brother, he feels he ought to use them. We had help get the old carpet out on our last home (a nasty job - we like to wear our respirators to do it).
After we did our initial pricing last year, we kind of settled in with Lowe’s, but they suddenly raised many of their prices, so we’ve started calling and driving around browsing for various items and found a few new places we hadn’t considered before, like a store for electrical heating and plumbing where we now buy floor vents, lamps, and sometimes even faucets and toilet seats for less. Ange
Re: 15’ Berber carpet - Posted by Tony Colella
Posted by Tony Colella on June 26, 2005 at 09:55:58:
Yes, I have found that the berber carpet with the berber padding holds up quite well in rentals.
I only put it in the doublewide rentals and maybe a nicer singlewide here and there.
For the older singlewide rentals, I simply put down the commercial looking, lower priced blue carpet you find at lowe’s or home depot. It does not wear as well but these homes receive the worst treatment and replacement is necessary more often. The less expensive carpet is the only alternative for now for those properties.
Tony