Carpet Installation

Carpet is judged by what you can't see. The pad underneath decides how it feels and how long it wears; the seams decide whether it reads as one continuous floor or a patchwork. Skimp on either and even good carpet disappoints within a couple of years. Get them right and modest carpet lasts.

Stairs are their own discipline — the highest-traffic, most-visible carpet in the house, and the hardest to install cleanly around the nosings. If stairs are part of the job, they deserve their own mention. So does the old floor: removal, haul-away, and a check of the subfloor underneath are part of doing it properly.

Name the rooms, rough square footage, whether stairs are included, and what's down now. Note any subfloor concerns — squeaks, soft spots, or a below-grade room — since those get addressed before new carpet hides them. Furniture handling and old-carpet disposal belong in the request too.

A common regret is buying carpet on the showroom price and skimping on the pad and install — the part you never see is the part that determines whether it still looks good in year three. Spend the savings on a better pad and honest seam work rather than a higher carpet grade, and the floor outlasts the fancier choice installed cheaply. And measure twice on stairs and closets — they eat more carpet than the floor plan suggests, and an honest count up front avoids a seam where you least want one. Recurring high-traffic areas — hallways, stairs, family rooms — also wear faster, so it is worth telling the estimate where the household actually lives.

Does the carpet pad really matter?

More than the carpet, for feel and lifespan — a good pad is the cheapest upgrade you can make. The estimate can price pad tiers honestly.

Can you carpet just the stairs?

Yes — stair-only jobs are common, and stairs are where carpet earns its keep. Describe the number of steps and whether they're open or closed.

What happens to my old carpet?

Removed and hauled away as part of the job — say so in your request and it's included in the scope.