Advice
Carpet and vinyl buying guides.
Straight answers to the questions we get asked at the counter, from what carpet costs per square metre to what to do before the fitters arrive. No jargon and no sales pitch.
Cost and buying
How much does new carpet cost per square metre in 2026?
Carpet is sold by the square metre, and the fitted cost is made up of four separate things: the carpet, the underlay, the gripper ...
Carpet cost by room size, with a worked example
Multiply the room length by the width to get the floor area, then add for roll width. Carpet comes in fixed widths, usually 4m and...
What is a roll end, and why is it cheaper?
A roll end is what is left of a full roll once most of it has been sold. The carpet is identical to the rest of that roll. It cost...
Buying carpet from a warehouse versus a high street showroom
A showroom sells from sample books and orders your carpet in, usually with a wait. A warehouse sells the rolls it is standing on, ...
How to measure a room for carpet
Measure the length and the width at the widest points of the room, including any door recess or alcove, and round up to the neares...
What should a carpet quote include?
A complete quote names the carpet, the metreage, the underlay, the gripper and trims, the fitting labour, any uplift and disposal,...
Underlay explained, and whether it is worth upgrading
Underlay absorbs the impact that would otherwise wear out your carpet, adds warmth and quiet, and makes a mid priced carpet feel f...
Everything you actually need to know before you buy carpet underlay
Underlay is the layer that decides how your carpet feels underfoot and how long it survives. For most homes an 8mm to 11mm PU foam...
What will a fitter charge me to lay my carpet?
Most UK carpet fitters charge either by the square metre or by the room, with stairs priced per tread on top. Uplift of the old fl...
What am I likely to spend on carpet for this room?
Carpet is best budgeted as a fitted price per room rather than a rate per metre. Across the UK a small bedroom in a budget range t...
Why does one carpet cost double the one next to it?
Six things set the price of a carpet: the fibre, how much of it is in the pile, how the pile is constructed, the backing, the roll...
How do I carpet a whole house without the budget running away?
Treat the house as three zones. The traffic zone of hallway, stairs and landing takes the best carpet you can afford, the living z...
How big is a roll of carpet, and how is carpet sold?
Carpet is made in long rolls of a fixed width, most commonly four metres, with some ranges also made five metres wide. You choose ...
How do I work out carpet cost per square foot?
Divide a price per square metre by 10.76 to get the price per square foot. Multiply a price per square foot by 9 for a square yard...
Can you buy carpet cut to size?
Yes. Carpet sold from the roll is always cut to size: you choose the carpet, give the length you need, and it is cut across the fu...
Is end of line or discontinued carpet worth buying?
Usually, yes, as long as there is enough of it for your job. End of line carpet is simply a range the maker has stopped producing,...
Choosing
Twist versus loop pile versus saxony, and where each suits
Twist is a hard wearing cut pile for stairs, halls and busy rooms. Loop pile is textured and durable but not ideal with pets that ...
Wool versus synthetic carpet
Wool feels better, recovers better from furniture marks and is naturally warm, but costs more and is less forgiving with spills. S...
Carpet versus LVT versus vinyl, room by room
Use sheet vinyl or LVT where water and mud arrive, meaning kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms and entrance halls. Use carpet where...
Best carpet for stairs and landings
Choose a dense, tightly constructed twist pile with a firm underlay. Stairs take more concentrated wear than any other part of a h...
Best carpet for a rental property
Pick a mid grade, bleach cleanable synthetic twist in a mid tone neutral, with a standard underlay. The cheapest carpet on the mar...
Stain resistant carpet, what it actually does
Stain resistant carpet buys you time. The fibre is made or treated so liquid sits on the surface instead of soaking in, which mean...
Carpet for pets and children
Choose a solution dyed, bleach cleanable synthetic in a cut pile rather than a loop, in a mid tone that hides everyday mess. Keep ...
Sheet vinyl versus LVT
Sheet vinyl is one continuous piece, cheaper and completely seamless in a small room, which makes it the best choice for bathrooms...
Which carpet feels best in a bedroom and still lasts?
Bedrooms take the least traffic in the house, so this is the one room where you can prioritise how the carpet feels. A deep polyes...
What should I put in the room we actually live in?
A living room needs a middle path: comfortable enough to sit on the floor, tough enough for the route between the door and the sof...
The hallway wears out first. What should go down there?
For hallways and landings, choose a heavy domestic twist pile in polyamide or an eighty twenty wool blend, in a mid tone flecked c...
Twist, loop, saxony, velvet: what is the actual difference?
Pile is simply how the fibre is attached to the backing and what is done to it afterwards. Cut piles are trimmed open and feel sof...
Which carpet colour will still look good in five years?
Mid tone flecked colours hide the most and date the least. Very pale carpet shows soil, very dark carpet shows dust, lint and pet ...
Carpet or laminate? Here is how the two really compare
Laminate wins on cleaning, spills and rooms with pets or heavy dirt. Carpet wins on warmth, noise, comfort and cost per square met...
Should this room have carpet or LVT?
LVT is waterproof, tough, works over underfloor heating and copes with kitchens and pets. Carpet is warmer, quieter, cheaper to fi...
Does a bedroom really need carpet?
For most bedrooms, yes. Carpet is warmer on bare feet, quieter for the room below, softer for a child falling out of bed and cheap...
How thick are carpet and underlay together?
Carpet and underlay together usually come to somewhere between about 15mm and 25mm. Domestic carpet pile and backing typically mea...
Buying commercial carpet: what to know first
For most offices and commercial spaces the choice is between carpet tiles and broadloom carpet from the roll. Tiles are easier to ...
Practical
What to do before your carpet is fitted
Clear the room, deal with the old flooring, check the subfloor is sound and dry, and sort out access and parking. An hour of prepa...
How long does carpet fitting take?
A single bedroom typically takes about an hour, a straight staircase one to two hours, and a three bedroom upstairs with stairs an...
Can you fit carpet yourself?
Yes for a small, square, low traffic room, and for most sheet vinyl in a bathroom or cloakroom. No for stairs, and usually not for...
Caring for a new carpet
Vacuum regularly from the first week, deal with spills by blotting straight away, expect some shedding for the first few weeks, an...
Carpet tiles for offices and commercial spaces
Carpet tiles are the standard commercial choice because a damaged or stained tile can be swapped individually, they lift for cable...
Is my carpet worn out, or does it just need a clean?
A carpet is finished when the pile no longer stands back up, when the backing shows through in the traffic route, when ripples ret...
How many years will I get out of this carpet?
A light polypropylene in a busy area may be finished in five years, a mid range polyamide typically runs ten to fifteen, and a goo...
How much carpet do I need for my room?
You need a length of carpet off a roll, not a number of square metres. Take the longest length of the room, add about 10cm at each...
How is carpet fitted? The process, step by step
A fitted carpet is held at the edges, not glued. The fitter nails or glues timber gripper strips around the room just off the skir...
Why is my new carpet shedding?
Shedding is normal in most new cut pile carpets, especially wool and wool blends. Loose short fibres left over from manufacturing ...
How soon can you put furniture back on a new carpet?
Straight away, in most cases. A stretched carpet on underlay is not glued, so there is nothing to set and furniture can go back as...
How long does carpet underlay last?
Underlay generally lasts about as long as the carpet on top of it, and it is normally replaced whenever the carpet is. Over years ...
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About these guides
- Are the prices in these guides what I will pay?
- No. The guides explain how flooring is priced and what drives the cost. For a real figure, send your room sizes and get a free no-obligation quote.
- Which guide should I read first?
- If you are early on, start with the cost and fibre guides. If you have already chosen, go to the measuring and preparation guides.
- Can the team answer a question the guides do not cover?
- Yes. Over 40 years of trading means most questions have come up before, so call either warehouse.
- Do I still need a fitter if I follow the guides?
- For stairs and large rooms, usually yes. We work with trusted, fully vetted local fitters across Kent, or you can use your own.