The hallway wears out first. What should go down there?
You want the toughest sensible carpet for the busiest floor in the house.
For hallways and landings, choose a heavy domestic twist pile in polyamide or an eighty twenty wool blend, in a mid tone flecked colour, over a firm crumb rubber underlay. Weight and density matter more than anything else here, and softness matters least.
Written for: Anyone replacing a hallway or landing carpet sooner than they expected to.
Why hallways fail so much faster
Every journey in the house passes through the hallway, so it takes several times the footfall of any single room. It is also where outdoor grit arrives, and grit is the real culprit. Fine abrasive particles work into the pile base and cut the fibre from underneath every time somebody steps on it.
That is why a hallway carpet often looks fine and then goes suddenly, and why a doormat inside and outside the front door genuinely extends its life.
The specification that survives
Look for a heavy domestic or extra heavy domestic rating, a twist pile that is cut and heat set, a high tuft density, and a fibre with good recovery. Polyamide leads on recovery. A wool blend at eighty twenty gets close and looks better doing it.
- Heavy or extra heavy domestic rating
- Twist pile, tightly packed, short rather than deep
- Polyamide or eighty twenty wool blend
- Solution dyed if the hall has a glazed front door facing the sun
- Firm 8mm to 9mm crumb rubber underlay
Where the loop pile argument comes in
A tight loop pile is extremely hard wearing and is a proper option for a hallway. The caution is pets, because claws can catch a loop and pull it into a run. In a house without a cat or a dog, a low level loop in a hall is a durable and smart looking choice.
Landings and the piece everyone forgets
The landing takes the same traffic as the hallway and it usually runs into the stairs, so it wants the same carpet. Buying a different, cheaper carpet for the landing to save money is a false economy that also creates an awkward join at the top of the flight.
If the stairs and landing are done in one continuous length, plan the metreage together. It is usually the same conversation and it avoids an unnecessary seam in the worst possible place.
The mistakes that cost a carpet
Three keep coming up at the counter, and all three are avoidable at the point of buying rather than afterwards.
- Choosing a soft deep pile because it felt lovely in the warehouse
- Putting a thick soft underlay under it, which lets the pile bottom out
- Choosing a flat pale plain, which shows every footprint from the front door
Useful pages for this job
Common questions
- What carpet rating should a hallway be?
- Heavy domestic as a minimum, and extra heavy domestic if the house is busy or the hall doubles as the route to a garden door. Anything lighter is being asked to do a job it was not built for.
- Does a doormat really make a difference?
- A large one does. Most hallway wear is caused by abrasive grit walked in from outside, so trapping it in the first two metres protects the rest of the floor and the stairs beyond it.
- Is loop pile good for a hallway?
- Very, unless you have a cat or a dog. Loops are tough and hold their look, but a claw can catch a loop and pull a run right across the floor.
- Should the hallway and the stairs be the same carpet?
- It usually looks better and it avoids a join at the foot of the flight. It also means one length is being cut, which the team can plan properly if you give both measurements at once.
- Why should the hallway underlay be firmer than the bedroom one?
- Because a soft underlay lets the pile compress all the way down under constant traffic and the carpet flattens permanently. Firm crumb rubber supports the pile so it keeps standing back up.
Ask us to pull out the heavy domestic rolls
Tell the team it is for a hallway and stairs and they will point you straight at the weights that survive it, including anything heavy that has come in on clearance.