info on carpeting? (rentals, mortgage, house)

[arun196]

Hi all,

I bought a house in phoenix, which is under construction now. May take 4-5 months. I think upgrades for carpeting and tiling for 2700 sq ft house came around 17k-20k$. we didnt choose neither less or high expensive flooring. I think its mediocre. But, now I looked at options outside(private) and I see that I can get waay better carpeting and tiling for very less than I am paying.

I am not sure if we can get flooring done outside(privately) after the house is constructed or we have to rip out the flooring and get new flooring if we decide to get it done privately. I may get lot better carpeting and save around 10k$.

Appreciate your views in advance.

[maggiekate]

hi, I moved to florida, and had 2 dogs, it was there home. I just did take what was free. I had extra tile put into the dog room, which is fine.

the carpet, I did need it to be restreched, no problem which I did pay for. another company.

I had a friend in MA got upgrade carpet, and many others, not pets etc., same problems. anyway I still love my cheap carpet, and the money in the bank, and no worry with dogs. From what I have heard you really do better elsewhere. With the market this way, think, what will the upgrade give you back. take what they give save the money, and invest. later on 8 or 9 years replace? that is my thought.

[maggiekate]

a thought if your heart is on upgrade, do say to the builder for the basic, and if I do want to buy elsewhere, give his allowance for the basic. You are in the driver seat, and yes, you do way better outside a builder pricing.
best of luck.

[Alaskan_Adventurer]

A little trick to getting the better "feel" of expensive carpet:

Get high-end padding and cheap carpet. You will basically get the same feel as the expensive grade carpet, but at half the price. Usually 8 pound padding is your best bang for the buck. If traffic on the carpet isn't too bad, then chances are good that you can keep your pad and just replace the carpet. Just a little info from a carpet installer.

[arun196]

Thanks for the info...wat you mean by this "give his allowance for the basic."

[LVGAZ]

When we built I had them just leave the concrete base and get the allowance back on the home - and we had tile, carpet in bdrms put in for a lot less - there are discount tile places out there - where you purchased - get a tile man - (with clean new concrete the cost is much lower to install) carpet installers and discount carpet stores are all over
CHeck it out not sure the size of your home but we did tile in 1600 sq feet - 2 full baths in dr, kitchen, and great room for 4000 with labor
Do some homework - sometimes the builders will give you a break(especially now with home costs) to complete the home if they know you are outsourcing possibly. Talk tothem - you have nothing to lose only to gain - also take into consideration the outlay of cash to do on your own vs. the builder and it is built into your mortgage the cost -
Oh well my 2cents worth...

[kawgpz550]

I own a carpet cleaning business. I would like to say, make sure you get CUT berber! Do NOT get woven berber. It's great for wear, but SUCKS for cleaning. Dirt gets down into the woven stuff, gets ground in...then forget it!
Personally, I would go with a high grade Frieze Berber! Make sure you have good pad as well. Carpet DOES matter! There is CHEAP carpet that is used for rentals and such and can be difficult to clean unless you maintain it well...even then it is going to matt down and look bad within a year or two.
Also...MAKE SURE, no matter WHAT carpet you decide on, MAKE SURE (I cannot stress this enough!) that the installers use a power stretcher and not just simply kick it and tack it. Power stretching is needed in order to ensure proper installation and to prevent premature matting and wear!

Good luck!

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by Alaskan_Adventurer

A little trick to getting the better "feel" of expensive carpet:

Get high-end padding and cheap carpet. You will basically get the same feel as the expensive grade carpet, but at half the price. Usually 8 pound padding is your best bang for the buck. If traffic on the carpet isn't too bad, then chances are good that you can keep your pad and just replace the carpet. Just a little info from a carpet installer.

Hmmm...that's interesting. I used to work in the paint side of a paint and floorcovering store and our estimators always talked people out of doing this because they said that it stretched out the carpeting prematurely, causing it to get "waves" and would need to be replaced earlier than if they went with a slightly lower weighted padding.

Granted, that was a few years ago that I worked there. Have things changed in the market? Are carpets no longer stretching as easily?

[Axiom]

Whether they will leave the house without carpet/tile and give you an allowance so you can do it on your own just depends on the builder. Obviously they make money on the deal, so if you've already signed a contract and did not negotiate this in advance, they may be less than thrilled with the idea.

No harm trying though. Good Luck