Confused.com when it comes to carpets and underlay.

Plus horrified at the cost of underlay in the carpet shops compared to online…… easily double !

its for Upstairs bedrooms – onto wooden board over joist flooring so noise isolation is key imo.

What underlay do i really want – and where do i get it from.

bought our underlay and grippers etc online. Was loads cheaper. Think we went for Cloud 9 underlay. Can’t remember which website though.

Edit: http://www.carpet-underlay-shop.co.uk/cloud-9-cumulus-pu-carpet-underlay-11mm-19-p.asp

indeed cloud 9 is good. shop around online

Ordered mine off ebay, again Cloud 9, this Seller

(only bought once, so only a passing recommendation, but it arrived & was ontime..)

excellent chaps for a minute it looked like the underlay was going to be more pricy than the carpet as the boy in the shop had mrs T-r hooked on the fancy shit.

100 quid should see both rooms underlayed as oppose to more than 300 in the shop !!!!!

Just accepted whatever came recommended from the local carpet place, not the big retail park warehouse place where every fitting is extra, the local one where everything including fitting is included in the price on the shelf.

Could probably save some money if I ordered carpet from one place, underlay from another, grippers from another, bought some tools, and fitted it myself, but life’s too short.

I didn’t realise the underlay is almost even more important than the carpet.

A good underlay makes the carpet feel better – but more importantly – it makes the carpet last longer. Much loner as I understand it.

Don’t skimp.

Another vote for Cloud 9 (but there are cheaper alternatives which are identical…just don’t have the brand) which I was able to buy from my flooring supplier (who knew? 😀 ). I seem to be picking up rolls of it for all our friends every few months or so. 🙂

Also, if the sub-floor is old planks, consider hardboarding throughout – makes a big difference to how the carpet wears over time.

that could make getting to the services in future a bit tough darcy.

Where are you looking for carpet???

Try Unique Carpets and Flooring on Holburn St. Over the road from Alpine Bike where the Spar used to be.

We have got carpets from there a bunch of times now, Jim and Lez will sort you out.

will do russell. we went to dee carpets and the warehouse at berryden ….. was uninspired.

If you use a pneumatic nailer with the tacks with wide, round heads, and buy 4×2 sheets (rather than the huge 8x4s), then in the event that you do have to get underneath, the sheets should pop up without leaving the nails in the timber. Pulling the carpet up to get at the services is going to be a PITA anyway, so popping up a few sheets of hardboard isn’t going to be that much more. You can always spray or felt-tip the pipe runs onto the hardboard before the underlay goes on top as well. It’s not the be-all-and-end-all, but it gets rid of the risk of floorboard lines appearing through the carpet (which had happened in ours before we replaced the previous owners).

i shall consider it.

I got underlay from http://www.tradepriced.co.uk/ and they where a good price

Tbh, if your boards are flat and you buy thick enough underlay (and as it’s upstairs, you should go as thick as you can), it might not be needed. Just best practice and I’d be letting the trade down if I didn’t offer it. Wouldn’t worry, most people ignore me anyway. 😀

floorboard lines appearing through the carpet

Even with Cloud 9 11mm underlay, we got floorboard lines appearing in one of our rooms.

I bought from Ebay for about £40 per role a year or so ago. Far cheaper and better than the carpet shop were offering.

Best I could find was this from screwfix
http://www.screwfix.com/p/tredaire-softwalk-polyurethane-foam-carpet-underlay-9mm-15-07m-red/36534

Delivery costs were my main problem with ebay sellers being in NI.

Underlay costs in local carpet places were crazy for complete rubbish!

Underlay costs in local carpet places were crazy for complete rubbish!

You should see the mark-up they can make on carpets. 😯

I have the same underlay from screw fix above. Very good IMHO.

Can I hijack and ask if anyone recommends any online carpet shops? Again feeling massively uninspired.. just wanting something simple that will last and clean easily

Dammit! I had a truly hilarious message about emailing deadlydarcy direct typed but got interrupted before I could post it 😥

I had a truly hilarious message

There’s a first for everything DebZ. You might have another next year! 😀

Everyone buying your own underlay – are you asking carpet fitters to fit it?

Is this not a bit like buying new parts from CRC and asking your LBS to fit them? (Obviously I guess the carpet fitter will still charge, but it seems a bit off…)

not likely .

underlay and grippers will be in place.

Not difficult to fit underlay. I did it myself.

Plus, most carpet fitters don’t work direct for the carpet shop and are sub-contracted anyway. So your analogy isn’t quite right from my experience.

Thanks – I was just wondering, and it sounds like I should look at fitting it myself.

Obviously I guess the carpet fitter will still charge, but it seems a bit off…)

The reason a carpet fitter (EDIT: or in most cases, the carpet shop/warehouse from which it’s bought) normally charges only a few pounds a meter to fit is because he or she will be making enough mark-up with the carpet, grippers and underlay. Fair enough if a client wants to supply all the bits himself, but he or she should be prepared to pay a bit more per sqm for fitting than one might normally expect.

hell id fit my own carpet if mrs t-r would let me ….. Ive done it before in rental flat refurbs

Doing it quick/efficient is how ever a science but getting it down looking good
Like a lot of things take your time and start in the right place its not hard.

Getting it into my house is likely the part where the fitter will earn his money – im not entirely convinced i wont have to bring it in the first floor windows.

I got my underlay online (wife wasn’t very impressed with the size of the roll that turned up at her works reception 😉 )

I fitted it ready for Carpetrights sub-contracted fitter, when he arrived he said I could’ve just left it for him, so next time I did. Took him about 10 minutes to lay it with a hammer tacker.

They tempt you with a competitive price on the carpet, get you sat down at the desk and then sting you with a non-competitive markup on the underlay, grippers and stair mouldings etc!

Someone call?