The Floor Design Guide to Carpet Costs
Whether you’re buying carpet for one room or your whole house, we understand that with a huge range of styles and prices, making a decision on the best carpet for you can be a challenge. Our goal is to empower you with honest and reliable cost information to help you budget for your project.
As you consider purchasing carpet from Floor Design Wetherby, this cost and pricing guide will help you develop an initial budget and consider the many options that can have a huge impact on the final price of your new carpet.
To get specific advice on your project visit us in store or send us a message and one of our team of flooring experts will be happy to help!
Cost of new carpet: what should I budget?
There are several aspects to purchasing carpet that you need to consider and when you visit Floor Design Wetherby we try to determine which type of carpet is best for you, taking into consideration style, durability and price.
Carpets are generally priced by the square metre. In our showroom we display carpets that range from around £14m2 to over £200m2 so there’s a huge range in price.
In reality there’s a carpet that fits most budgets so if you do have a budget in mind, we recommend you let us know. We can then point you in the direction of options that are appropriate for you. Or we can have an honest conversation about why it may be prudent to spend more - or sometimes why you might not need to spend so much!
A good quality, mid-range 80/20 wool twist carpet will cost around £37-45m2 including standard fitting and VAT. Basic polypropylene carpets may be purchased from around £20m2 including standard fitting and VAT.
Paying much less than £20m2 means the carpet is probably of very basic specification. Always check to make sure if fitting and VAT are included in advertised prices.
If you’ve no idea what to budget for carpet then this guide can help explain the factors involved.
What are the costs involved in my carpet project?
The main cost of a new carpet installation is of course the carpet itself but you also need to budget for
New underlay
New gripper rods
Metal door plates
Fitting
You may also need to allow for
The uplift and responsible disposal of the existing floorcoverings
Labour to move your furniture if you are unable to clear the room
The shortening of doors if required
Carpet stain protection
Do I really need to replace my underlay?
We’re asked this question a lot! And the answer is usually yes!
Underlay plays an important role in ensuring your new carpet performs at its best. It can provide a layer of comfort and - importantly in these days of high energy prices - thermal insulation.
Under normal conditions you can generally expect underlay to have a useful life of around 10 years. Our rule of thumb is “new carpet, new underlay” as the last thing you want is for the underlay to come to the end of it’s useful life if your new carpet should still have years left.
The role of underlay is so important in the performance of your carpet that carpet manufacturers will only provide a wear warranty on their carpets if it is fitted on new underlay. So if you ask us to fit your new carpet on your existing underlay - even if it looks in good condition - this will generally void any wear warranty on your new carpet.
How much does underlay cost?
There’s a wide range of underlays to choose from, sometimes a certain type of underlay must be used on your project and we will advise you if this is the case.
Crumb rubber underlay should be used for Sisal installations, low tog underlay for installation over underfloor heating or traditional felt and rubber for installation with traditional woven Wilton or Axminster carpets.
Otherwise we generally suggest to choose the best underlay you can afford as you do get what you pay for. Our go-to underlay is a good quality foam underlay which gives an excellent level of performance at a reasonable price.
When choosing underlay ideally aim for 10mm thickness but pay particular attention to the density of the underlay. Our standard 10mm underlay is 155 kg/m3 which is a good performer. Other underlays of 10mm or thicker may have lower densities which means it won’t perform as well over time. Don’t get fixated on the thickness of the underlay or assume this relates to quality, it’s density that’s key.
The denser or firmer the underlay the better, it’s important to strike a balance between firmness (and therefore high performance) and “squashiness” which gives the best comfort. A very “squashy” underlay will be low density and give poor performance over time.
Expect to pay between £5 - £13m2 fitted, including VAT for most underlays.
How much does gripper cost?
Gripper is the strips of wood with nails that are fitted to the perimeter of your room, the carpet fitter will stretch your carpet between the gripper.
Gripper is not particularly expensive but as with most things not all gripper is the same and you get what you pay for. We use good quality gripper that is easy to stretch to and gives a high quality and long lasting fit.
For installations on concrete floors we may need to stick the gripper to the concrete with adhesive.
Expect to pay approximately £10 per room for new gripper.
How much do carpet metals/door plates/transitions cost?
We offer two ranges of door plates, our standard range is made from lightweight aluminium and comes in standard finishes of silver (aluminium) or brass effect (sim brass or simulated brass). These range from £6-10 per single doorway.
We also offer a range of Premier door plates which are heavy, solid metal and come in a wide range of finishes. These cost £45-55 per single doorway so are considerably more expensive but certainly do look far more impressive. We recommend matching your door plates to other metal finishes you have in the room such as door handles, light switches or plug sockets.
We would definitely recommend the Premier door plates should your budget allow, particularly if you are purchasing one of the more expensive carpet options.
How much does carpet fitting cost?
Our carpet square metre prices include standard fitting and VAT. By this we mean flat, square or rectangular areas over 10m2.
We do this to help you get a better idea of the overall cost when you’re at the budgeting and selection stage. When we visit you to measure and are then able to provide a bespoke quotation, we do this based on a project price which is specific to your project, the complexity of the areas to be fitted and the difficulty of the carpet you’ve selected.
It’s really important to allow your fitter time to do a high quality job. This may include time to uplift existing floorcoverings, prepare the sub-floor, fit new gripper and then fit your carpet. More time should be allowed for unusually shaped rooms, staircases, stair runners, striped or patterned carpets and naturals such as sisals.
If you’ve left furniture in the room then time and extra manpower will need to be allocated to moving this furniture around. This all comes with additional cost.
Not all carpet fitters are equal. We use trusted, experienced fitters who take their time to do the best job they can. We do pay them more than our competition because we think they’re worth it and our customers agree.
As of 2022, for our part of the UK, expect to pay at least £6m2 plus VAT for basic carpet installation, this is included in our advertised carpet prices. Most good quality carpet fitters will expect to command rates of at least £260 - £300 plus VAT per day.
Carpet fitting is a highly skilled trade and good carpet fitters are in short supply, so if you’ve been quoted less than these prices then you need to question why.
How do I compare carpet quotations?
We’ve been operating a Price Match Promise for many years, so if you’ve had another like for like quote from another local flooring retailer that’s less than we’ve quoted we will match the price.
In all our years of operating this promise the occasions where we’ve had to lower our price to match a competitor are extremely rare. That’s because we work hard to offer good value for money and a high level of service at reasonable rates. In our experience reviewing quotations we are usually highly competitive, if not cheaper than our competition, so if you have a quotation for the same project that is significantly cheaper that what we’ve priced the chances are the quotations are not like for like.
We’re part of a buying group of over 600 independent retailers and we pool our buying power to negotiate the best rates with key manufacturers, so even our big name national chain competitors can't necessarily source materials cheaper than us.
We're happy to explain the differences between quotations. You may pick a grey carpet from us and a grey carpet from a competitor and they may look similar, but as mentioned above, carpets can range significantly in price for many different reasons.
The key things to look out for:
Does your quote include VAT?
Does your quote include fitting or is this an additional charge?
Is the same carpet quoted for in both quotes?
Is the same underlay quoted for in both quotes?
Do both quotes price on the same type of door plates?
Does either quote include uplift & disposal of the existing floor covering?
Are the same rooms quoted for in both quotes?
For patterned carpets, has the correct allowance for pattern repeat been allowed for?
Are there any additional admin or delivery charges?
Do you think the quality of the fitting will be comparable?
Do you think the service and aftercare will be comparable?
What’s the typical cost of a lounge carpet?
If you’ve read this far in our carpet cost guide you will understand that there’s no such thing as a “typical” cost of a carpet project. The final price really does depend on your specific requirements and purchasing choices.
However, to give you some idea we’ve worked out an example of a lounge that is 3.7m wide x 4.5m long.
Carpet square meterage = 18.5m2 (4m wide x 4.6m long)
Underlay square meterage - 17m2 (3.5m x 4.5m rounded to next m2)
Remember carpets normally come 4m or 5m wide, so factor this into your calculations
Cost of a mid-range 80/20 wool twist carpet £37m2 including fitting
Cost of a decent 10mm foam underlay £11m2
Carpet cost incl. Fitting £684
Underlay cost £187
Gripper £10
Standard door plate £8
Total £889
Remember, there are a wide range of carpets and underlays to choose from so this price can go significantly up or down. The best thing to do is to let us know the style you’re trying to achieve and the budget you have to work with and we can suggest the best options for you.
Need more help? To get specific advice on your project visit us in store or send us a message and one of our team of flooring experts will be happy to help!