Tips for purchasing carpet?

[Ravenseye]

ANyone have any tips for purchasing new installed carpet? Things to ask for or whatever? If we could do hardwood floors we would, but the floors are just too bad in two of the rooms so we're carpeting them.

Guy is coming in a half hour, and thought I'd ask if anyone had any advice/opinions/things to ask or watch out for.

[Lars39]

1. I found the Carpet and Rug Institute helpful:

http://www.carpet-rug.org/drill_down.cfm?page=1

[kmla]

2. Ask for the face weight of the carpet....

... not just the weight of the carpet. The face weight will give you the amount of fiber in a square yard. (Higher oz. weight is better.)

Try to stay away from olefin fibers . Shows foot traffic much earlier than other fibers. Same with polypropylene. Try to stay with nylon fibers (preferable a branded nylon).

Cut piles are plusher, but will show foot traffic quicker than a loop (often mistakenly called a berber). But they usually look nicer. The trade off is up to you.

Go with the best pad that you can afford. Pads make quite a difference in the feel of the carpet. And can actually prolong the life of the carpet, if you get a good one...

Hope this helps...