To Replace Or Not To Replace...that Is The Question
Anybody ever replaced carpet w/o replacing the pad? My realtor has a guy who says he can replace the carpet w/o replacing the pad and save me a few hundred smackers. I know nothing about the ramifications of not replacing the pad. :-o
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It really depends on the age and condition of the Pad. Usually when you pull up carpet the pad is often compressed stained dusty /moldy /smelly ,it can be crumbly. It also could have been glued down which can add alot of cost to tear up. But if it is still good clean and odor free I have kept it in the past. You really have to just inspect it.
I've seen it done before, but the pad needs to be in very good shape. The pad creates the cushiony feel of the carpet but it can certainly be done.
Thanks Mike,
House is 10 yrs old. Not sure on carpet/pad.
If there were ever any indoor pets I wouldnt...........
Smells like a dog in the basement. I'm beginning to think it's not worth the $500 savings. Will the new paint and carpet smell cover the dog scent?
I would trust your gut instinct and just replace the pad. Thing is, your sense of smell is what tells you instantly about the type of place you're in. You want your house to smell nice.
I've heard it said that the smell of animals in a house is the smell of money - the seller will have such a hard time moving such a house that an investor will be able to pick it up cheap.
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a new carpet and pad way more than justifies it's $500 difference. you want it to smell, look and feel fresh - the smell and feel we can probably safely assume will be "not new". i'd just replace it and if you want to cut corners, cut it on the carpet itself, not the pad. anything above the "indoor/outdoor" variety will be a plus.
I know you all love carpeting and if you play that game please replace the pad. Also if given the chance move up to some of the better materials that are now available. Please.
Now here comes the bad part. While you are playing the carpet game check the floors and see if it might not just be to your advantage to restore them slightly with a heavy stain and the usual poly coats and have a little wooden flooring for those who prefer the smell and feel of wood. I know it is hard on you knees, but formalize those occasions and stay on couch or bed. The little touch of elegance in a well polished floor might mean a few bucks in your pocket.
The bad side is that you must conduct body searches of all new tenants as the children might be bringing in a skate board or what is even worse, real skates!
In a house for sale the newly polished floor really makes a difference.
Cheers Lucius 8-) [ Edited by Lufos on Date 03/22/2004 ]
Lucius,
I can appreciate where you are coming from, but no matter how dark the stain, I don't think it will work w/ a plywood subfloor.
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Just to throw in my 2 cents, but replacing the pad shouldn't cost you $500 bucks.
I have never tried or wanted to try saving a carpet pad.
I guess that tells you about the places I have rehabed.
One thing I remember about the carpet guys sales pitch was that the life of the carpet was directly related to the quality of the pad.
I personally would replace the pad for the couple of hundred bucks and be done with it.
I used to have a saying when I started rehabing "If it isn't done 3 times then it isn't done right".
Translation, sometimes trying to cut corners or trying to get out of it cheap will cost you more in the long run by having to redo it or in this case to have the buyer wondering how much it will cost to get the smell of ROVER out of your beautifully carpeted house.
Best of Luck
JohnNH
FYI 6# pad costs me $1.71/yd. On a 1200SF home that is only $228. The pad makes more of a difference than the carpet in my experience. I can't find my 8# pricing off hand but it isn't that much more. PAD = very inexpensive.[ Edited by myfrogger on Date 03/22/2004 ]
Almost every time I've bought carpet, the dealer has thrown in the pad as part of the deal. In my last Rehab it cost $400.00 for new berber + pad+installation and removal of the old. The area I had done was a 14X17 living room and a 17 ft hallway. You might want to look into finding a better deal.
I have a few rolls of the cheap foam stuff you can have for free if you want to come here and get it. Z
Hey,
I always replace the carpet and the pad.
On one house, the carpet guy calls me up and says the existing pad is MUCH better quality than the one I am about to have installed and he recommends I keep the old one.
Sometimes you just never know....
The only two times I have kept the pad where when It had been recarpeted by the home owner to sell the house but he had put in dark blue carpet to match the dark blue paint. I pulled the carpet and kept the near new pad. The second time was when a tenant buyer insisted the carpet cleaner my cleaning service used put her in the hospital and she sue me if I didn't replace the toxic carpet. I don't think it would have held up but the room was only 10x12 and the carpet was a scrap I bought locally. The pad was rough but so was the buyer
I have gotten my best price on carpet and talked them into free pad more than a few times.
Zach,
That cheap foam stuff doesn't happen to double as Lions tickets does it?
The pad idea was my real estate agents idea. He's a little shady (I know, I know who would have thought that about a realtor).
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I don't have any Lions tickets, but I know someone who's giving away kittens, haha. Z