Buying Carpet Squares – Learn How to Comparison Shop
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So you’ve decided on buying carpet squares to do a room or rug? Well, you have joined the many other flooring consumers that have become intrigued with the concept of modular flooring other wise known as carpet squares or tiles. Rest assured, you’ve made a great decision. Carpet squares are the friendliest flooring to install yourself and give unmatched design ability in carpeting. What many consumers don;t know is how to comparison shop carpet squares before they buy. Trying to pick the right carpet squares or tiles and get a great deal can actually be quite confusing.
You will hear and read terms on websites like commercial, residential, patterned, solid, price per square foot, per square yard, and price per box. You may also be under the impression that buying direct from the one manufacturer that sells direct is a good deal as well. With so many choices, how can anyone buy carpet squares or tiles with confidence knowing that they got a good deal? It’s actually a few simple explanations and a little math!
The first thing you need to become aware of is that carpet tiles and squares are offered in two major styles, commercial and residential. The commercial carpet squares are the modular carpet tiles you see in airports, casinos, hotels, and high end shopping stores. Commercial carpet squares are usually very low pile height, and have a construction that has mostly level loops of yarn tufted evenly or unevenly if it has a pattern. Commercial squares and tiles have a wide range of design selections and will last a very long time.
Seams in patterned commercial carpet tiles and squares can be hidden easily be quarter turning the tiles as you install them. Residential carpet squares are usually plush or frieze carpet styles that have been manufactured into a modular carpet tile design. Milliken is a predominate manufacturer in this market who sells through distribution across the country. These residential styles are popular with those who like the idea of ease of installation. The drawback to residential carpet squares is that the flexibility of creating unique designs is harder to achieve due to limited options, no graphics or patterns.
Now that you have a basic grasp of carpet square and tile terminology, the hard part is figuring out how to compare actual prices when looking to buy. Some dealers and carpet tiles outlets sell this modular carpeting by the square foot, others by the square yard, and yet others price modular carpet tiles by the box. On top of this, carpet squares come in different sizes. Carpet tiles and squares are offered in anything from 18 inches by 18 inches all the way up to 39 inches by 39 inches. You will find though that 18 inch, 24 inch, and 36 inch sizes are pretty common.
Some manufacturers even list these in centimeters instead of inches. To safely compare prices, break everything down to the price per square foot. If you see a price on a style you like but the price is for a box of carpet squares, see if the box quantity show square feet. You can then take the price of the box and divide it by the number of square feet to get your price per foot. When shopping for modular carpet squares, if you run across a price that is a price per square yard, just take the price per yard and divide by 9 (9 square feet in a square yard) to give you your price per square foot.
Don’t give in to the fluff when shopping to buy carpet squares! There is a lot of propaganda out there on the web and in design magazines! There is one major manufacturer that sells direct ( I won’t mention the name). Just because you’re buying modular carpet squares direct, doesn’t mean that you the consumer are getting the best deal. It only means that the manufacturer is pocketing more of the money! You may have a local carpet outlet that stocks discounted carpet tiles and squares.
You may also be able to find a closeout deal on carpet tile flooring at the local chain home improvement store. More than likely, many of the best deals will be on the web from stores out of Dalton, Ga, the carpet capitol of the world. The important thing to remember is that anything over $2.50 to $3 per foot is overpaying when thousands of other choices are available. In the end, a very realistic idea on a price for carpet tiles is around $.89 per square foot.
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Source by Eric M Dyer
