Cost to Install Carpet

The cost to install carpet in the average U.S. home varies widely on the region in which you live. It also depends heavily on whether you will be installing the carpet yourself, or if you will be hiring a professional to do all or part of the installation.

Exploring your options and taking note of your personal skills beforehand will not only help you better determine the cost of installing the carpet, but it may also assist you in saving some money while doing so.

Installing carpet yourself can save you money in the short term, however, unless you have the skills and very specific tools required to install carpet, you may end up spending more in the long run to fix errors, not to mention any involved stress and frustration. Most carpet installers charge to install carpet, as well as the padding beneath, by the square foot. However, most carpet is sold by the square yard (due to the amount of carpet most people require), so you will need to divide the number of square feet by 9 (the number of square feet in a yard).

For example, if you have purchased forty-five yards of carpet, and a carpet installer is charging you five dollars a square yard to install only the carpet, then the total cost to install just the carpet will be two hundred and twenty-five dollars. In addition to that, you will also need to factor in the cost to install the padding as well. In the southern U.S. there is much more competition amongst carpet installers. Some charge as little as $2.00 a square foot. However, one should be very aware of an installer’s qualifications, as a lower price may indicate someone with less experience.

The States with the lowest costs, on a general basis, for carpet installation are the more southern states Texas, Florida, New Mexico, and Southern California, at an approximate cost of roughly $2.50/square foot. Northern states, such as New York, Ohio, and Illinois, are among the much more expensive states when it comes to installing carpet, with an average cost of roughly $5.50/square foot. Padding and installation charges added to the cost of some retailers can also increase the price by as much as 25%. In addition to carpeting a flat floor, the cost of carpeting items, such as stairs, can increase the total price of the renovation.

The cost to carpet stairs can range anywhere from roughly $3.00 for an standard box step, to $15.00 for a double-wrapped stair. The general rule of thumb with stairs is, the longer it takes to carpet, the more it will cost you. Also, prior to carpeting, unless the home owner had chosen to save money by removing the old flooring themselves, a carpet installer can charge from $0.50/yard to as much as $3.00/yard to remove old flooring. A dump fee may also be involved depending on how much of the original flooring and padding was removed. Finally, if the newer carpet being installed is thicker than the previous carpet, the baseboards and doors may need to be trimmed. A carpet installer who is well trained and equipped to do this may charge an extra $10.00 to $50.00 per door.

There are, in addition to the installing the carpet, a few details with which you may be able to haggle with a carpet installer, or do yourself, in order to save some money when deciding to go the route of hiring a professional. Options such as choosing a lower grade of carpet, or padding, and choosing to remove the old flooring yourself can save an additional amount of money. However, a home owner must be aware that when it comes to purchasing home renovations, particularly flooring, the old adage “you get what you pay for”, does very much apply.

There are approximately about 4 or possibly 5 grades of padding available (depending on where you decide to purchase your carpet from), and while cheaper grades of padding may save some money, the more expensive grades will definitely wear the longest. The same can be said of carpet grades as well. In today’s current down economy, with an excess of carpet installers available and anxious for your work, you may also be able to better negotiate a price with an installer as well.

You may possibly be able to save in excess of 30%, depending on the installer and how much they are willing budge and how hungry they are for your business. By offering to pay an installer cash at the end of the day, you can also give yourself an appealing edge when haggling prices.