Carpet buying guide: fiber, pad and what actually matters
Carpet is still the most popular floor in Star Valley bedrooms and living rooms. It is warm, quiet and costs less than hard surface. But two carpets that look the same can perform very differently. Here is what to look at.
Start with the fiber
The fiber decides how the carpet wears, cleans and feels. There are four you will see.
| Fiber | Strengths | Weaknesses | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nylon | Most resilient synthetic. Springs back from furniture and traffic. Long life. | Costs more than polyester. Needs stain treatment. | Stairs, hallways, family rooms, anywhere traffic is heavy. |
| Triexta (SmartStrand) | Built-in stain resistance that does not wash out. Soft. Good pet warranties. | Slightly less resilient than nylon in the heaviest traffic. | Homes with kids and pets. Living rooms and bedrooms. |
| Polyester | Lowest cost. Soft, bright colors, naturally stain resistant. | Mats down faster in traffic lanes. Shorter life. | Bedrooms, guest rooms, rentals, budget projects. |
| Wool | Natural, luxurious, insulating, holds color for decades. | Highest cost. Can stain if not treated quickly. | Formal rooms, master bedrooms, custom rugs. |
Shaw and Anderson Tuftex are our go-to for nylon. Mohawk owns SmartStrand triexta. Karastan and Stanton cover wool and wool blends.
Then the style
Cut pile, often called plush or textured, is soft and shows footprints to varying degrees. Frieze or twist has tightly twisted fibers that hide traffic and vacuum marks. Loop pile, including Berber, is durable and hides dirt but can snag with pets. Patterned cut-and-loop gives you texture and hides wear. For most Star Valley homes a textured cut pile or a twist is the right balance of soft and practical.
Density beats face weight
People ask about face weight, which is the ounces of fiber per square yard. It matters, but density matters more. Bend a sample back. If you can easily see the backing, the carpet is not dense and will crush in traffic lanes. A dense carpet with a moderate face weight outlasts a fluffy carpet with a high one.
Do not cheap out on the pad
The pad is the part nobody sees and the part that makes the carpet last. A thin, soft pad lets the carpet flex and the backing break down. For most homes we recommend an 8 pound density rebond pad at 7/16 inch, or a memory-foam pad for extra comfort. Homes with pets should use a pad with a moisture barrier so accidents cannot soak into the subfloor. A better pad adds about a dollar per square foot and can double the useful life of the carpet.
What it costs
Installed carpet in our area runs about 4 to 9 dollars per square foot including pad, labor and removal of the old floor. Polyester sits at the low end, nylon and triexta in the middle, wool at the top. Stairs are priced per step. Use the instant estimator for your rooms.
In stock vs. special order
We keep bedroom-grade and family-room-grade carpet in stock in Thayne in neutral colors, which can be installed within a week. See the in-stock page. Special order opens up the full Shaw, Mohawk, Karastan and Stanton catalogs and takes about two weeks.
Our take: pick the fiber for the room, pick a dense textured or twist style, and spend the extra dollar on the pad. That combination gives you a carpet that still looks good in year ten.