One of the top recommendations you’ll see when shopping for carpet is to take some measurements of your space before heading out. This gives you a general idea of the kind of cost you’re looking at, depending on the material and quality of carpet you choose.
No matter the carpet, in the end, it all comes down to square feet.
One pitfall for a lot of homeowners is thinking too hard about what per-square-foot-cost of carpet can fit into their budget. Realistically, once you have that preliminary measurement of the space you need carpeted, you can hand that number over to someone like me and then tell me straight up what your budget is. I can then tell you which products fit into that budget for a space of that size. You don’t have to figure that all out alone.
How do you take preliminary measurements?
If you aren’t ready to call your local carpet installer yet, you can start by getting preliminary measurements yourself.
Just remember, you will need the space measured later by a professional. There are things to take into account like the direction of the carpet pile, the width of the carpet roll, and other factors that will change the measurements, so be prepared for your preliminary measurements to be adjusted a little later.
There’s also the possibility that you could measure incorrectly. I’m not here to judge. The point is, you’ll need the carpet installer to take final measurements later no matter the case.
Start by measuring your room’s width. Let’s say it’s 10 feet. Great.
Next, measure your room’s length. Let’s say that’s 10 feet, too.
That 10 x 10-foot room would be 100 square feet of floor space, meaning you’ll need at least that much carpet. However, this is a good example to look at one of the most important factors in determining the quantity when purchasing carpet: roll width.
Most carpets are manufactured in 12-foot rolls, which means if you bought 10 feet of it, you would have 12 x 10 feet and would have to sheer off 2 feet on the width for it to fit into your room. You would also have 20 square feet of extra carpet.
I could probably bore your socks off getting into the weeds on this one, but do remember that you have the power to take preliminary measurements and use that to set your budget and find the right products that fit into that budget. That’s the primary purpose preliminary measurements serve.
If you have questions about carpet installation or an unusually-shaped space, give me a call today.
