Know your carpeting cost with this carpet calculator
Getting a new carpet (or carpeting for the first time) is a great way to change a room’s look and feel. We recently finished our basement and adding carpet totally changed the whole area’s look and feel. Carpeting rooms in a house add warmth, and there is an added benefit of how it cuts down on noise reduction. It’s also a great way to add new options to your space. It’s one of the best types of flooring you can have.
Carpet Calculator Cost
This carpet calculator gives you the carpet costs based on square footage, including professional installation and waste. Once you know the price of the carpet and the underlay (if needed), all you need to do is enter in the cost per square foot (or other measurement units if you prefer), and it will give you a cost that you can budget for on a square foot basis.
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How to use this carpet cost calculator
To make sure you get the most of your flooring project, here is everything you need to know about our carpet measurement calculator, along with the carpet installation costs to factor into your carpeting project.
Area to cover in carpet
The best way to use this carpet calculator is to measure the individual areas that you want to carpet. You can use a variety of different units to measure feet, yards, meters, inches, and centimeters. Most contractors will refer to square footage, so it’s best to use that, and it’s best to round up to the nearest foot when doing your numbers.
The carpet area calculator will figure things out in square feet or square yards to help you calculate the total surface area that needs to be covered. It will also add up all the areas you enter so you can calculate your carpet needs for the different rooms in your house.
How much carpet will I need?
When you are trying to figure out how much carpet, you will need to know how many square feet of the room you are carpeting. You can also measure by the square yard if it is a larger area. Once you know how many square feet a room is, you can enter it into the calculator.
Cost of carpet calculator
Once you have the rooms’ square footage measured out, you can then enter the carpet price per square foot. This will give you the total area you need to cover and how much you expect the carpet to cost. From there, you can tackle the next steps of your home improvement project.
Carpet padding cost
There is an additional price you can enter for the square footage cost of carpet padding. This price will vary depending on the type of carpet you are buying and your needs. For example, some carpet flooring will already have padding on it, and you will have no need for extra padding. In that case, you can leave this at $0.00.
Installation costs
If you are getting an installer to install the carpet for you, you can enter the installation fee. Installers will charge a variety of prices depending on the area and what needs to happen. When the installer comes to estimate the carpet installation cost, make sure you let them know what items you will move and what items will need to be moved by the professionals who do the installation.
Anything beyond installation usually has a cost associated with it, so it’s good to be clear about that upfront.
Waste
When you are trying to figure out how much carpet you need, you will also want to account for waste. We leave it at 15%, but you can adjust it as needed to 10% or up to 20%. Just remember it’s better to have more left over after a job than not to have enough.
The average cost to carpet a room
The average cost to carpet a room is roughly $4 to $6 a square foot, depending on whether or not you do it yourself. Of course, this will change based on the type of carpet you use and whether or not you get a professional installer to do the job for you.
How is carpet sold?
Normally when you buy carpet, it will come in a roll. The average roll length is 12 feet wide, although larger widths are available depending on the store. For example, if you are carpeting a room with 11 feet by 11 feet, you would need to purchase a 12-foot wide roll by 11 feet. Plus, you would want to account for waste and have enough.
If you don’t need a large roll of carpet, you could always buy a carpet remnant. This is a smaller amount of carpet that ended up being left over from an earlier job. Because it is a smaller piece and often a one-off, you can get them at a discount.
How to pick carpet: A quick carpet buying guide
Choosing a carpet is often a tricky thing to do. It’s best to consult with a product specialist and pick their brains about what you want and what they offer.
Their know-how and expertise will help guide you to the right carpet for your needs and the right one for your budget (you would be amazed what is out there for people buying carpet on a tight budget).
They help more homeowners in a day than you will like to buy carpet in a lifetime, so make sure you are open and honest with them. That way, you can benefit from their resources.
Type of carpet
Another thing to consider when buying a carpet is the style. Will you want a Berber, shag, kanga back carpet, carpet tile, or something else. It depends on the look of the area and personal preference.
Carpets also have different features such as moisture resistant, stain resistance, low VOCs; it all depends on what you want as a homeowner. Feel is another big aspect that can’t be ignored, don’t be afraid to feel the carpet fibers and get an idea of how it will feel.
Area
Another thing to consider is if there are high traffic areas and if that flooring type is best for that space. For example, if you want a long shag carpet in your baby’s bedroom will that be easy to clean (it’s not FYI), or would it be better to have something easier to clean up?
If you are putting carpet in an office with high traffic areas and lots of wear and tear, you need to factor that in because putting in a high-end carpet could mean replacing it a lot sooner.
Bring home samples
When we bought our carpet, we took several samples home to see it in the light. We were told that because of the store lighting and the nature of the carpet we were looking at, it would take on the color of the walls. It’s an incredibly cool feature, but it totally changed the look of the carpet.
Another thing to do when you have the samples at home is to view them at different times of the day to get a feel for how the different lights affect them.
How to Measure a Room For Carpet
The best way to measure for carpet is to measure the total length of the room and then the total width; this will give you the total square footage of a room. After this, you will want to add a few inches on both sides to account for waste.
Using the carpet calculator, you can add a certain amount of waste to make sure you have budgeted enough space for your carpet. Carpet is usually measured in square feet or square yards. This is how we did it when we finished the basement. If you are having issues, don’t worry. A carpet estimator will come out and do a full grid layout to help make sure the costs and total square footage are accurate.
The carpet estimator will also take other things into account when they are there, like the layout of the room (irregular shaped rooms need to be done manually) and other issues that pertain to the carpet installation, like how the installers will get the carpet into a room.
If you aren’t sure about measuring multiple rooms, you can always get free estimates from your local carpet company. This is a service they provide to help earn your business.
Tip: When you measure a room, make sure to measure up to the middle of the doorway. This will hide the seams of the carpet under the door.
What is the cost to install the carpet?
Depending on who you use and where you are in the country, the cost of installing carpet can range. Many companies sub-contract out the installation, meaning they aren’t the companies employees but a separate company.
From our experience, every carpet installer’s price can range. Plus, there are additional costs based on your personal situation. Things like tearing up old carpet, moving furniture and stairs can be all factor into the cost of your carpet installation. That’s why we give you an area in the carpet calculator to enter the full cost of the installation separately.
The installer’s fee will be based on their labor per square foot (and distance if you live in a zip code further away than the travel area) or person-hours on the project. Those two things together (carpet cost and labor costs) make up their total carpet installation cost. Typically a professional installation will add $1-$2 per square foot.
Ways to cut costs on your carpet installation
If you want to reduce the cost of your carpet installation, here are a few things you can do.
1) Remove all extra items from the area you want to be carpeted.
This can mean taking the furniture out of the room and placing it somewhere else. It can also mean storing these items elsewhere during the install. Carpet installers are much happier when they arrive at a job and don’t have to be movers.
2) Remove the previous carpet.
If you have existing flooring, it’s a good idea to remove the carpet yourself so that you aren’t charged for the removal and disposal of the carpet by a third party. Many installers charge for their time, so if you are having them tear up the existing carpet, then you are going to be paying them for a lot of extra hours of work. If you have had flooding in the basement or water seeping from the basement floor and you are replacing the wet carpet due to a flood or a hot water tank leaking, see if your insurance covers the removal of the carpet at that cost.
3) Make it easy for the installer.
When the carpet gets delivered, walk the path and see what it will be like to get the carpet in. Are there tight corners? Will you need to bring the carpet rolls in through the window (we did this)? Are there issues on the floor that you can deal with before they get there? These tips can help cut down on the carpet installation timeline and save you money too.
How long does it take to install carpet?
Depending on the room and what needs to be done, carpet installation can take a day or a week or more depending on the size of the space and it’s unique dynamics. For more read How Long Does it Take to Install Carpet?
