In short, every house is different depending on room layout, length and width of rooms, direction carpet needs to run and which areas need to be covered. There is also a waste factor to be factored in when working out a plan which can be as high as 17% for the average sized home or higher if it is only small areas to be covered. That is why it is impossible to say with any real accuracy what it costs to carpet the average home. At Flooring First, we employ trained salespeople to accurately measure your property and use specialised flooring software to give the best possible cut with absolute minimal waste without turning your flooring into a patchwork quilt of joins. Then we can provide you with an accurate quotation to include all costs for your project.
A broadloom metre is the full width of the roll of carpet (usually 3.66m) by 1 metre in length. The term Broadloom refers to any carpet manufactured over 1.374m (35”) wide. A square metre is 1m by 1m in size and 1 broadloom usually equals 3.66 square metres.
Wool and wool-rich pile carpets have a luxurious feel and due to their ability to breathe they can feel cooler in summer and warmer in winter. It has inbuilt stain resistance properties, allowing most spills to be cleaned easily. Wool fibres are 100% natural, renewable, biodegradable, naturally flame retardant and act as an insulator, helping to reduce ambient noise.
Wool blend carpets are a mix of wool and synthetic fibre. Wool blend carpets are most often a mix of 80% wool and 20% synthetic and give the benefit of synthetic and wool carpet - the durability of synthetic fibres and the natural, luxurious feel of wool. Mixing synthetic fibre with wool helps to hold the twist definition in some carpet styles, improving the wearing ability and reducing shedding from short fibres, helping with resistance to Carpet Beetle attacks.
Nylon is a high-quality synthetic fibre that can be used to construct virtually any style of carpet. Solution-dyed nylon fibres have excellent colourfast properties and are resistant to most stains. Carpets made with nylon fibres provide long-term resilience and durability.
Triexta is a premium synthetic fibre containing DuPont™ Sorona® renewably sourced polymer. Made with Sorona® polymer, 37% renewably sourced from corn sugar. Triexta fibre provides optimal levels in stain, soil, wear and colourfast performance, plus it is extremely soft. DuPont Sorona contains 37% renewably sourced ingredients by weight.
Polyester is manufactured using synthetic fibres which offer colourfastness and a rich soft feel. Polyester provides good value for money but may have a shorter lifespan when compared to wool, Triexta and nylon and may not be suitable for high traffic areas or busy households.
Polypropylene or Olefin is another synthetic material with fibres that are strong, colourfast and resistant to most stains. Not quite as cheap as Polyester but with better wear characteristics. Generally cheaper than nylon and wool.
Carpet is generally measured in ounces per square yard or grams per square metre. This is a measurement of the weight of fibre included per square measurement and is an indication of the quality of the carpet, however not all measurements are created equally! A carpet can have a high weight count but feel loose and flimsy due to the fibres being long and spaced out or it can feel firm and tight if the fibres are shorter but packed closer together. Both carpets can measure the same weight, so it really depends on the feel and look you are after. Some manufacturers state their carpet in kilograms which is another way to confuse customers and not allow them to compare like for like products with other retailers.
You should always choose the best underlay that you can afford which will make your carpet feel better underfoot and potentially last and look better for longer. Entry level underlay is 10mm/90kg density which can feel a bit thin underfoot with little resiliency, mid-range is 11mm/120kg density with good feel underfoot and a good comfort level; 12mm/140kg density has a firmer feel underfoot, has less rebound which should result in less wear to the carpet from movement underfoot. Our premier underlay is manufactured locally in Turangi from virgin foam, has excellent rebound and feels really light under foot giving a luxurious cushioned feel. At the end of the day the choice is yours with a compromise to be made between feel and price.
Yes, all our installers are local contractors who either contract solely or predominantly to our store. All installers are trade qualified and have been with the store for a number of years, so the quality of their workmanship is well known. We do not give out contact details for our installers as their details are private and they are kept fully employed by the store.
Yes, you can install your own flooring and we can do a supply only. However, it is recommended for carpet installation that these are done by professionals as there is a skill and art to installing carpet correctly, managing joins, correctly stretching and finishing. With laminates and click together floors you need to have a clear understanding of expansion gaps and it is advisable to leave off skirtings etc until the floor is down. If you are handy with tools and good at measuring and cutting through, installation of certain products may well be within your means. If you get it wrong, you can always come back and buy more.
Yes, we can do a supply only arrangement if you prefer, however it is always best to have your flooring products installed by the store where you purchased them from as this eliminates any “he said, she said” arguments later on if something were to go wrong. If the flooring is supplied and installed by the store, then both the product and installation are covered by our guarantee and there can be no arguments if either product or installation has any issues.
We have a selection of vinyls, vinyl planks and hybrid planks plus a small amount of laminates which are suited to wet areas such as bathrooms, toilets and kitchens.
Wet area level access showers must use a slip resistant vinyl and we strongly recommend tanking the area as well to give additional insurance that no leakage to the subfloor and building frame should ever occur. Our installers cover all aspects of floor preparation, fall creation to drains, tanking, moisture proofing, and vinyl installation, coving and welding.
Hybrid planks with either SPC or WPC cores are suitable for wet areas where moisture ingress cannot damage the core.
Sheet vinyl or vinyl planks are generally glued direct to the floor and we can use a special 2-part epoxy adhesive which also acts as a waterproofing agent to prevent any ingress of moisture to the subfloor.
Spills of liquid should always be mopped up as soon as possible to prevent future mould or mildew issues.