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How To Calculate How Much Carpet You Need

How To Calculate How Much Carpet You Need

by Dylan Johnson

Calculate How Much Carpet You Need – Calculation is the first crucial thing that should be done just before a person make a decision on purchasing a product. Calculation means predicting how much expense that a person must prepare.

Once you make a decision on installing a carpet, the basic measurement is must to accomplish so that you can predict and calculate how much carpet you need.

To what extend will it be important for carpet installation?

Basically, it will much deal with how easy and accurate your measurement so that you can purchase the well-measured carpet fit your room dimension accurately.

Now start determining how to lay on the carpet through the following easy tips:

Pile Direction

The first thing to know to start measuring the carpet is the pile direction. Remember, the most important rule in measuring the carpet is that the carpet must go on the same direction.

This is because turning one piece sideways into another is impossible and causing the pieces to have different look.

In this regards, in order that the carpet can go on the same direction, you need more carpet than you actually measure.

Consider forming T shape by measuring a hallway 3 x 12 inches wide and 12 x 9 inches long. Thus, the line will represent the pile direction.

A 12 inches width carpet will basically lead to have the shortest measurement of 12 by 9 inches for the room and another 12 x 3 inches for the hall.

However, this means that the 12 x 3 inches of the carpet piece for the hall can fit the room by turning sideways.

Read Also: Best Carpet Cleaners To Buy

Keep The Pile Direction Consistent

While the pile direction is importantly determine to calculate how much carpet you need, you must keep it consistent.

This way, there are two options of the techniques you can use to keep the pile direction consistent.

Check them out below in a brief review sections.

Option 1

The first option of keeping the pile direction consistent is purchasing a 12 x 9 inches of carpet for the room and another 12 x 12 inches for the carpet for the hall.

This will let you to have lots of carpet that you don’t actually need. However, this can help you to maintain the consistency of the carpet pile direction as well as to create a better performance of carpet for the hallway.

In this case, carpet must run in the traffic direction. When there is a repeated traffic against the pile direction, your carpet will wear.

Option 2

The second technique options to keep the pile direction consistent is by purchasing 12 x 12 inches for the room and another 12 x 3 inches for the hall. This will reduce your unneeded carpet by leaving 3 x 12 inches of the carpet.

Now let’s evaluate the both techniques. Well, it may be costly to have the unused carpet described in option 1.

However, it will let the carpet stand up better in the hallway. In comparison, option 2 reduce the unused carpet which means you also cut your budget.

This is considered as a more budget-friendly installation. However, you must remember that this option is suitable for only a lower traffic households.

If you are carpeting areas without hall way, option 2 is possible. Nevertheless, it is all depending on the room layout to keep the carpet well-patterned so that it can line up well over the edge of the stairs.

No matter which techniques you will use in installing the carpet, one thing to keep in mind is that you must avoid having seems especially in the high traffic hall.

Since there will be an extra materials, you can make use of it to cover the stairs and make it into an area rug.

Rooms Are Wider Than The Carpet Roll

In relation to the way you calculate how much carpet you need, a big question may be questioning your mind.

What if the rooms are wider than the carpet roll?

The common solution taken by most carpet installers is by having a seam or some seam running along the edge of your room space.

For example, if you have a 18’ x 20’ room, you will need an extra carpet to fill in the scape within the carpet widths.

Now if you choose a carpet in 12’ roll while you have a room with the above size, you need to purchase a 12’ x 12’ piece of carpet along with the 6’ x 20’ of room to fill in.

In this case, purchasing another piece of carpet in a half-length of the room is considered the most cost-effective way to handle the case of the rooms which are wider than the carpet roll.

This is aimed to enable you to lay the end-to-end carpet, filling in the remaining space.

Closets

Due to the small and dark characteristics of the close, you need to apply the bending rules.

The same guidelines must be used for the large walk-in closets because a change in pile direction will be recognizable like in many other areas.

Thus, you need to get away using the bending rules especially for the smaller closets.

Hence, we can say that the size of the closet contribute to the way you are calculating how much carpet you will need.

Therefore, make sure you measure every areas at your rooms to get the right carpet measurement so that you will purchase the carpet.

However, if you have a closet with the standard size and a sliding door on a track, you don’t have to think importantly about the pile direction unless the carpet is a patterned carpet.

If the track divides the carpet, it would not be recognizable if the pile is curved in the closet.

Instead, it will allow you to use some of the off-cuts carpet from other areas rather than purchase an extra carpet for carpeting the close.

Pattern Match

Another thing to take into consideration when you calculate how much carpet you need is the pattern match.

No matter whether the carpet comes with the pattern or just alter the cut fibers with the looped one, joining the two pieces of patterned carpet will enable to line up the carpet well.

In this regards, the size for pattern match will be listed by the manufacturers on the back of the carpet sample.

This will show you the extra amount of the carpet that you need to purchase. Thus, you will feel certain of matching up the two pieces of carpet.

In this case, the required amount of carpet for the pattern match will be the size of the pattern.

For example, if you have a patterned carpet sized in 3 inches squares, that means you need to purchase 3 inches square of carpet for the extra amount you need.

This way, add the amount of for pattern match to every piece of carpet and seam them together but not with the first piece.

This is due to the fact that the installer usually lays the first piece down and shift to the next piece later to line up with the first one.

There is one thing to keep in mind that the pattern match must be added to the width and the length based on how you are seaming the carpet.

For the example above, you will actually need to add 3 inches to the width and 3 inches to the length. This can be done if the two pieces of carpet on end are seamed.

Read Also: Frieze Carpet Review Installation, Design And Cost

Go With The Pro

What is meant by going with the pro?

Did you ever realize that to calculate how much carpet you need is a complex task?

This is really true depending on the area you are going to carpet.

This article is as a guidance to help you understand deeply about the process of measuring and calculating the amount of carpet you will need.

If your home comes with the unusual layout, you need to work with the pattern match. This way, we recommend you hire a professional to do the accurate measurement and calculation.

It is because the professionals know exactly what to seek for and is able to point out several things you may not consider such as the seam placement.

Further, if you have stairs in the area that you are going to cover with a carpet, don’t forget to calculate how much carpet you will need altogether.

That’s way, measuring and calculating the amount of carpet needs a professional’s help. Don’t take anything for granted even if you are sure to do it by yourself.

Remember, the accurate measurement and calculation will lead to a proper installation. A proper installation will also lead to the linger lifespan of the flooring product.

This, hiring a professional may require an additional cost, however, it can be a good investment if you have a durable carpeting due to the proper installation projected by the professional.