Carpet Express' Flooring Blog

Mohawk has really hit a home run with Smartstrand. We are very excited about these products. Smartstrand carpet with DuPont Sorona leads innovation in sustainable flooring with its “renewably sourced polymer.” Just in case “renewable sourced polymer” sounds too technical to you (as it did to me), all it means is that the carpet fiber is largely made of corn sugar. For me and the rest of us at Carpet Express, this is very exciting. This corn sugar sourced ingredient, “Bio-PDO,” is not just great because it comes from a renewable source, but it also directly reduces the need of petroleum in polymer production. Say that three times fast!

By using the natural sugar found in corn, 37% of Sorona is being made from renewable resources. Smartstrand is a one of a kind soft soft soft carpet fiber, it offers durability and stain protection, and it is making less of an environmental impact. Talking about having your cake and eating it to!

Smartstrand carpet fiber requires 30% less energy than the production of an equal amount of nylon. Greenhouse gas emissions from the production of Sorona® are 63% lower than nylon manufacturing. This energy reduction results in approximately one gallon of gasoline saved per every seven square yards of carpet.

Fact: Every seven yards of SmartStrand saves enough energy and resources to equal the equivalent of one gallon of gasoline!

View the product line and colors here.

Private Labels Carpet: A Public Hassle

Private label carpet is a term for when a dealer changes the name of a carpet style to a unique name used only by that dealer. So, the carpet has the dealer’s private label name instead of the manufacturers’.

This is a very common practice among retailers. Big box stores like Lowes and The Home Depot are notorious for private labels. These companies use “private labels” to prevent customers from comparing prices with other retailers. In other words, these retailers don’t want you to see a style you like in their store, and then shop around for better prices elsewhere.

Here is an example of a private labeling. Shaw Industries may have a style that they call “Cadiz.” The Home Depot may sell this style under the name “Forever.” Lowes may call it “Time Out.” When Shaw makes it for Carpet One Stores it may be called “Free Port,” and when it’s made for Carpet Express, we will call it “Hard Rock.” The style that Shaw Industries calls “Cadiz” is literally sold under thousands of different private labels. Private labeling makes it very difficult for customers to compare prices when shopping for carpet. It is very confusing when the same carpet has so many different names.

There are a few ways of working around private labels. That’s why it doesn’t hurt to have some experts on your side. Before you make your next big flooring purchase, give one of Carpet Express’ experts a call first. Saving money isn’t always easy, but the flooring experts at Carpet Express can make sure private labels don’t stand in the way of big savings.

Installation is probably one of the most important issues when purchasing your floor covering. As a consumer, we will spend hours (and sometimes days!) making a decision on what kind of style, color, or particular product we want to beautify our home. Now after the decision is made, we will ask, “how soon can you do the job?”

No time has been spent and no questions have been asked about installation. All the time and effort spent has now been wasted, because the installation is a disaster.

Please take the time to ask questions about the labor. Find out as much as you can about what you are being charged for. Ask for some referals or maybe even a job you can go and look at.

If you are hiring the installers yourself, beware of the shade-tree mechanics. Ask if they have the proper insurance or carry worker’s compensation on their hired help. Get two or three quotes from different installers, and then go with the one that you feel the most confidence in.

Don’t let a cheaper price be the deciding factor, because usually this is the installer that will cost you the most in the long run.

For more information about installation, call (800) 922-5582, or email info@carpetexpress.com.

This was sent to us from one of our customers. This particular customer purchases new flooring for their booths at trade shows and conventions. We ship it to them on location, where they set it up, use it, and remove it, all within about a week’s time.

If you have any questions about the products we have to offer, give us a call today at (800) 922-5582.

Hi Bret- I thought you might like to see your flooring in action! It  looked so great in our latest booth!

- Meagan

Question: I am in New Jersey and have remodeled a sunporch with concrete floor that has wet kids coming in from the pool in the summer, but is also used year round as a TV/game playing room.

The indoor/outdoor carpet has been removed, and we want to re-carpet with something low-pile, but would like a little more cushion. What would be a good pad to put down that can get a little wet (not too wet, just some wet feet and swimsuit bottoms)?

Thanks,
Frank

Answer: This is a great question because padding can make a big difference in the performance of your carpet. Based on the information that you gave me, it sounds like the only water that will be getting on the carpet or padding is just what the kids bring in from the swimming pool. I would compare this to a situation very similar to walking out of the shower into a bedroom with carpet in it.

This is not a lot of water, but is still something to be concerned about. They make pads with a moisture barrier on them, such as Stainmaster pad to name just one of many, so I would check out some of these type pads which would seem to be the most suitable for your situation. If I can be of any more help in finding you some of these type of pads, please just let me know.

Thanks for the question,
Mike Jones

Carpet Express, Inc.
(800) 922-5582
915 Market Street
Dalton, GA 30720

Question: We purchased carpet from Home Depot manufactured by Dixie Home. Began to notice matting and packing down in front of chairs, then in high traffic areas. We have had inspection by Stainmaster and Dixie Home. They say that is normal, not covered as normal traffic, and I have no claim. This began to show after only one and a half years. Warranty was for 7 year against normal wear, against matting and packing. We are in our 60s, and are not in this home but around 8 months of the year, so we just want people to question and read the fine print on the warranty.

Sincerely,
Anita & David

Answer: I am sorry that you are not happy with your carpet that you purchased at Home Depot, but some carpets just look more matted or crushed compared to other types. For instance, a real loose Frieze with a long yarn might look matted compared to short tight twisted carpet. It will not matter what the yarn is, it will just appear to look matted and that’s why the warranty may not apply in your situation.

I don’t know this for sure, but Stainmaster is usually pretty good about taking care of claims. I just don’t know if you were sold the right carpet for what your expectations were. Sometimes inexperienced sales personnel don’t really listen to what the customer’s needs are, and they get lost in just trying to close the sale.

If we can in any way help you get the proper carpet for your home, just call or email us here at Carpet Express. We’d be glad to help you get the carpet you’re really looking for.

Thanks,
Mike Jones

Laminate flooring is a wonderful product that can give you the look of natural oak or exotic wood at a much more affordable price. But one complaint about laminate flooring is the clicking or hollow sound it makes when you walk on it with heard sole shoes. This sound can be annoying, but there is a solution – use a good underlayment. Laminate underlayment is an important moisture barrier, but it is also a very important ingredient in producing a floor with a quality sound.

You have lots of choices in laminate underlayments. They range in price from about $.20 per square foot to about $.50 per square foot. They are usually 6 feet wide and 100 square feet per roll. Laminate pad is easy to install with an adhesive edge on one side that overlaps.

Choosing the correct pad is fairly easy. There is an obvious difference between the cheap pads and the best pads. Pads range from vary light weight and flimsy, to a much heavier and sturdy construction. In most cases, a good pad underlayment is well worth a little extra expense. Our premium sound barrier, our most popular pad, is an excellent choice at $.40 per square foot.

Purchasing your new floor can be an overwhelming process. It is said to be the third largest purchase the average consumer makes, behind houses and cars, and the average consumer buys a new floor about every 7-10 years. That’s a long time to live with a floor you don’t like. For that reason, we want to help you to make an informed, well-thought out decision, before you buy.

Over the last few years, we’ve written a few guides that aid consumers looking to purchase a new floor. After reading these guides (or the ones relevant to your upcoming purchase), we feel that you will be able to make a better decision about your next purchase.

Please let us know if we’re missing anything, or if you need any additional information.

Thanks,
Carpet Express, Inc.
(800) 922-5582
915 Market Street
Dalton, Georgia 30720

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How much did you pay for that carpet? – Why square foot prices can be misleading….
What is Cabin Grade wood?
How to Choose the Right Carpet
How much carpet do I need?
Hardwood Flooring Accessories
What’s the difference between vinyl flooring and linoleum?

Our fall sale at Carpet Express was a tremendous success. Lots of customers and suppliers mixed business with pleasure as they joined us for Randy’s famous hot dogs and some fantastic deals. We served over 800 hot dogs with all the trimmings during this 3-day event. Good food and satisfied customers made this sale a fun time, despite all the rain.

The following are highlights of the many deals offered during the fall sale:

• “CASH FOR CARPET” – we paid cash for your old carpet when you purchased new flooring and installation.
• 121 pages of vinyl inventory to choose from starting at $0.29 per square foot.
• Tremendous selection of hardwood flooring like Armstrong’s 5″ Northshore plank (tavern grade) at $1.59 per square foot.
• Great deals on residential and commercial carpet (cuts at roll prices from most mills).
• 15% off our already low priced area rugs. Plus an additional 10% off if you purchased hardwood flooring.
• Laminate flooring at $0.79 per square foot.
• Premium high-gloss laminate at $1.99 per square foot.
• Great deals on ceramic tile which can be installed by the best installer in Dalton, Ga.
• Bostitch nail gun FREE with the purchase of a pallet of Bostitch staples.
• Installation deals from our FloorTek Installation company.

It was a great week for Carpet Express and we hope each and every customer enjoyed their shopping experience. Great deals and expert customer service is what we are all about.

Thanks for another successful Fall Sale!

At Carpet Express, we try to bring our customers the best values in the flooring industry. Bruce Springdale Plank by Armstrong is one of the best engineered wood flooring products on the market today. Its 3-ply construction is 100% oak, where most engineered wood uses a cheaper wood as a filler, and only has oak as the bottom ply and the top veneer.

We wanted to bring this product to the market at a price that would compete with Chinese imports and lesser American made products.

And then it hit us. Bring in truckloads. Buy it in bulk, and sell it cheap.

Call us today to find out what we’re selling this hot product for – (800) 922-5582.