Carpet Express' Flooring Blog

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

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

Cabin Grade vs. First Quality: Which is cheaper?
Flooring Comparison: Advantages and Disadvantages of different types of flooring
What is Promotional Grade Carpet?
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?

Cabin grade wood is a huge market in Dalton, Georgia and throughout the country. Many customers shop long and hard for cabin grade wood without ever considering first quality, fully warranted, American grown and milled hardwood. Bruce’s Dundee Strip and Plank is an example of a first quality, 25 year finish and structural warranted hardwood floor that can usually be purchased for less than 10% more than the tavern grade Dundee (Timberland) or a Chinese import.

If you like a rustic look with color variations, knot holes, and heavy mineral streaks, then the tavern or cabin grade may be right for you. Just be open minded to a first quality, fully warranted floor without missing tongues and more uniform color. In many cases, the cost is about the same.

Read the full report:
Cabin Grade vs. First Quality: Which is cheaper?

Heeeeerrrrre’ssssss Mike! – Besides a 35 year career in all phases of the floor covering industry, Mike is also an accomplished writer, producer, and actor. The TV commercials on the following page were filmed by Charter Communications, and aired over the last 6 years. A few of the commercials were controversial, most were humerous, but all were intended to promote the excellent prices, products, and service at Carpet Express. In no way did Mike or Carpet Express intend to offend anyone in producing these 30 second ads. I hope you will enjoy the show.

Carpet Express’ TV commercials >>

Ever wondered what style of carpet is right for your home? Often times, this is quite a hard decision. So you’ve picked out a color, now what? Or you know what style of carpet you want, but can’t decide what type of fiber fits your needs.

Whatever the case may be, we have a new, handy carpet selection guide that walks you through some of the facts on carpet. It offers an overview of carpet styles, textures, and fiber content, as well as dye methods. Check it out if you have any questions on how to choose the right carpet:

The Carpet Express Guide to How to Choose the Right Carpet

If you’ve never really considered what products are available at different price points, then this guide is has some excellent points to consider. If you’re trying to stick to a budget, then you definitely need to take a look: Product Price Guide

Here’s some of the pictures we took at the International Builder’s Show in Las Vegas this year. Hope you can come see us in 2010!

We’re having a very busy week at Carpet Express with five of our key salespeople at the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. We have shown at the IBS for the last 11 years, and it always proves to be an exciting time.

The Internation Builders’ Show rotates between Las Vegas, Dallas, Orlando, and Atlanta, with one big show every year about this time. The last two shows have been in Orlando, Florida, and we have been fortunate to find several very good, and very large new customers. I hope this year in Las Vegas will be this successful. The builder show is also an excellent spot to visit with our existing customers from around the country, as well as meet lots of new customers and friends.

Business remains reasonably strong at Carpet Express, despite continued bad news in the financial and housing sectors. The country seems to have a positive attitude with our new president, which hopefully will translate into better business for all of us. Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes for our housing industry and we all are just going to have to work harder and smarter.

I’ll be back in Las Vegas at the Sands convention center for the Surfaces floor covering trade show in about 2 weeks. Mike and I attend this show every year, and it is really the best way to stay in touch with the entire floorcovering industry. Las Vegas is always a fun place to conduct business and see a show. You just have to be careful not to get caught up in all the hoop-lah.

Here’s to a better year for everyone in ’09, and good luck to president Obama!

Free tickets to Vegas? Not exactly. But they are free passes to the Internation Builders’ Show, which is in Las Vegas. If you’re in the area around January 20-23, then you’ll want to be sure and stop by our booth at the show. Here’s a link to the ticket application:

http://www.BuildersShow.com/CarpetExpressInc

Hope to see you there!

October is always a busy month at Carpet Express. Our annual golf tournamet, locally know as the Mike Jones Invitational, was a great success. About 50 Carpet Express employees and suppliers enjoyed a beautiful Thursday afternoon at Knob North Golf Course, testing our golfing skills. Don Martin of Beaulieu was low individual with a 69, while the team of Bin Lin (CFS), Brian Sloan (Mannington), Ken Julian (R.A. Siegel) and myself took top team honors. What a great American tradition to conduct business on the golf course on a Thursday afternoon.

Business remains a little soft, but we feel very fortunate at Carpet Express. Personal service, great prices, and a lot of hard work continue to be our game plan to get through these tough times. It seems we’re in a very over-built housing cycle that will take some time to correct. There is not a quick fix, and neither presidential candidate offers much hope. I hate to think it’s up to our federal government to get us back on track, but hopefully oil will continue to fall, credit will loosen, employment will stabilize, the stock market will go up, and home prices will rise. I know this is wishful thinking, but it is very important to keep a positive attitude.

At Carpet Express, we plan to finish this year strong. Our residential and commercial customer base continues to expand, and our Floor-Tek Installation is doing well. We strive to earn — and keep — the confidence of our customers. We are bullish on America and look forward to many more great years.

In closing, I can’t help but express my disappointment in not making the Halloween costume finals. My dramatization of the guy getting hit by Anthony Kim’s errant golf shot at the Tour Championship should have brought home the money.