If you plan to buy a carpet for your home or office, you will be aware that installation can be quite an expensive affair. Especially if you’ve splurged on a high-quality, expensive carpet, you might try to save on professional installation costs by doing it yourself. 

But is DIY a smart choice when it comes to carpet installation? Or is it wiser to get a professional on board? In order to find out, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of professional carpet installation Vs. going DIY.

Let’s face it. When you hire professional help, you can relax, be stress-free and let the experts take care of it all. You have the assurance of a job done well, efficiently and correctly.

A good professional will know exactly how to use the specialty tools, fix carpet underlay and cut the carpet accurately even for uneven or tricky spaces, like stairs. They know how to place different types of carpets over different kinds of sub-floors. Professionals will be able to provide a flawless finish to the carpet installation with all the seams tucked in.

What’s more, if you hire professionals that offer a warranty on their labour and installation work, you have additional peace of mind. 

On the downside, getting a carpet installed professionally is an expensive, laborious and time-consuming affair. Between the cost of the carpet, the underlay and the installation, your costs could rise very quickly. You also have to be on the professional company’s schedule and cannot be as flexible as when you go the DIY route. 

Cons:

DIY 

You might be tempted to get the carpet installed yourself in order to save money. But that might actually turn out to be an expensive decision. Carpet installation is not as easy as, let’s say, click vinyl floors and requires a fair amount of practice and skill. 

Especially if you have no previous experience, carpet installation can be a bit overwhelming – you could make costly mistakes when cutting the carpet, hence losing your product warranty or might be unable to achieve a seamless finish. Either ways, once installed, removing a badly installed carpet is another laborious task.

It ultimately comes down to four factors: 

If you have no previous experience, are carpeting multiple and odd-shaped rooms, including stairs, and have products that are not user-friendly, the chances of you messing it up and spending a fortune to rectify it is huge.

For starters, carpet installation involves a lot of very specific tools like a power stretcher, knee kicker and seam roller. Most people don’t have these tools lying around the house. Which means you need to purchase or rent the tools, adding to your overall cost. Plus, you have to pay to dispose of the old carpet, which can get expensive.

The room might pose various challenges. It may be uneven, have tricky corners or be an odd shape. You will have to work around fixed structures like cooling and heating vents and cut very precisely. Even the most miniscule mistake will result in damage, nullifying the carpet’s warranty. Also, when installing carpet over separate padding like an underlay, you need to ensure it is properly stretched, or else you will have to deal with wrinkles post installation.

There is another fine print to consider. Many carpet manufacturers specify that you will lose the carpet’s warranty if the installation is not done professionally. Always make sure you double-check this aspect with your manufacturer or seller. 

In case you do have some hands-on experience in carpet installation, doing it yourself means you are in charge of the whole process. You don’t have to worry about strangers entering your space and leaving your home or office dirty and messy. Plus, it’s all done at your own pace and schedule – maybe when the kids are at school and you have a quiet home to yourself. 

One of the biggest benefits of going DIY is, of course, the massive savings. But you have to remember that a shoddily done installation could cost you far more than the savings you anticipate by going DIY. 

However, if you still pine for the look of carpet without the hassle of painful installation, there are some options, like carpet tiles, that are extremely easy to install all by yourself. 

At Flooring Factory Outlet, we always recommend hiring a professional installer. DIY installation will only save you money when you know what you’re doing. 
But of course, you have to evaluate the situation and if you feel confident in your DIY abilities, then you could certainly go down that route. In any case, if you need more assistance or advice on the matter, we would be happy to help on 020 3004 6630 or at [email protected]