Questions about replacing new carpet & paintings?

[gobear]

My brother in law is about to move to a new property soon and its getting all excited but however, there are a few questions I'd like to ask on behalf of him since he is not good in english

1) He is planning to replace the whole carpet in a unit and he was asking, which is better for underlayer? Foam or rubber? Any ad\disadvantage with each other?

2) Where are the recommendations to buy carpets for cheap prices in Sydney?

3) He is also planning to paint the whole unit as well so would he be better off painting it first before replacing the carpets so that they won't be any stain marks on the carpet?

4) Is that true that you can defer 5 years stamp duty without interest? Because I have heard that you can do so (forget the reason and the requirement)? Unless I am wrong since he told me his friend done so many years ago

 

[Rob Williams]

1) My carpet guys always use rubber. If they recommend it, that's good enough for me.
3) Always paint before new carpet. Better still, rip up old carpet, paint, then lay the new stuff. Especially if you're doing skirting boards and architraves.

 

[gooram]

Foam is cheaper than rubber but it is not as soft. A foam underlay will feel quite hard whereas the rubber will give you more cushion. Difference in price for me was about $5/sqm

Agree with Rob on the painting, I've just made that mistake, I painted before ripping up the carpets and lino, and when I did it took alot of paint off the skirting boards so I have to repaint those before the new stuff goes down.

 

[quoll]

I've just made that mistake, I painted before ripping up the carpets and lino, and when I did it took alot of paint off the skirting boards so I have to repaint those before the new stuff goes down.

I reckon everyone makes that mistake ONCE, doing is always the best way to learn.

 

[RumpledElf]

I didn't *quite* make that mistake, but we painted a room and skirtings with the carpets in, very careful with drop sheets etc, and then the house got flooded (by 1cm of water), I got new carpets from insurance that weren't as thick as the old ones, and ended up with a small line of dark green I had to touch up (with the new carpets in) with white to match the new paint.

Had I known I was going to get flooded .... *sigh*

 

[Alabex]

rip up carpets, paint then recarpet. RUbber underlay is great!.... putting down the cheapest carpet you can find may not always be the best... particularly in a rental property where it is likely to be steam cleaned every 6-12 months between tenants... some carpet dont hold up well to the strea, cleaning... and the sisal type carpet they oftem put in new builds often looks terrible after it is cleaned - the dirt in traffic areas just seems to spread rather than dissapear.

 

[Jazza]

Always reno: top > down, inside > out.

i.e. rip up the carpet
paint ceiling
paint walls
replace carpet


I just did my carpets and the c/layers scuffed up the recently painted skirting, just needed an easy touch up with a ~500mm straight edge to protect the carpet edge while I touched up the skirting paint in places.

 

[Ms Jade]

.... putting down the cheapest carpet you can find may not always be the best... particularly in a rental property where it is likely to be steam cleaned every 6-12 months between tenants...

Good point. One thing that I do is change standard leases to specify that carpets are dry cleaned and not steam cleaned.

 

[gobear]

Ah...yeah, that makes sense

Do you know how much if I get someone to rip the carpet off? Say 90 per square metre?

Always reno: top > down, inside > out.

i.e. rip up the carpet
paint ceiling
paint walls
replace carpet


I just did my carpets and the c/layers scuffed up the recently painted skirting, just needed an easy touch up with a ~500mm straight edge to protect the carpet edge while I touched up the skirting paint in places.

 

[Jazza]

Ah...yeah, that makes sense

Do you know how much if I get someone to rip the carpet off? Say 90 per square metre?

I did it myself for $0 plus the satisfaction of ripping out the old cruddy carpet. 'Priceless' as they say. And anyone, I mean anyone, can rip up carpet.

 

[geoffw]

Do you need carpet throughout? Have you considered other flooring?

Talk to a property manager in the area to find out what is practical and what I popular.

It used to be in Canberra that carpet was recommended in bedrooms. Living areas might have floating floors, vinyl or tiles (ceramic or other). Or even floorboards.

In our house we ended up ripping out carpet in the family area and putting in vinyl. We are very happy with the result. We used to have a block of flats where we ripped out living area carpet and polished up the Tasmanian oak floorboards. I've used tiles and floating floors too. But every property still had bedroom carpets. In Canberra.

So check out the market and consider some alternatives.

 

[gobear]

Damn............are you serious??? For free???

Becasue when my brother-in-law went to the carpet shop (as he was thinking to buy new carpets anyways) and when also asked how much to remove the old carpets and most of them quoted $3 or $4 per square metre, so if it was 100sqm, it would be $300-$400

He and I never ripped the carpets before so I have no idea that it is so easy especially if they are big and huge??

I did it myself for $0 plus the satisfaction of ripping out the old cruddy carpet. 'Priceless' as they say. And anyone, I mean anyone, can rip up carpet.

 

[gobear]

Well yeah, the carpets are old since it's been sitting around for 10 years so he wants to get a new carpet. He was also considering timber flooring in the dining\living room but too much hassle and expensive too so he would just prefer to stick with carpets in all areas will be fine

Do you need carpet throughout? Have you considered other flooring?

Talk to a property manager in the area to find out what is practical and what I popular.

It used to be in Canberra that carpet was recommended in bedrooms. Living areas might have floating floors, vinyl or tiles (ceramic or other). Or even floorboards.

In our house we ended up ripping out carpet in the family area and putting in vinyl. We are very happy with the result. We used to have a block of flats where we ripped out living area carpet and polished up the Tasmanian oak floorboards. I've used tiles and floating floors too. But every property still had bedroom carpets. In Canberra.

So check out the market and consider some alternatives.

 

[Rob Williams]

Always reno: top > down, inside > out.

i.e. rip up the carpet
paint ceiling
paint walls
replace carpet

For newbies, that's the best advice EVER. Sounds simple, but if you do it any other way, or get it wrong, you end up in a real mess and waste a huge amount of time doing rework. Time is money, so rework should always be avoided.
Well said, Jazza!!

 

[RumpledElf]

And anyone, I mean anyone, can rip up carpet.

I beg to differ. Last carpet we ripped out was GLUED to some very uneven floors and it was minor hell with a sharpened spade scraping the stuff up. Took us days. What were the previous owners thinking

But I agree that its dead easy to rip up normally laid carpet. Just unhook one corner and pull. Then roll it all up afterwards and depending on how much of a big strong person you are, carry the rolls outside!

 

[geoffw]

Well yeah, the carpets are old since it's been sitting around for 10 years so he wants to get a new carpet. He was also considering timber flooring in the dining\living room but too much hassle and expensive too so he would just prefer to stick with carpets in all areas will be fine

It does not have to be timber. Other solutions can be cheaper. In the long term as well as the short term.

Vinyl or floating floor may well be cheaper than carpet. And last longer.

And tenants appreciate the cleanability of these surfaces. As does the landlord.

 

[Jazza]

Damn............are you serious??? For free???

Becasue when my brother-in-law went to the carpet shop (as he was thinking to buy new carpets anyways) and when also asked how much to remove the old carpets and most of them quoted $3 or $4 per square metre, so if it was 100sqm, it would be $300-$400

He and I never ripped the carpets before so I have no idea that it is so easy especially if they are big and huge??

Free as in I did the reno myself but paid a carpet guy to do his bit after. Then used a free tip pass (on rates notice) to dump it at the tip

Also cut them into 1.5m wide strips and roll em up. Fits thru doors and into trailers/car boots/wheelie bins easier and is lighter.



Glued carpet? yuk. That's one to remember when inspecting an IP to buy and reno. Would blow out reno times a bit.

 

[buzzlightyear]

He and I never ripped the carpets before so I have no idea that it is so easy especially if they are big and huge??

Easy peasy, even I did it last year whilst renovating a purchase of a deceased estate. There was approximately 80-90 square metres of carpet for memory

What did it cost? Putting up with the very strong smell of stale carpet (and who knows what else ), a bit of physical effort (i did it myself) and the dumping of the carpet ($29 at my local tip). I had borrowed a Holden Rodeo through work.

I think it was the only thing that was under budget in the reno

 

[mystery]

Glued carpet? yuk. That's one to remember when inspecting an IP to buy and reno. Would blow out reno times a bit.

Could old carpet be left in place and used as the underlay? .... Would be a good idea to have the original carpet steam cleaned first I suppose. I've never done, .... just a thought.

Martin

 

[Jazza]

I think it was the only thing that was under budget in the reno

I'm thinking all of us can related to that!