Carpets

Carpet prices

All prices include GST. Supply is charged on the carpet you need off the roll; installation, underlay and extras are charged on the measured floor area.

Jobs under 20 m² have a $450 small-job charge (not when the job includes carpeted stairs). Most carpet comes off a 3.66 m roll, so a room wider than that needs a join; we do our best to keep joins out of hallways and other high-traffic areas. Our carpet price guide works through a three-bedroom example, or price your own rooms with the instant price guide.

Which carpet for which room

For laundries and powder rooms, a hard floor such as hybrid or vinyl plank is the better choice. One carpet through the bedrooms, hallway and stairs gives a continuous look, and robes and small rooms can often be cut from offcuts of the same carpet. Our guide on how to choose carpet goes room by room.

How the carpet fibres differ

• Wool: soft and natural, for bedrooms and formal living areas. It isn’t as tough as nylon on stairs, and oily spills need blotting quickly. Mid-range wool is $68.30/m².
• Solution-dyed nylon: the colour goes in before the fibre is formed, so it runs right through each strand. Tough and easy to clean, for family rooms, hallways, stairs, kids, pets and rentals. From $43.50/m².
• Triexta: soft, with stain resistance built into the fibre, for bedrooms and family rooms. About $68.30/m².
• Polyester and polypropylene: lower-priced fibres for bedrooms, studies, spare rooms and rentals. Carpet starts from $20.50/m².

The pile matters as much as the fibre. A plush (velour) cut pile is the softest but shows footprints and shading; a twist hides marks and suits living areas, hallways and stairs; a loop pile is firm and hard-wearing but can snag. Choose density before weight: fold a sample over your finger, and if a lot of backing shows between the tufts, it isn’t dense enough for a hallway or stairs. Compare the two most popular fibres in wool vs nylon carpet, or see carpet vs hybrid if you’re weighing up a hard floor.

Underlay

A good 10mm underlay makes carpet softer and quieter and helps the pile recover from furniture. We use underlay from Airstep, Underlay King and Airlay, at $6 to $10/m², and we recommend new underlay with new carpet, because flattened or crumbling underlay shortens the life of the carpet on top. If your slab has in-slab heating, tell us at the measure, because carpet and underlay slow the heat coming through.

Brands

We supply and install Victoria Carpets, Quest, EC Carpets, Chaparral and Supertuft, and we can source almost any carpet range available in Australia, so ask about anything you’ve seen elsewhere.

Preparing for new carpet

• The floor: carpet is more forgiving than a hard floor, but it can’t hide a lip or a step, and a damp slab can turn underlay mouldy. We check the floor at the measure, and any preparation it needs is in your quote.
• Painting: paint the skirting boards before the carpet goes down.
• Doors: new carpet and underlay are often thicker than what came out, so some doors may need trimming to swing freely. That’s quoted at the measure.
• Furniture: our team can move it for $8/m². Either way, pack electronics, valuables, fragile items, the contents of wardrobes and drawers, and everything on the floor. Pianos, pool tables and fish tanks are best moved by a specialist.
• Apartments: check the owners corporation’s rules on trades and lifts before you book a date.

Taking up the old floor

• Old carpet and underlay: about $8/m² to take up and dispose of. If you lift it yourself, leave the gripper strips for the installers.
• Old carpet tiles: $15/m².
• Ceramic tiles, timber or vinyl: quoted at the measure, because tiles on a mortar bed and layered vinyl are slower to lift than they look.

Replacing worn carpet? Our carpet replacement service covers taking up the old carpet and underlay and laying the new. Building? See carpet for new homes.

What carpet installation includes

1. The old carpet and underlay come up, if removal is in your quote, and the installers check that the subfloor is dry, sound and clean.
2. New 10mm underlay is laid and fixed down.
3. The carpet is power-stretched onto the gripper, joined where a room is wider than the roll, then trimmed and tucked neatly against the skirting.
4. Trims go in where the carpet meets tiles, timber or hybrid.

We supply and install: we don’t lay carpet bought elsewhere. Installation is charged at $11 to $13.60/m² of floor, depending on the carpet’s weight, and the underlay at $6 to $10/m². Taking up the old floor, furniture moving and stairs are priced separately, as above, and floor preparation, door trimming and trims are quoted at the measure. Patterned carpet installation is quoted on request.

A few bedrooms and a hallway are usually laid in a day; stairs add time because each step is fitted by hand. Most people stay home and keep out of the room being worked on. See carpet installation and our installation and care guide for the full process. Once it’s down, see how to look after your carpet.

Carpet we’ve laid

Every carpet job, wool or nylon, is measured and quoted by people who install floors. More in our projects, or see our wool carpet ranges.

Frequently asked questions