KenK wrote:
How do you measure for new carpet? To the nearest rounded foot, to the
next higher foot, to the next inch, convert inches in measurement to
decimal foot, ???

I always measured to allow for a little to trim off . Usually wall to wall
plus about 4" .


What about tack strips - all places where carpet touches a wall? Or
are there other places these should also be used?

All the walls , and if the carpet butts to a "step" , like a 3/4" hardwood
floor .


How is carpet puchased? To the nearest square foot? Or is it rounded
up to the number of feet in standard carpet roll width - 20 ' or
whatever?

Sold by the square yard , allow about 5-10% overage for seam cuts ,
doorways , out of square rooms , etc . Standard carpet is 12' wide ,
sometimes + an inch or 2 for seam allowance .


How do you determine what thickness of padding to buy?

It's more about pad density than thickness . Too thick and the carpet will
stretch and loosen from the deflection when you step on it . Standard when I
was in the business was 1/2 inch thick . Not sure if they still make it
(been out of the business quite a while) but Omalon Extra was considered a
premium padding .

What else should I know while measuring?

They're going to come out and measure your rooms , you need to measure
also , total sq feet divided by 9 to get yardage then add a little - if
their measurements differ significantly from yours go somewhere else -
padding the yardage is a very common trick to pad the bottom line .

Anything else I should have asked as a complete carpet purchasing
tyro?

TIA

You'll want to compare pile density , it's in oz/per sq foot or yard ,
more is better . As above pad density is also important . Be sure they plan
to use a power stretcher , modern synthetic carpet backing must be stretched
a certain percentage to remain tight and that ain't happening with a knee
kicker . Seam placement is important too , you'll want the seams in lighter
traffic areas if possible .
--
Snag