Carpet in Duplex; Where to buy and how costly?

Question

I’m about to close on another duplex. Now that the last tenants are gone I see the carpeting is a mess on one side. Maybe about 1,000 sq ft for the one side. I know LVP is great and long lasting, but we’ve decided not to spend $6-8k+ right now on flooring.

So, for those that have recently purchased carpeting; where did you buy it, how much total cost, and what brand/type? I looked at Home Depot as they do free tear out and install. Looks to be $2,400-3,000 minimum for pad and carpet.

Better ideas?

Mitchlyn D. · Answer

@Anthony Wick I would highly recommend vinyl planks. They are not expensive.We had a recent tenant that moved out who destroyed the damn carpet. We replaced with gray like vinyl planks! They are water proof, comes with 30 year warranty, durable, and easy to clean.When a tenant moves out, we just sweep, mop, and keep the machine moving.

Greg M. · Answer

HD/Lowes seem to always have it on sale. I've purchase a bunch from small independent shops for cheap. Pick it out of a catalog and pay cash and the price can be very low. Many times you may have to wait for it to be shipped slow boat from across the world, but if you plan ahead it shouldn't matter.The HD/Lowes discounts are only if you're buying quantity. They ask if you're a contractor and I always just tell them that I'm flipping a house or my contractor told me to come order the stuff and they will pick it up. Never any questions past that. They've knocked 20%-40% off depending on what I'm buying.

Mike Franco · Answer

where, and which high quality planks for under $2 ???I never knew HD Lowes would just give any consumer a discount. How big a discount are we talking? I can usually get 20% off coupons for Lowes. Is contractor pricing better?

Greg M. · Answer

Cheap out now and you'll just push more costs down the road. LVP is not that much more than carpet, but it will last a lot longer and you won't need to keep hiring a company to clean it. It is also much more desired than carpet (at least in my area).Your numbers seem very high. I've had LVP installed for $1/sqft and been able to purchase high quality planks for under $2/sqft. If you're buying quantity at HD/Lowes, talk to the contractor customer service people and they can discount it for you. They have a lot of flexibility in price. I've had them come way down in price for certain things. Not to mention at Lowes (and possibly HD), if you use their credit card it is no interest for 6 months or 5% discount.

Anthony Wick · Answer

@Mike FrancoI did DIY LVP in a smaller unit about 18 months ago. I’m afraid my back and knees have overruled any notion of doing it in a 1,400 sq ft duplex (of which about 1,000 sq ft is carpet right now). Plus, I have just enough time right now to get the place painted top to bottom. Need to hire out to get the floor done on time.

Brian Ellis · Answer

@Anthony Wick Look into some clearance specials on the vinyl planks. You wont pay much more than carpet (if you install yourself).

Peter Tverdov · Answer

If you want to pay twice for flooring in your rental, use carpet. We strongly advise our property management clients from using carpet in a rental. It gets beat to bloody hell. Animal hair, spills, smoking, body odors, cooking odors and general foot traffic. Hardwood floors or vinyl plank flooring works so much better and shows better IMO.

Mike Franco · Answer

guys, how old is your vinyl floor, and how beat up is it right now? I'm facing the same decisions right now. Carpet is over 10 years old, and nearing end of useful life.OP, September 1 is enough time to DIY vinyl planks. Watch youtube videos, it's easy click lock.

Mitchlyn D. · Answer

@Anthony Wick I got mines done for way less than $3,000. But my square footage was about 800. The cost was around 34.03 per box.Labor = $1,000Materials = $1,324.63Labor included removing and disposing old carpet and vinyl flooring installation. In this business, you want durability. You may have to pay a little more now but it will be efficient for you in the long run.

Pat L. · Answer

We threw in cheap carpet with a little better pad from HD & they did the free remove/install. It's made from plastic milk/water bottles. It has held up through a number of tenants (& no pets) since 2010 & does cleanup nice with a Bissell carpet cleaner. We have been going with vinyl on every other unit when it becomes vacant & as said above swiffer wet jet & done. The LVL was also a HD product that we nailed for $1.99/sq ft vs the usual $2.49/sq ft. We also did our entire upper floor of our Lakehouse with it (but a higher end LVL) & it takes a grandkid pounding/spillage & there are zero shrink/expand issues as we shut the property down in the winter so temps can go 20 below.