Carpet Installation Cost, Charges and Fees for 2024
Local Carpet Retailer Displays Rolls of Carpet
Carpet installation costs, fees & extra charges can vary greatly depending on your location.
Other factors include how difficult your job is and the style and grade of Carpet you select.
In different parts of the United States, the current prices for Carpet Installation vary higher or lower depending on the current supply and demand in your area.
Right now and through 2024 is a good time to buy new carpet because installation costs are still lower due to the reduced amount of consumer spending on basic home improvements.
Home prices are through the roof in 2023 and consumers have been hit hard with interest rates and inflation on every level… and I guarantee carpet installation prices will be going up too.
Making sure your carpet installer is qualified is your responsibility. Don’t assume that every carpet installer is qualified to install your carpet.
In fact, I firmly believe that less than 25% of all carpet installers are properly trained. Asking for references and making sure they are licensed, bonded (if required by your state) and insured (business liability) is your responsibility.
Here is a helpful link: http://www.howtobuycarpet.com/contractor_state_license_requirements.htm
States with the lowest carpet installation costs have typically been Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Southern California.
Other southern states like Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arkansas and Southern Arizona have fairly inexpensive carpet labor and installation costs too.
Prices will range from $2.25 per yard to $4.50 per yard depending on the difficulty of the job and the carpet selected.
The highest carpet installation prices are in the Northeastern states like New York, Virginia, Massachusetts and Ohio and also in the Pacific Northwest like Oregon and Washington and Northern California.
Prices may range from $4.50 per yard for a medium grade plush style carpet to $8.50 per yard for a heavy duty looped Berber style carpet.
Most Retailers Bundle the Cost for Carpet, Padding and Installation.
It’s great to be able to shop at home for carpet. It’s fun, easy and saves time too.
To get your best TOTAL carpet deal, you will have to negotiate with the carpet dealers of your choice. Don’t be afraid to ask the retailer for a discount or other incentives for you to buy from them.
The smart homeowner always gets at least three bids/estimates and then takes plenty of time to negotiate a better deal. Patience is key here, and those who wait for the price to come down are the winners. Be sure you are comparing apples to apples!
I think that asking for a minimum of a 10% to 15% discount is very reasonable as long as you are ready to write a check at the end of the day.
If you are daring, ask for a 20% discount and see what happens. They may say no, but you have nothing to lose by asking. Just be sure you have selected the right carpet and padding that will meet your needs and goals!
Take my free Carpet Foot Traffic Test to see what grade of carpet you need to buy.
Carpet Installation Scams
Some carpet retailers choose to make additional profits by adding an extra fee or surcharge on top of the standard going rate. Some add as much as 25% to the total installation cost. I feel this is an unfair charge to the consumer and a big slap in the face to the installer.
Carpet installers work very hard and earn every dime they make.
If a retailer is going to pay their installers peanuts and then charge customers a surcharge on top of that, well that is just not right.
Carpet retailers already make a fair and reasonable profit from the markup on carpet and pad.
If you find that a carpet dealer has exorbitant carpet installation charges, I suggest you consider shopping elsewhere!
Learn More: Find a Qualified Carpet Installer Near Me
Carpet Installation Cost
Beyond the scope of a “Basic” Carpet Installation
While they continue to change the advertised prices for their “basic” carpet installation on a frequent basis. I have found that Home Depot and Lowe’s basic carpet installation service does not cover very much ground.
The key wording here is “basic” What is a basic installation? What is their definition of a “basic carpet installation?
Apparently, if your carpet installation job is not considered “Basic” it may be determined to be more difficult or more involved. Then you may find that the final bill for your carpet install is much higher than you had expected.
Don’t assume that their advertised low price for installation is valid for you in your situation.
Carpet Installation Cost Extra Fees
After your new carpet has been installed, you may be faced with a sizable and unexpected final bill for extra fees and services that were beyond their limited definition of a “Basic Install”.
About Carpet Sales Gimmicks:
I’ve been in the carpet business for 3 decades and I’ve seen every trick in the book. Trust me on this: Don’t fall for any “wow factor” sales gimmicks.
Don’t trust any television ad that says if you buy one room of flooring then they will give you two rooms of flooring for free.
Don’t be so gullible. The fine print will beat you every time and you will not get the great deal you hoped for.
You need to be absolutely sure your new carpet has been installed properly.
You cannot afford to take chances by having your expensive new carpet installed cheaply by a third party.
Read more about: How To Find a Qualified Carpet Installer
Carpet Installation Cost and Extra Fees
Removing your old Carpet and Padding and hauling it away
Tearing out and disposing of the old carpet and padding can cost anywhere from $1.50 to $2.50 per yard or more.
An experienced Carpet Installation crew of three can remove 100 yards of carpet and pad in less than an hour on a normal job.
I personally think $2.00 per yard is a fair price to remove the old carpet and padding.
Most carpet dealers have an onsite dumpster to reduce the cost and hassle of taking one load at a time to the local landfill.
Carpet Installation Costs for Mobile Homes
If you need new carpet for a mobile home, there is going to be some added costs to remove the old carpet and pad if it is the original carpet.
When mobile homes are made, they put down the carpet and then install the walls right down on top of the carpet and padding.
This makes it very hard to remove the old carpet because it has to be cut at the base of all the walls and then new tack-less strips must be installed.
Most carpet installers do not like installing new carpet in mobile homes because the outer walls are not sturdy enough to leverage the foot of a power stretcher.
This means using other more time consuming methods to get the carpet stretched in properly.
Floor repairs are also more difficult to perform because mobile homes are built over a metal frame, not the standard 16″ on-center wooden floor joists that most homes utilize.
Expect to pay more if you need any floor repairs done. Most installers charge at least $35 per hour per person for floor prep work.
Installing New Tack-less Strips
All new construction jobs will require that new tack strips be installed. It’s easier to install tack-less strips on a wood floor than on a concrete slab.
The fee for new tack strips on wood might be an additional .50 to 1.00 per yard.
The fee for installing tack strips over concrete might be an additional $1.00 to $2.00 per yard or more.
In existing homes with damaged tack strips that need to be replaced, the fee should be about $2.00 to $3.00. That’s per each four-foot section that must be replaced. (tack-less strips come in 4′ foot lengths)
What are Carpet Tack-less Strips?
Tack-less strips (often called tack-strip) are wooden strips with sharp pins that are installed all around the perimeter of each room near to the walls.
Tack strips are about 1″ wide and 4 feet long. Tackless strips are what hold your carpet to the floor and allow it to be stretched-in tightly to prevent wrinkles.
The sharp pins hold the carpet tight because they are angled towards the wall. They are nailed down to the floor.
Carpet Installation Cost Extra Fees – Tack-less Replacement
The carpet padding is butted up against the inner side of the strips. The carpet goes over the pad and stretched over the top of the tack-less strips.
Then the raw edge of the carpet is tucked into the wall and floor crevice or underneath the wall molding for a nice finished look.
Carpet Transitions and Thresholds
The raw edge of the carpet will eventually end or butt up to another carpet or other types of flooring at the entry doorways and at kitchens. Baths and utility rooms and must have a transition installed of some type.
Examples are: Carpet to carpet, Carpet to vinyl, carpet to hardwoods, carpet to vinyl tiles, and carpet to ceramic tile. These are some of the most common locations where a transition or threshold of some type will be necessary.
Carpet Installation Cost and Extra Fees.
Transition Strip – Berber Carpet to Ceramic Tile
Transitions can be made of wood, metal, rubber or plastic. Each transition is available in different quality levels depending on the application.
The correct transition must be used to ensure durability without fail.
The total cost of transitions varies widely and should be discussed with your carpet estimator/retailer/installer before the final bid/estimate is finalized.
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