Carpet
Typically $3.50–$18.50 per square foot installed · 5–40 years · good against water
What it is
Carpet is fiber tufted into a backing, stretched over a pad and tacked at the walls. It is the warmest, quietest, softest floor and the cheapest to install; it is also the one that holds what falls on it. The fiber decides how it wears (nylon and triexta last, polyester is soft and cheap, olefin is for basements and budgets, wool is a luxury) and the pad decides how long any of them look new.
| Type | Installed | Water | Durability | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nylon CarpetThe performance benchmark for cut-pile carpet. | $5.50–$8.50 / sq ft | Poor | Good | 10–20 yrs |
| Triexta (PTT) CarpetBuilt-in stain resistance with resilience that closes most of the gap to nylon. | $5.50–$8 / sq ft | Fair | Good | 8–18 yrs |
| Polyester / PET CarpetSoftest hand and best value — with a resilience trade-off. | $4–$6.50 / sq ft | Fair | Fair | 5–12 yrs |
| Olefin (Polypropylene) CarpetThe cheapest fiber that won’t hold water — with a real heat weakness. | $3.50–$5.50 / sq ft | Good | Poor | 5–10 yrs |
| Wool CarpetThe natural luxury fiber — beautiful, breathable, expensive. | $11.50–$18.50 / sq ft | Fair | Good | 20–40 yrs |
Cost
Typically $3.50–$18.50 per square foot installed at national averages, materials and labor together; the full range runs $2.50–$22. Typical installed cost is the middle half of the national range, materials and labor at average rates. Builder-grade product with the cheapest crew runs under it; premium product with a specialist runs over. Carpet Installation Cost covers what moves it, and the calculator adds removal, prep, stairs and trim for your square feet.
Installation
Stretched over tack strip on a pad, by a crew with a power stretcher. Half a day for a house, the cheapest labor of any floor. Stairs and seams are priced separately. Almost never a DIY job done well.
Durability
Nylon and triexta spring back from traffic for fifteen years; polyester crushes in the lanes sooner; olefin mats fastest. Density and face weight matter as much as fiber.
Water resistance
Poor. A spill blotted quickly is fine; a leak under the pad is a pull-up. Not for bathrooms, laundry rooms or below grade unless it is the cheap olefin you plan to replace.
Maintenance
Vacuum weekly, professionally clean yearly, and treat stains the day they happen. The pad cannot be cleaned.
Pros
- Warm, soft and quiet; nothing else comes close in a bedroom
- The cheapest installed floor
- Forgiving of falls
- Fast to install and to replace
Cons
- Holds dust, dander, spills and accidents
- Traffic lanes show within a few years on soft fibers
- Poor for allergies and for wheels
- Adds nothing at resale outside bedrooms
Best rooms
- Bedrooms
- Nurseries
- Media rooms
- Stairs (as a runner)
Worst rooms
- Kitchens
- Bathrooms
- Entries
- Basements
- Dining rooms
Pets
The floor most often replaced because of a dog. A solution-dyed nylon or triexta with a moisture-barrier pad if you must; a hard floor with a washable rug if you can.
Kids
Soft for falls, hard on stains. A bedroom carpet with a hard floor everywhere else is the usual compromise.
DIY
No. Stretching carpet flat without a power stretcher leaves wrinkles that never go away.
Lifespan
Five to twenty years by fiber, halved by a thin pad.
Alternatives
Luxury vinyl, Laminate, Engineered hardwood. Carpet vs Hard-Surface Flooring
Who should buy it
- The room is a bedroom or a place people sit on the floor
- Quiet and warmth are what you want most
- The budget is the smallest
Who should not
- Anyone in the house has allergies or asthma
- Pets have accidents
- The room is a kitchen, bath, entry or basement
Where it ranks
A top-three pick for: for a condo, for resale value, for a quiet home.
Getting it quoted
What a good carpet quote includes, and the three questions to ask every contractor before you compare prices.
The failure modes, the care schedule and the buying guide for carpet are on FlooringFAQ. This page is the decision; that one is the education.
Don’t start with the flooring. Start with your home.
Eight questions about the rooms, the household, the subfloor and the budget. A ranked shortlist with the reasons, the watch-outs and a project estimate.
8 questions · about 2 minutes · no obligation
Ready for carpet quotes?
A carpet quote is two products: the carpet and the pad, and a low number usually means a thin pad. It should state fiber, face weight, density and the pad by weight and thickness, price stairs and seams on their own lines, and say whether the old carpet and tack strip are included in removal.
No obligation. You choose whether to contact the professionals who respond.