Need carpet help

[Mercy]

Hi all! We need to purchase carpet. We just recently finished a kitchen remodel and we refinished the hardwood floors in our DR/LR, it all looks great! We have decided to carpet the stairs going up to my bedrooms, the hallway upstairs and my bedroom (the other 2 BRs already have carpet).

Anyway, I am looking for a carpet that will wear well, especially because it will be on my stairs. I hate it when carpet gets that matted down look. Can anyone recommend a carpet type that would be good for stairs. I've heard that Frieze (sp) is pretty durable, anyone have experience with that?

 

[disneysteve]

I can't help with the carpet selection but I will offer one piece of advice. Buy the highest grade of padding that you can afford. Cheap carpet on good padding will wear better than good carpet on cheap padding. If the carpet doesn't have good firm support under it, it gives more and the fibers and backing bend and wear more.

 

[crz4mm2]

Berber carpet. With good padding underneath.

 

[bananiem]

I have Frieze (sp?) and love it but it can look matted down. It depends how often you vacuum it because it "poofs" it back up.
I would say a good Berber if you don't want the matted down look.

 

[always quiet]

I second the berber!! With 3 kids, 1 husband, 1 father, 1 dog, 1 cat and 1 rabbit, we needed something that would wear well. Our last carpet, which was only down for around 5 yrs., was made of recycled plastic and I HATED it!! I matted so quickly, didn't clean well and just looked horrible after 6 months. We got a berber in early spring and you would think that it was just put down.

 

[Kermit]

I agree that berber carpet is the best choice, particularly for stairs. It won't show wear as much, and that's really important for stairs since everyone steps in the exact same place when they walk on stairs. It's a little less slippery, too, so you're less likely to fall.