Is Buying Carpet Remnants A Good Idea?
When people first hear the phrase carpet remnants, they often think of used, left over carpet. It conjures up images of installers tearing out old carpet during an installation job and trying to pawn it off as new. “Hold up there Bob, that end piece that was pulled up near the bathroom is in good shape. Just brush off that cat fur and spray some Lysol where the litter box was. We'll sell it as a remnant.”
Thankfully, this isn't the case at all. Carpet remnants are brand new pieces of carpet that have never been previously installed. A carpet remnant is simply a roll end. A piece of carpet that was either left over at the mill, or excess from a large carpet job. 99% of the time they're in great shape (remnants can become damaged during transport just like any other carpet).
Carpet is manufactured in long sheets. For instance a new roll of cut pile that is 12' in width might be 130 feet long. That's 1560 square feet of carpet. Now one store might order 30 linear feet of this freshly made carpet to install in a bedroom. Another store may order 85' which would carpet a small to medium sized home based on how much hard flooring they've got.
Now the mill is stuck with 15' which is 180 sq/ft. If that's the final piece from that dye lot, they're going to have a hard time selling it as carpet stores don't often order such small amounts, although it does happen from time to time. So what might happen is that the piece ends up being sold as a remnant.
The above example is a simplified version of the process, but I'm sure you get the idea. The point being that the left over carpet is still perfectly good. It would be great for a small room or hallway that needs to be replaced.
And that's what we recommend using carpet remnants for, small areas. Basements, small rooms, hallways, guest rooms, etc.. Is using remnants a good idea if you're going to carpet an entire house? Probably not. The reason being that while you may find enough remnants in the color that you're seeking, they'll likely be from different dye lots.
When manufacturing carpet, mills produce them in lots. This means that there can be slight variations in color between rolls of carpet. So for instance, if you buy four different remnants from four different dye lots, they may not blend together very well. Some mills are known for having better color consistency between lots than others.
So you want to put new carpet in the kid's room and try to save money at the same time? Most large carpet chains won't negotiate their rates, but some of the smaller stores will. If you're not terribly picky about color, grab the phone book and start asking the smaller stores if they've got any remnants in the size you're looking for. Your color choices may consist of brown, or brown, but you may save some cash.
You can also call around and talk to carpet installation companies directly. Occasionally they'll have left over carpet from a large job that the customer did not want to keep. Sometimes you can work out a deal with them. Know ahead of time how many square feet you need. At the very least know the exact dimensions of the room you wish to carpet so they'll know whether what they've got on hand will work. Again, you're not going to have much choice in color but by cutting out the middle-man your savings may be substantial.
Overall, using remnants to carpet a small area of your home can be a great idea. Just keep in mind that your color choices will most likely be limited. If you plan to install remnants in more than one room, be sure to ask whether they're from the same dye lot or not.