Introduction
Carpets have the potential to transform a room by adding a touch of luxury, increasing warmth and creating a sense of homeliness. But before you dive into choosing carpet colours, patterns and designs, you need an accurate set of measurements so you can determine how much carpet you will need for your space. This guide aims to provide you with the required knowledge that you need to accurately measure your space, so you can move onto the next exciting step of choosing your perfect carpet!
Carpet Measuring Steps
1. Gather Tools: To measure a carpet, you will need a tape measure and a notepad and pen (or a phone these days). A calculator is optional, but it will make the process easier if you struggle with numbers.
2. Length and Width: Start by measuring the length and width of your room using your tape measure. If your room is rectangular, this process should be fairly straight forward. Try to measure length from two points and width from two points. This allows you to double check measurements and account for any variations in the room. If your room is not rectangular, you could either measure the longest point lengthways and the longest point widthways or break your space down into smaller rectangles that you can measure separately.
3. Doorways: Don’t forget to factor into doorways into your measurement.
4. Irregularities: Don’t forget to measure any irregularities in your room, such as bay window, alcoves, permanent furniture, etc…
5. Buffer: It is advised to add a buffer amount of carpet to account for any irregularities in the room or inaccurate measurements. A good rule of thumb would be adding 10cm to both the length and width measurements to give you or your carpet fitter some excess carpet to work with. Some carpet fitters will recommend the rule of adding an extra 10% as a buffer to your measurements. It is up to you which rule of thumb you choose to follow, but adding a buffer is definitely recommended.
6. Calculate: Now you need to calculate how many square meters of carpet you need to cover your room. To do this multiple the length measurement with the buffer added against the width measurement with the buffer added. If you have an irregularly shaped room, break the area down into smaller rectangles and calculate the area of each rectangle before adding them all together to get your overall area.
Tips for Carpet Measuring
• Right Angles: Ensure your measuring tape is perpendicular to the walls you are measurement against for length and width.
• Measure Multiple Times: The phrase “measure twice, cut once” comes in here. Be safe and double (maybe even triple) check your measurements.
• Use a Calculator: Avoid human error when calculating your floor area by using a calculator to help you.
• Consult a Professional: Carpet is probably one of the most difficult flooring types to measure and install, so consider using a carpet fitter to do the job for you. At Flooring Hut, we offer a supply and fit service. This means you can purchase your wonderful carpet through us and then a local and vetted carpet fitter will install your carpet for you through us too.
Conclusion
So there you have it, our guide to accurately measuring your space for carpet installation. Gather your tools, remember to measure multiple times, get your calculator out and good luck! At Flooring Hut, we highly recommend getting a flooring a professional to install your carpet for you and we welcome you to browse our extensive range of carpets to select the perfect one for your space. If you need a guide on how to DIY install carpets you can find that here and if you want to know how to maintain your carpets in tip-top condition then you can click here. We hope you will enjoy your carpet for many years to come!