First Design Appointment

[cheilo]

Hey all,
Our first design appointment is on March 17. Too excited to say the least!
We have been trying to find a happy medium between getting the upgrades we want and the cost associated with those upgrades....needless to say there is no happy medium hahah
My question is this, has anyone opted NOT to purchase the upgraded underpad for the carpet, if so, what effect has that had on the carpert?

I have heard that the underpad is an absolute mus but I just wanted a bit more feedback before I choose to spend the extra money. I only want to get this if it absolutely neccessary.

Thanks

[Chem_N_Eng]

We looked at a number of resale homes before deciding to buy new and you could DEFINITELY tell the difference between the folks who had paid for the under-padding and those who didn't. These houses were ~5 yrs old and the carpet in some of these houses was shot.

[Joanne]

If your are not planning on replacing with hardwood later, you might consider the upgraded underpad, and upgraded carpet. The reason the carpet is shot is b/c the carpet is sh&t upgraded underpad or not. We have 50 lot which supposedly has upgraded carpet but it is crap! We needed to replace a section of it and the worker who caim to lay the carpet said this carpet is not even good enough for a dog house.

[K.C.]

We asked about upgrading the carpet and they said no and that the included carpet for 50's is really good. It's ok but it's not really good. We did get the highest level upgraded underpad. I would've liked to have upgraded the carpet.

I covered the carpet with plastic the first 3 months we were here or the workmen would've turned it to crap with all the walking they did at our house. 3 months of workmen is the equivalent of 5 years of sloppy little kids.

[Joanne]

Our problem was with the seams, we could see them. If the carpet is thick enough you won't see the seems. They laid the carpet with the seem at the front of the room instead of the back where furniture would hide it. To fix this they had to replace the carpet but they could not get the same carpet and gave us better carpet in this room. I cannot see any seams anywhere, much like the 40 oz carpet I had in my greenpark home. When I open the door to the ajoining hallway with the original carpet I can really tell the difference in quality, it is either thinner yarns or a looser weave on the original. The carpet also stains very easily, and I choose the darkest shade of beige possible. Maybe they don't offer a carpet upgrade b/c they really want the hardwood upgrade to be purchased, which I would not recommend given the problems people have had.

[cheilo]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. We still aren't sure what we are going to do but this gives us some things to think about.

[dglyde79]

We didn't upgrade the carpet or underpad as we only have carpet upstairs as we have hardwood/ceramics for the entire downstairs. Seeing that the first level is what is going to take the most traffic we didn't feel the need to upgrade the upstairs. Also my mother works for one of the largest flooring distributors for southern ontario so underpad, carpet and installation is next to nothing for me and I'll probably just change it later.

[cheilo]

We didn't upgrade the carpet or underpad as we only have carpet upstairs as we have hardwood/ceramics for the entire downstairs. Seeing that the first level is what is going to take the most traffic we didn't feel the need to upgrade the upstairs. Also my mother works for one of the largest flooring distributors for southern ontario so underpad, carpet and installation is next to nothing for me and I'll probably just change it later.

how long have you had the house and has not upgrading the underpad caused any issues with the look of the carpet. We definitely arent upgrading our carpet either, my main concern is if we can get away without upgrading the underpad.

[dglyde79]

how long have you had the house and has not upgrading the underpad caused any issues with the look of the carpet. We definitely arent upgrading our carpet either, my main concern is if we can get away without upgrading the underpad.

We haven't taken possession yet so I can't comment. I will agree that upgrading the underpad is a bit more important than upgrading the carpet. The underpad is what will make the carpet last longer and look more plush. We didn't upgrade either of them, but that is because I suspenct we will either change later or install hardwood upstairs later. I will admit that Mattamy's included carpet is not the nicest included carpet I have seen offered by a builder, but it is not the worst either. So I will have to wait and see how it looks in the end.

[cheilo]

We haven't taken possession yet so I can't comment. I will agree that upgrading the underpad is a bit more important than upgrading the carpet. The underpad is what will make the carpet last longer and look more plush. We didn't upgrade either of them, but that is because I suspenct we will either change later or install hardwood upstairs later. I will admit that Mattamy's included carpet is not the nicest included carpet I have seen offered by a builder, but it is not the worst either. So I will have to wait and see how it looks in the end.

I c I c. I think we might upgrade underpad in the Master Bedroom and the Den only. We plan on changing the great room/dining room/upstairs hall to hardwoods after closing and we are getting the oak stairs as an upgrade so we dont have to worry about that.

Thanks for your input!