Could somebody please tell me the formula for converting the square footage of a room to yards for carpet ordering purposes?
Thanks in advance for your help. I have a room that is 40 X 18 and I'm trying to figure out how many yards of carpet I will need so I can go shopping.

 

I'm no carpeting man by any means, but I believe that you order more than your exact surface area for trim and fitting purposes. If it were me, I would add 6" all around to fit doorways, etc., i.e. 19 X 41=779 sq. ft./9 sq. ft./yd= 86.55 yds.(o.k., 87 square yards). Don't forget to order an equal amount of the proper padding to go under that particular carpet. Good Luck!

 

Rug Ratt:

It's not as simple as just working out square footage and deviding by 9.

Carpeting comes in different widths. By far the most popular is 12 foot rolls, but you can also get 10, 14 and 15 foot rolls, so in an 18 foot wide room, how long a piece you order depends on the gameplan for seaming it together, and that depends on the width it comes in.

Also, carpet has a "grain". Each tuft of the carpet will bend slightly in the direction it came off the mill, and when you seam pieces of carpet together you have to keep all the tufts bending in the same direction. Otherwise the effect at the seam is similar to cut loop carpets where the carpet has a different shade depending on which way you drag your hand over it.

I would draw a picture of the room to scale on graph paper and let the carpet store figure it out for you.

There are really only two kinds of carpet worth considering:
Nylon IS the most durable and easy to clean synthetic fiber used for making carpets and the vast majority of commercial grade carpeting for offices, restaurants, stores, etc. is made of nylon.
Polypropylene is less durable, but is much cheaper. Polypropylene carpets are a good choice where the game plan is to replace the carpet often, such as in apartment blocks. No carpet will stand up to a cigarette burn, so you may as well buy cheap ones and replace them often.
The other synthetic fibers, acrylic and polyester are more expensive than polypropylene but not as durable as nylon, so they don't really have a niche in the marketplace. Acrylic "feels" the most like real wool, but it stains easily, and doesn't clean as well. It's a good carpet to buy if you want to sell your house. Polyester also feels plush and appears to offer excellent value, but it burns and gives off toxic fumes when it does.

Level loop carpets are the most durable. That is where the ends of the tufts haven't been cut and each tuft is the same height. Tip sheared carpets are where the ends of the tufts are cut. These carpets feel softer under foot, but they trap dirt more, and will show each time you changed direction with the vaccuum cleaner. You pay extra for the fancy weaving too. Sculptured carpets will have tufts of different lenghts, and some will have some of those tufts tip sheared to create patterns in the sculptured carpet.

 

I can't add much to what the previous guy posted except that I agree with his statements concerning nylon carpeting and level loop. I just re-carpeted most of my condo with a level loop and it looks great. Once I found a carpet stop with something I liked, I let the estimator do the work of measuring the rooms and determining the amount of square yardage needed. I have some small areas so there was waste. My carpet came in 13ft width. The best thing is to find a reliable dealer.

 

Nestor is correct. The width and style really make a difference. When we did out basement different carpets had different amounts of waste and yardage needed. The one we both liked had about 10% waste. Yes, it was the carpet with te greatest amount of waste.

 

Hey, BobF, long time no see.

They got you working in here now?

 

OldGuy 41 by 19 is 82.1 yds of material. At 20.00 dollars per yard that is 60 dollars of wasted material Hmmm

To get yardage you can multiply length times width

Say 15 ft long by 12 ft wide 15 times 12 is 180 sqft divide 180 by nine and you have your yardage,,,,20 yds

If you have 12 ft material multiply the length by 1.333.

In this case say you have 15 ft and want to know yardage multiply 15 times 1.333 and you get 19995 yds but always round it off to the highest number which would be 20 yds.

Carpet comes 13.6 ft wide and 15ft wide
For 13.6 multipy the lenght by 1.5
For 15 ft goods multiply it by 1.75


Hope this helps
Grivy
grivy@webtv.net

 

There are 3 ways to measure. Since most carpets are 12' wide. Besure to measure into the doorways!!!!! or you will short yourself. and I add a foot or two because rolls always come short from the mill. Better to have more then not enough, because of dye lot variances.

12X72=96 sq.yds....You would have 3 18' seams, with an 18'X8' waste.

12X80=106.66 sq.yds....You would have 1 40' seam, with a 40'X6' waste.

12X61=81.33 sq.yds.....You would have 1 40' seam and a 6' "T" seam. There would be no waste, but the "T" seam may show.

Perry Wright
Carpets Done Wright

 

Or you could use carpet that is 13 feet 6 inches wide and have two seams of 18 foot in length and no waste. Don't get hung up on 12 foot wide carpet.
Like was said above have someone from the store or better yet find a competent installer before you go to the store and have them measure it for you.

 

ST,
Not all carpets are available in 13'6" widths. I personally have only seen loop pile come in those widths, decause seaming is difficult on their products and the manufactures know it. Or there is a pattern match that needs the extra 1'6" to repeat. So you better get enough extra carpet to repeat the pattern.
Carpets can also come in 15' wide too. Lydian comes to mind. Go price it!!!!
Special order too $$$$$!!!!
Anything is possible. It all depends how much cash is available.

Perry Wright
"Carpets Done Wright"