How to Measure Carpet
Unfortunately, interior carpet measuring is not as easy as seventh grade geometry would indicate. There are closets, and angles, and doorways, all making concepts put forth by Pythagoras a matter of mere trivia. Usually, if the room is complicated, you're going to need a professional to have a look at it.
 | The professional angle But you don't need to resign yourself entirely to someone else's recommendation. Do the geographic measurements and find out the rough square footage of the area you will be carpeting. Remember, carpet is sold by the yard, so you'll need to round up. Most outdoor carpet calculators also increase the square footage by 10% prior to rounding up to account for doorways and other variables. Armed with this number, you can easily tell if your carpet retailer is padding the bill or not being as efficient as possible. Carpet salesmen, like any business person, are under a lot of pressure to remain solvent. Adding a square yard here and there is an easy way to sneak in some extra dough under the guise of their professional expertise. If you suspect your carpet measurer may have doctored the numbers, don't hesitate to ask that all the square footage be accounted for in a clear explanation. When the installation is over, have a look at the scraps and see if there are any substantial strips that could have been used more economically. |
DIYers
But if you're ambitious and willing to learn from mistakes, have at it all alone. Installing outdoor carpet isn't rocket science, but it is a lot of work with plenty of room for errors. Calculating the value of your time plus the likelihood of making a costly mistake may prove that the added labor of installation is well worth it.
