(4-min read)
Disclaimer: Every flatscreen TV and mount will be different. Please consult the specific instructions for your mount and TV models before installing them. This article is meant to give you a rough idea of what actions are involved.

Either your toddler can now reach your flatscreen, or you’re thinking of ditching the entertainment center, it’s time to mount your flatscreen TV on the wall. Fortunately, incredibly light televisions and an array of wall-mount brackets make this a breeze. There are, however, right ways and wrong ways to go about getting your flatscreen to be mounted correctly on your living room, bedroom, or kitchen wall.

Tools Needed

• TV
• Wall mount with necessary hardware
• Power drill
• Pilot-hole-sized drill bit
• Screw driver bit
• Bubble or electronic level
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Some washers
• Stud finder
• Terrible dad joke about the stud finder

Picking a Quality TV Mount

Before you begin, you’re obviously going to need a TV mount frame. Most flatscreens do not come with one and there are thousands on the market. It’s important not to simply pick up the least expensive mount as you want one that will support the full weight of your TV and then some. Make sure that it fits the dimensions of your TV, can handle the weight and allows for the amount of movement that you desire. Do your research because an improper mount won’t only potentially damage your wall or your TV, but it may harm you or a loved one if your TV can’t support it.

Selecting the Right Location

You likely already know where you want to mount your TV, but there are an array of factors to consider. Firstly, keep in mind that the TV should ideally be at eye-level when sitting in the preferred viewing spots in the room. Mounting your TV higher or lower will require one to tilt their head up or down for long periods, which can lead to neck strain.

Using a TV wire kit, it is possible to hide connecting wires. However, some homeowners opt for running TV wires through the actual wall using a variety of cuts in the wall and snaking them through. This streamlined look provides the illusion of a floating TV (cue “oohs” and “ahhs” from audience). How to do that is a subject for another article.

Find the Studs (Insert Dad Joke Here)

Even though drywall can hold much smaller televisions, you’re better off not risking such foolishness. After finding the stud with the stud finder, mark its location gently on the wall using the pencil. Many studs in homes are about 16” apart, so you can likely find nearby studs within that vicinity. Mark nearby studs as well once located.

Use the TV Mount as Your Guide

Once you have located the studs in the area where you would like to mount the television, hold the TV stand where you’d like to place it with the mounting holes lining up with the stud markings. When you have the TV mount roughly where you’d like it, mark the holes with a pencil along the stud markings.

Drill Your Level Pilot Holes

Set the TV mount down for a moment and create a pilot hole where one of the marked holes sits. Place the TV mount back up on the wall and run a screw into the pilot hole halfway — just enough to hold up the weight of the TV mount if you were to let go of the other side. Holding the TV mount up, place the level on top of the TV mount. Once level and in line with a wall stud, mark it with a pencil. Let the TV mount hang while you drill the second pilot hole. Once the pilot hole is drilled, you can begin screwing both mounting screws that came with the TV wall mount — periodically rechecking the mount with the level as you tighten the screws. If tightening one side over another causes the TV mount to become unlevel, you may need to use the washers to level it out. Once mounted, lightly test the mounting bracket by applying as much pressure on the mount as your TV would exert on it.

Install the TV on the Mount

Have a friend hold your TV up to the mount while you check the TV to make sure it is level on the mount. Run the proper screws through the backside of the screen and secure it. Before releasing the TV to be held by the wall mount, please make sure that all screws are thoroughly tightened.

And there you have it — your very own wall-mounted TV. Stay tuned later for tutorials on how to hide your TV cables.

Learn more about building your dream home in Northeastern Oklahoma with help from Perry Hood Properties. 

(3.5-min read)

No matter how prepared you feel you are, nothing quite prepares you to deal with a flooded home. Though you’d probably like to curl up in a ball, the circumstance likely needs further attention. Despite the situation seeming hopefulness, there are some actions you can take immediately following home flooding to keep your family safe from additional adversity and your home from further damage.

Preventing Electrical Hazards

Because you hopefully evacuated your home, if you’re returning to inspect the place and retrieve precious valuables, make sure that the power is completely cut off. When power circuits are exposed to water, this can make flooded walkaway immensely dangerous. Damaged electrical connections can also increase the risk of fire within a flooded space. 

Stay Safe with Protective Gear & Precautions

If you plan on re-entering your house following a flood, only do so if you’re taking the right protective precautions. Even if the waters in your home are fairly clean looking, there’s a chance that hazardous materials and microorganisms may have found their way into the waters within your home. Before entering your home to recover valuables, essential documents, and to document damage, make sure you are wearing adequate water protection in the form of rubber boots, waders, and gloves. If any of your food has come in contact with floodwaters, make sure to throw it out and boil all water from the tap before use until told otherwise by officials. If you need to leave the property, make sure to lock it up to protect it from looters. If there is any doubt about the safety of the property, seek shelter elsewhere.

Locate and Remove Essential Documents

Filing insurance claims, moving to a new location, or really just conducting your life without the proper paperwork is an uphill battle. Ideally, you should have your most essential household and legal documents (marriage licenses, birth certificates, deeds, titles, policy records, etc.) kept in a case that you can take with you in the event of an emergency such as flood or fire. If you didn’t have these documents before, try to safely locate and remove them once you return to the house.

Safely Document All the Damage You Can

Once your home has been deemed safe to enter once again (meaning the roof won’t collapse and the electricity has been disconnected), document all of the flood damage you can. If you’re using a camera, try to engage the date stamp feature on it for official purposes. If using video, feel free to make notes about all of the flood damage as you show it. Remember to make periodic updates as the damaged conditions worsen after floodwaters recede.

File the Appropriate Claims

If you have flood insurance, you must file claims with your insurance company as soon as possible. Some insurance companies may move slower than others, so the sooner you’ve submitted your claims, the faster you can start to repair, rebuild, or move to a new home. Working with an insurance professional may help answer any questions you have.

Bonus: Rebuild Again With Help from the Professionals

Nobody likes to lose their home. However, if your home has been lost to flooding and you’re contemplating rebuilding, look no further than the home construction professionals at Perry Hood Properties out of Northeastern Oklahoma. When you trust the home construction experts at Perry Hood Properties, you can finally feel at home again.

(4-min read)

So, you’ve found a great location to start to begin your new house construction project. There’s only one problem — there’s already a house there. After eyeballing it, you figure that you can rent a bulldozer and have the old house that sits on the property demolished. Then there’s the old foundation, the cleanup, the disposal, etc. Ok, maybe you’re starting to bite off more than you can chew. Fortunately, there are a variety of home demolition companies who would love to take a crack at your project — pardon the pun. But your real question stands: How much does home demolition cost? Well, there are various issues to consider that will affect the price.

The End Cost of “Well, I’ll Just Do It Myself.”

So, you’ve knocked down a few walls, or ripped out some kitchen cabinets in your day — how much harder would it be to demolish a house yourself? As it turns out, DIY home demolition may end up being even more expensive than merely letting an experienced professional handle it. Knowing the proper procedures, which tools and equipment to use for specific tasks, and the potentially back-breaking (sometimes literally) labor required to level and remove a home may be more than you bargained for — and that’s assuming there are no surprises. Throw in some hazardous materials, improperly capped utilities, and damaged neighboring properties, and you’re in for an extremely costly endeavor.

Foundational Preservation or Complete Demolition

Let’s say that you went out to examine the house that sits on the property where you would like to build. It still has plumbing running through the foundation and you could almost see yourself living with the layout, but the house that sits on it is beyond repair. Reusing an existing foundation isn’t unheard of and may save you quite a bit in demolition and construction costs. If you keep the foundation, you may save yourself the cost of crushing the concrete slab and having it carried away. If you have the entire home demolished, slab and all, that will have an impact on the total cost of demolition. Full disclosure, though — reusing home foundations isn’t all that common.

Demolishing and Disposing of Hazardous Material

Most demolished home debris can be hoisted into a dump truck and taken to a landfill without issue. If a home contains hazardous materials, however, this can make a simple demolition much more complicated. Disposing of materials such as lead paint and asbestos requires compliance with specific regulations. Handling, moving, and disposing of such materials may significantly impact the price of standard home demolition. For this reason, it’s crucial to have a location carefully inspected before demolition to save yourself from unwanted surprises.

Location, Location, Location

If a professional demolition company needs to knock down a house, the location of the house will also impact the price. If the home is located in a densely populated neighborhood, this can make demolition trickier than it would be for a home in a more expansive, rural location. Preserving the surrounding houses from damage, moving heavy equipment between the front and back yards, maneuvering dump trucks and dumpsters — all of these tasks are significantly more time-consuming in a neighborhood where houses are packed in like sardines. A home on a larger plot that allows for heavy equipment access on all sides may be reasonably straightforward for a demolition specialist.

Ok, Ok, How Much Does a Home Demolition Cost?

As of the publishing of this article, the typical cost of home demolition can run anywhere from $5,000 and $25,000. The magnitude, number of variables, and complexity of a project will change the price. Keep these numbers in mind before buying a property containing a house you intend to demolish to make way for a new home construction project.

(3-min read)

For those looking to spruce up a dull home interior, there are several great ways to breathe new life into an old design. Some opt for updated molding; others change out the flooring materials. While these are both great ideas, there is a relatively easy update that can add class and spaciousness to any room — recessed lighting.

Spacious Feel

High ceilings in a home feel quite inviting and luxurious. While this is the case, some homes simply can’t provide high ceilings in every space — especially on the upper floors where space is limited. Unlike protruding or hanging light fixtures, recessed lighting fixtures can make a ceiling feel higher than it is. This is due to a flush look that brings one’s attention to the actual height of the ceiling instead of a protruding light fixture. It’s not actually making the ceiling feel any higher, but it’s certainly not making it feel lower the way a hanging light fixture can.

Energy Efficient Light

For new home construction or remodeling an existing home, recessed lighting can also bring a space into the world of energy efficiency. The reason for this is the size of the light. Many recessed lighting fixtures aim to keep their fixtures shallow for the ease of installation. This shallowness demands the use of smaller lights. Smaller lights, especially of the LED variety, are exponentially more energy efficient than fluorescent and incandescent types. LED lights are also immensely more efficient in terms of heat generation, making them a safer alternative.

Upscale, Luxurious Look

Despite their ease of installation and relatively low cost, recessed lighting still maintains an upscale look. Part of this effect is the lack of a visible light fixture at all. Recessed lighting gives the impression that extra focus on detail was brought to the space and consideration given to the interior design. Another reason for their ambiance of luxury is because they were once not as common in most homes. Fortunately, classy recessed lighting can be yours, even if you’re on a reasonably tight budget.

Complete Light Coverage

Due to their hanging or protruding structure, traditional light fixtures are typically relegated to a central point in a room with the goal illuminating the entire space. Recessed lighting, on the other hand, doesn’t occupy any headspace, which allows for multiple ceiling fixtures to be installed within a single room. Having numerous lights means total room lighting covered without any dark corners.

Let Perry Hood Properties Help You Decide

Designing your dream home in Northeastern Oklahoma has never been easier than it is with help from Perry Hood Properties. Our home construction professionals can help you design and build a house you’ll be thrilled to call “home” for years to come.

Learn more about Perry Hood Homes today.

(3.5-min read)

Wood flooring is all the rage these days and for a good reason. Wood floors give a traditionally handsome look to any space while allowing for sleek modernity that many crave. However, when trying to decide whether to go for traditional solid wood, engineered wood, or entirely artificial “wood,” there are many good reasons for each and many more options. Let’s take a look at some of the options and the preferred choice depending on the room or scenario.

Solid Wood Flooring: When to Go Real

There’s nothing quite like the look and feel of a genuine solid wood floor. What do we mean by “solid” wood? This means that the wood pieces are each one piece of solid hardwood — no filler woods or any other funny business. These are what you’ll usually find in older houses that give it that charm of yesterday. While the most handsome of the floors, they are typically the most expensive as well as temperamental. Solid hardwood floors require installation on a plywood subfloor, making the height of baseboards, connecting rooms, and swinging door heights a potential issue. Connecting tile floors or carpeted areas may not sit flush with this heightened floor. Still, solid wood is among the most aesthetically pleasing of all of the hardwoods when installed correctly and without issue. They can be re-sanded and re-finished over the years to keep them looking great for generations.

Engineered Wood Flooring: Meeting in the Middle

Many claim that there’s no comparison to a solid wood floor. Despite this, engineered wood floors are right on their heels in terms of aesthetics while blowing them out of the water in terms of maintenance. Engineered wood floors come in lengths with a top layer of hardwood sitting on top of plywood support. This plywood support almost acts as a built-in subfloor, allowing for a dramatically more straightforward installation process. These panels are also much less resistant to water damage thanks to a coating applied during the engineering and manufacturing process. Building a new home? Engineered wood flooring is probably the most popular wood flooring choice for new home construction due to its low maintenance, ease of installation, and increased resilience against water damage. This style of wood flooring comes in a range of sizes and styles.

Artificial Wood Flooring: Completely Fake

There are instances when one would like the look of wood flooring, but either maintenance or cost simply won’t allow it. For these occasions, artificial wood flooring is an easy solution. Artificial wood flooring contains no actual wood, only either an image of wood grain or a grain-like pattern on another form of flooring — typically vinyl, ceramic, or porcelain tiles. These styles are especially popular in areas of the home that have a higher likelihood of getting wet such as entryways, kitchens, bathrooms, or basements. Some even use porcelain wood-like flooring outside due to it being nearly impervious to water.

Still not sure? Let us help.
If you’re building a house, but can’t decide on materials for different sections, the Tulsa-based home construction experts from Perry Hood Properties can help.

Learn more about Perry Hood Properties.

(4-min read)

The internet is full of people who claim a professional knack for design, an eye for color, and the ability to create a space that is beautiful as well as functional. With these many choices available, it pays to not be too hasty in deciding upon a designer or architect to design the flow and function of your home. Let’s take a look at a few attributes of genuinely great designers who can take your ideas from good to stunning.

1. They’re Really Listen

Even though they are the designer, you are simultaneously the director and the muse of your home. To be able to create a space that excites you as well as makes you feel calm and at home, any designer worth their salt will hang on your every word during consultative sessions. Don’t be put off if they ask you to elaborate on a point in your input — they’re genuinely trying to understand the feelings you want to experience in certain sections. If they don’t ask many questions or act as though they know what is best for you before listening, this may be a sign that you’re about to be presented with an unoriginal idea that does not match your space via an amateur designer.

2. They Work With Larger Concepts and Themes

The sign of a good designer is the ability to pair and blend colors, build out the function of a space, and work with existing elements. The sign of a truly great designer is the ability to make a space exude a specific ambiance. Like a terrific piece of music that captures your emotions without you being able to put your finger on precisely why it moves you, so too should your designer be able to orchestrate the attributes that resonate with you within a space.

3. They Value Simplicity

Any designer can cram endless amounts of accessories, furniture, and changes into a room until they feel that it is right. A professional designer will have a honed eye for what, when removed, will enhance the space. In many instances, less is more, and having a designer that understands this will not only save you time and energy, but also money in the long run.

4. They Lean into Consistency

Like an art gallery, pieces are usually curated with a common theme in mind as a means of providing seamless flow and order to the viewer’s experience. The theme of your home should also reflect the consistent nature of your taste. When a designer fails to tap into your essence or simply fails to listen to your input correctly, the flow of your home will suffer. A true professional doesn’t rely on the aesthetic appeal and function of one space, but instead understands how different areas of the home play off one another. They will be able to weave the tapestry that is your home rather than awkwardly assembling ill-fitting quilt patches. The result will be a fluid design that you will relish for years to come.

5. They Won’t Fear Risks

Professional designers understand that they’re not usually hired by people who simply want to “play it safe.” If that were the case, most of their designs would be relatively benign and boring. Instead, a designer confident in their abilities will likely present a few ideas that may seem overly abstract or over the top. While some may use these ideas to gauge your comfort level with specific themes, colors, or concepts, you should keep an open mind, so you don’t miss an excellent opportunity to take your design from good to great. Some ideas will be ultimately out in left field, but the right risky idea may be a home run.

Let Us Help
Tulsa-based Perry Hood Properties has worked with all sorts of people with all different tastes to help them build the custom home of their dreams. We invite you to learn more about our process and get started designing your ideal home today.

Learn more about Perry Hood Properties today.

(4.5-min read)

Storage has become a growing pain for most people these days. Even as home sizes increase, the mini-storage industry booming, and even massive decluttering efforts, most of us are still struggling to keep up with our need to find places for our stuff. Free-standing cabinets and shelves are one option, but one may find these too cluttering up their homes. A possible solution? Built-in storage options. In this piece, we’ll look at a few of the advantages and disadvantages of built-ins in your home. 

What Exactly are “Built-Ins”?

What are commonly referred to as “built-ins” by realtors and interior designers alike are any “built-in” interior features of a home whose purpose can be replicated by movable pieces of furniture. Built-ins range from china cabinets embedded in walls, permanent kitchen pantry shelving, floating shelves, or elaborate bookshelf systems permanent built into livingroom or study walls. 

Pros of Built-Ins

Built-ins Free Up Space

One of the main selling features of built-ins is that they free up a tremendous amount of living space. They typically do this thanks to their ability to be embedded in walls and corners — freeing up square footage for other uses or to make a room feel larger. Some adaptable built-ins can also increase the versatility of a space — a closet-mounted desk in a guest bedroom that turns the room into an office, etc. 

Built-ins are Visually Appealing

Because built-ins are designed to complement a space, their form and function will likely ideally match the room where implemented. Most professionally designed and installed built-ins will make a space look immensely tidy and efficient. For this reason, many like to use built-in shelving to display collections such as books, art, and conversation-starting items. 

Built-ins are Utilitarian

Many built-ins make efficient use of what was presumed to be unusable space. Whether it’s a corner cabinet, elaborate storage shelving under a staircase, storage inside of window-seat benches, or a wall-mounted desk in a tight spot, built-ins can help add immense function to every square foot of your home. 

Built-Ins = Less Furniture

Moving furniture around is a pain. Between the hassle of deciding where furniture best fits or potentially scratching floors and walls while moving it, having too many pieces of furniture can be quite a hassle. Built-ins furniture means less work moving and maintaining furniture. 

Cons of Built-Ins

Built-ins Limit a Room’s Use

Though a built-in bookshelf across the back wall of your livingroom may seem ideal to you, to someone else, they may prefer to flip the layout of the entire space. Not every occupant of a home may have the same ideas about their use, making built-ins more of a hassle than a convenience. 

Built-ins are Expensive

If you want to install built-ins in your home, the cost to hire a specialist to build and install them can be far higher than buying pre-made furniture. The price goes beyond merely the fabrication of the units themselves, also including the cost of possibly removing sections of the wall and installing parts in a way that looks neat and professional. 

Built-ins Can Hurt the Resell Value

One of the keys to selling a house is getting a potential buyer to imagine themselves living in the space (one of the reasons why so many houses are painted in neutral colors when on the market). If someone else’s ideas for the home’s use don’t quite match that of the designer of the built-ins, this can cause them to feel that the home isn’t quite “the one.” On the other hand, the right built-ins can have the reverse effect, and almost singlehandedly sell a house. Still, this largely depends on the buyer’s attitude towards the built-ins or built-ins in general. 

Conclusion: 

When deciding either upon installing built-ins in new home construction or an existing home, consider how someone else may use these built-ins. If you’re planning on moving one day, limiting the permanence of the built-ins may be beneficial when it comes time to sell the home. If you have no plans to move anytime soon, your home is your oyster. 

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Love built-ins? Hate them? It’s your call! Tulsa-based Perry Hood Properties can help you design and build the home of your dreams. 

Learn more about Perry Hood Properties today. 

(3.5-min read)

Classically handsome and built to last, stucco has been a popular home building material for thousands of years. Despite this, there are a handful of unknown facts about stucco that are worth investigating before investing in either a previously existing stucco home, a stucco remodel for an existing home, or stucco for new home construction. 

What Exactly is Stucco? 

Traditional stucco went beyond a siding material — acting as more of a structural component to homes as far back as ancient antiquity. Most stucco materials available today are primarily intended for a certain aesthetic appeal while still protecting the exterior of homes. Today’s stucco is largely comprised of lime, silica (sand), and cement that is applied in layers over exterior wood or metal lath to ensure structural integrity. These layers form a protective concrete coating around a home, but also provides an appealing rustic look. 

The Pros of Stucco Siding

Stucco Application is Pretty Quick

One would think that stucco installation/application would take time, but due to its layered application process, professional stucco application may only take one to two days. 

Stucco is Immensely Versatile

Because it is essentially an applied mixture, the look and feel of stucco can vary depending on the homeowner’s preferences. The texture of the stucco can be manipulated to give a more rustic look or a smooth, almost polished look. Coloring is done by tinting the mixture itself, meaning that even as the material wears over the years, the color will largely remain consistent. Also, being a mixed material means that it can provide a custom fit to any home without measuring or potentially wasted materials. 

Stucco Provides Contrast

Because stucco is such a unique look, the material automatically provides contrast to every non-stucco part of the exterior of a home. Unique trim, fixtures, and windows will tend to visually pop out from the stucco’s less busy, more benign look from a distance. 

Stucco Provides a Strong, Insulated Shell

Mostly being an added layer of concrete to a home, stucco provides exceptional insulation from the summer heat — one of the reasons why stucco is so prevalent in hotter, desert climates. The low maintenance of the material will also save you time and money over the life of the material.

The Cons of Stucco

Stucco is More Expensive

When compared with its siding competitors, stucco tends to be the more extensive siding material. This price hike will primarily be for labor for installation due to the process being fairly hard work. 

Stucco Isn’t Fond of Moisture

As mentioned earlier, stucco is a preferred material for desert climates, but one of the reasons why it may be a rare sight in rainier climates is due to its weakness in the realm of moisture management. 

Stucco Isn’t Flexible

Many different materials can withstand slightly shifting ground conditions and come out relatively unscathed — stucco doesn’t seem to be one of them. Places prone to shifting soil or earthquakes can wreak havoc on stucco material, resulting in large cracks that may compromise the structural integrity of the siding. 

Stucco is a Pain to Remove

If you decide to remove stucco from your home, you’re in for a long, arduous process. Though there’s nothing particularly complicated about stucco removal, it requires a tremendous amount of elbow grease and time to do so correctly.

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Whether you’re considering stucco siding for your new home or have questions about new home building, feel free to consult the professionals at Perry Hood Properties.

Learn more about Perry Hood Properties Today

(2.5-min read)

If you’ve surfed Pinterest or visited a new house within the past two years, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered the ever-trendy wall-mounted sliding barn door. Though sliding barn doors installed within a home give it a touch of utilitarian chic, some of us are wondering if we’re going to look back at this trend 20 years from now and wonder, “What the heck were we thinking?” Let’s take a look at some of the upsides and downsides of installing wall-mounted sliding barn doors in your home. 

Sliding Barn Door Benefits

Space-Saving Design

There is a particular benefit to having a door that doesn’t require a sweep-path for its opening. For smaller homes, sliding barn door means more of the space can be utilized. In particular apartments and tiny houses, sliding doors may be the only viable option for closing off a space.

Intriguing Look

Sliding barn doors have a slightly rugged-yet-chic aesthetic about them that is currently still popular. This visual appeal also modernizes dated spaces. This makes them extremely popular among house flippers who are looking to make their properties feel as new and modern as possible. 

Slide Barn Door Drawbacks

Slide-Path Limitations

For as space-saving as wall-mounted barn doors seem to be, the slide path (where the door hangs when it is not closing off a room) needs to be free of all light switches and electric outlets. No wall hangings can be present on the wall that doubles as a slide path. 

Privacy Issues

Most doors provide a level of privacy for a room. You could likely have a low-toned conversation in a closed room without worrying about disturbing people in nearby places or being overheard. Wall-mounted barn doors don’t provide as much privacy due to a slight gap between the door frame the door itself. It is essentially like having the door cracked at all times.

Potentially Dated Look

While we have no crystal ball, we know there will come a time when wall-mounted barn doors may date a space. The doors are still fashionable and trendy, but there’s no guarantee that they won’t end up as the wood paneling and shag carpet of the future. That being said, none of us can guarantee what the future of interior design will deem timeless or dated. 

Traditional doors, sliding doors, no doors — the options for customizations in your new custom home from Perry Hood Properties are virtually limitless. 

Learn more about the custom home construction professionals at Perry Hood Properties today.  

(3-min read)

Even though carpet is falling out of style to hardwoods or laminates, it is still a common flooring choice. Let’s take a look at some helpful bits of information to have before you go buy carpet. 

1. Don’t buy the highest quality. 

It sounds counterintuitive, but if you’re buying the highest quality carpet, it is likely the most expensive carpet. Will it last? Absolutely, but the issue is that it will probably go out of style before it wears out. You’ll likely want to change it out before it wears out because it will be badly dated. If you buy a carpet whose quality is going to age as fast as its style, you’ll be spending your money more wisely. 

2. Looking up close or outside is useless. 

When you’re shopping for carpet, there’s no sense in either looking at the details intensely up close or in natural light. Your carpet will be mostly illuminated by artificial light, which will ultimately change its color. Unless you love to lay on the floor, you probably won’t see your carpet up close after it is installed. The best way to get a feel for the color and look of carpet is by leaving a sample on the floor in your house and seeing how it looks from a distance. 

3. Don’t skimp on the padding. 

The padding is not only one of the most significant indicators of carpet comfort, but it is also one of the cheapest aspects of the carpeting experience. If you’re already saving money by buying a medium quality fashionable carpet, you can likely afford to splurge on the padding just a little bit more. Your feet will thank you later. 

4. The claim of “invisible seams” is oversold. 

Many carpet installation companies will guarantee installation with invisible seams. They will claim that their techniques will remove the appearance of seams no matter what. Well, there’s no real way to guarantee this until the contractor visits the installation site. Any carpet installation professional worth they salt will do their best to hide the seams in your carpet but know that there’s no guarantee of invisible seams — especially as the carpet ages. 

5. Save money by doing some work yourself. 

Much of the carpet installation process requires the careful work of a professional, but some of it doesn’t. If you pay someone else to rip out the old carpet or to move the furniture in the room, you may be paying a highly-skilled professional to do what you or another family member can do. Pulling out old carpet isn’t a complicated process and moving furniture requires a good back. 

6. Buy local. You’ll likely get better deals and service. 

When shopping for carpet, start with the smaller independent carpet stores. You will notice that they are much more eager to earn your business. In addition to increased price negotiating power than a chain store will have, you will also likely receive better service. They want you to be happy with your experience so you will return to them or recommend them to your friends. 

Instead of getting new carpet, have you ever considered a new house? If so, the custom home construction professionals from Perry Hood Properties can help. 

Learn more about the custom home building service of Perry Hood Properties.