Hot take: carpet padding thickness is way overhyped by sales guys

I was installing in a house in Phoenix last week and the homeowner pulled out their receipt showing they paid $1.20 per square foot for super thick 8 pound padding. They were bragging about how the salesman said it would make the carpet feel like walking on clouds. But I've been doing this 12 years and honestly that thick padding under a Berber carpet is a disaster waiting to happen. It flexes too much and causes seams to separate after a year. Found out from a Carpet and Rug Institute pdf that anything over 7/16 inch pad for cut pile carpets can actually void the warranty. The homeowner didn't believe me until I showed them the manufacturer's guidelines on my phone. Anyone else get tired of correcting bad info from showroom guys?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby_henderson361mo ago

Sales guys and their "cloud walking" claims. Tried that once. Ended up on my phone googling "can I return cloud floor.

violaramirez1mo ago

So did you actually try to return it or did they give you the whole "clouds evaporate" runaround? @vera_robinson36's point about subfloors makes me wonder if that was part of your problem too.

vera_robinson361mo ago

Roll your eyes all you want but people drop good money on this stuff and then blame the installer when their carpet ripples like the ocean. Had a guy last year swear his old 3/8 inch padding was fine and his new high loft pad was junk. Turns out his old carpet was basically a rug on concrete and the new padding was just amplifying the subfloor issues. Not saying sales guys are right, just saying it's not always the padding's fault when things go sideways.