How to Choose Carpet

Carpet selection starts with one decision that matters more than color or style: fiber type. Match the fiber to how hard the room gets used, then work down to pile style, padding, and how it goes on the floor. Get the fiber wrong and no amount of plush showroom feel will save a high-traffic hallway. Get it right and the carpet earns its keep for years.

For broader project planning, explore WBC’s building materials resources.

This guide walks through the choices a homeowner or contractor faces — fiber, pile quality, padding, rolls versus tiles, and how the material goes down.

Fiber Comes First

Fiber drives durability, stain resistance, softness, and cost. Pick based on traffic.

Nylon is the workhorse. Most durable and resilient of the synthetics, it’s the right call for stairs, hallways, and family rooms that see daily punishment. It’s also the most common fiber sold and lasts well in residential use.

Polyester (PET) trades resilience for softness and built-in stain resistance. It works in bedrooms and lower-traffic spaces where the foot count stays modest, but it’ll mat down faster than nylon under heavy use.

Triexta (you’ll see it as SmartStrand) carries permanent stain resistance built into the fiber, with resilience that lands close to nylon. That combination makes it a strong pick for households with kids and pets.

Olefin (polypropylene) resists moisture and fading. That moisture resistance matters in Montana basements — concrete subfloors and seasonal damp are a reality across the region, and synthetic fibers handle that environment far better than natural ones. Level loop olefin with a moisture-barrier backing is the practical basement choice.

Wool is the premium natural fiber. It looks and performs beautifully, but keep it out of damp environments. A wet basement is no place for wool.

Fiber	Best For	Notes
Nylon	High-traffic: stairs, halls, family rooms	Most durable and resilient; most common fiber sold
Polyester (PET)	Bedrooms, low-traffic	Soft, inherently stain-resistant, lower resilience
Triexta	Kids and pets	Permanent built-in stain resistance, resilience near nylon
Olefin	Basements, low-traffic	Moisture- and fade-resistant
Wool	Premium spaces, dry rooms	Natural fiber; avoid damp environments

Pile, Padding, and the Specs That Actually Matter

Don’t judge carpet by how it feels under your hand in the showroom. Judge it by the numbers.

Cut pile covers plush, Saxony, textured, and frieze. Loop pile covers Berber and level loop. There’s also cut-and-loop, which mixes both. Here’s the practical part: frieze and loop styles hide footprints and resist matting in busy rooms, while plush and Saxony show every footprint and vacuum track. For a high-traffic space, lean toward frieze or loop.

Quality lives in three specs:

Spec	Good	Better	Best
Face weight (oz)	30–40	40–50	50+
Density rating	2,000–3,000	—	3,000+
Twist level	—	—	5+ twists per inch

Higher density and a tight twist beat surface softness every time. A dense, tightly twisted carpet holds its shape; a loose one mats down no matter how plush it feels in the store.

Padding is not an afterthought. It affects comfort, noise, lifespan, and — this is the one people miss — warranty compliance. Most carpet warranties spell out a required pad density and thickness. Use the wrong pad and you can void the warranty.

• 7/16-inch rebond foam is the standard for residential rooms
• Berber and loop carpets need a firmer pad, 1/4 to 3/8-inch
• Rebond density runs 6–8 lb/ft³; flat rubber at 15–22 lb/ft³ handles commercial and high-traffic work

One more reason padding matters in this climate: stretch-in carpet over a separate cushion adds thermal insulation. Stretch-in installation can increase thermal insulation (R-value) and provide enhanced underfoot comfort and acoustical properties when installed with a separate cushion. In a Montana winter, that added R-value underfoot is worth something.

Broadloom vs. Tile, and Getting It Installed Right

Broadloom is the roll goods — wall-to-wall coverage. It comes in 12 or 15-foot widths, so any room wider than that needs seam planning. Order roughly 10% extra for waste and future repairs. Lay out seams away from high-traffic paths and doorways.

Carpet tiles are the DIY-friendly route. When one section gets stained or worn, you pull it and drop in a replacement instead of redoing the whole floor.

The industry installation standards are CRI 105 for residential and CRI 104 for commercial work. The residential standard covers three methods: stretch-in, direct glue-down, and double glue-down.

Stretch-in earns its place in most homes. It provides enhanced underfoot comfort and acoustics with a separate cushion, increases thermal insulation, works over floors unsuitable for glue-down, makes seam repair easier, and simplifies removal. But it’s the wrong method in a few spots. Avoid stretch-in on ramps and inclines, where heavy rolling traffic is likely, where there’s excessive humidity, or with backing systems designed only for glue-down.

Environment matters before the carpet ever goes down. Set room temperatures between 65 and 95 degrees for 48 hours prior to installation, and provide ventilation during and 48 to 72 hours after. Over a concrete subfloor — the norm in basements here — confirm concrete moisture and alkali conditions, cleanliness, surface quality, and floor levelness before anything gets laid.

Stairs and multi-room jobs are where DIY gets risky. Proper power stretching, clean seams, and warranty compliance call for trained hands. The CRI requires professionally trained and qualified floor covering installers for commercial installations. The same logic protects a residential warranty: failure to follow the minimum installation standard can result in an installation-related failure.

Western Building Center carries the trim and accessory pieces these jobs need — binder bars and seam binders in pewter, brass, and silver finishes, hardwood and oak transitions, stairnose for stair edges, concrete tackstrip for laying over slab, double-sided carpet tape, and surface protection liners to shield finished floors during the rest of the build.

What Goes Into the Job

The single most common buyer mistake is looking only at the carpet itself and stopping there. The sample on the rack doesn’t account for the pad, the labor, or hauling out the old floor.

The full job has four parts: the carpet material, the padding underneath, the labor to install it, and the removal of the old carpet. Each adds to the total, and skipping any one of them in your planning leaves you short.

Stairs eat time and skill — they’re the most labor-intensive part of a multi-room job. Doing it yourself saves on labor, but a botched stretch buckles within a year and can void the warranty. Weigh that saving against the cost of doing it twice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What carpet fiber is best for a basement? Olefin (polypropylene) is the practical basement choice because it resists moisture and fading. A level loop construction with a moisture-barrier backing handles a concrete subfloor and seasonal damp far better than other fibers. Keep wool out of any damp space.

How do I judge carpet quality without trusting the showroom feel? Look at the specs, not the softness. Face weight of 50+ oz, density of 3,000 or higher, and a twist level of 5 or more twists per inch mark a carpet built to hold its shape. A dense, tightly twisted carpet resists matting; a loose one breaks down regardless of how plush it feels.

Does the padding really affect my warranty? Yes. Most carpet warranties require a specific pad density and thickness, and using the wrong pad can void coverage. Standard residential rooms use 7/16-inch rebond foam, while Berber and loop carpets need a firmer 1/4 to 3/8-inch pad.

Should I install carpet myself or hire it out? Carpet tiles are genuinely DIY-friendly and let you swap damaged sections. Broadloom over stairs or across multiple rooms is another matter — proper power stretching, clean seams, and warranty compliance favor a trained installer. A poor stretch buckles and can void the warranty.

How much extra broadloom should I order? Plan for about 10% over your measured square footage to cover waste and keep matching material on hand for future repairs. Broadloom’s 12 or 15-foot widths mean wider rooms need careful seam placement, kept away from doorways and traffic lanes.

What room conditions do I need before installation day? Set the room temperature between 65 and 95 degrees for 48 hours before the install, and keep it ventilated during the work and for 48 to 72 hours after. Over concrete, verify moisture, alkalinity, cleanliness, and that the floor is level before laying anything down.