I used to work in IT. Indeed I used to work in IT before it was even known as IT. I got pretty good at writing code that read and processed data from large files on large tapes in the most efficient way possible. But I couldn't do it now. And even if I could - who'd care? A skill I once had, now rendered pointless by progress. Not only do we lose the knowledge we might once have had, but it's often irrelevant anyway.
In our old house we had a few new carpets fitted over the decade and a half we lived there. But the last one must have been well over ten years ago, so I've forgotten the detail of what was involved. And none of those rooms that were done posed the sort of challenge our recent flooring quest raised.
Our current flat has a small entrance vestibule, with coir matting, leading into a long, carpeted, roughly L shaped hall. A bench sat at the beginning of the carpeted section, a place for oldies like us to put on and take off footwear. After four and a bit years the section of carpet in front of the bench was looking a bit sorry for itself. So a new carpet was something we frequently discussed, but never got around to acting on.
That desire for renewal was given a real world kickstart when a mark appeared on the first leg of the 'L', and turned out not to be dirt, but water. With no sign of anything coming from above the only route to diagnosis was lifting the relevant stretch of beige, to discover an underlay holding enough water to fill the bath. It took a few weeks, but eventually the problem would be traced to a leak from next door's boiler, and in time that would get fixed, our concrete floor (which had been partially dug up as part of the investigations) was trenchless once more, and we were in a position to move on from the rough bits of old carpet I'd put down as stepping stones.
That's when the hardest bit starts - having to choose something we can both agree on. The first step was easy. It had to be something as cat-claw proof as possible. But beyond that? Just vague ideas, with no real notion of how they'd work in practice. Stripes sounded good, but how does that work in an L shape? Especially one that has an awkwardly shaped junction instead of a neat right angled corner. And it would be good to have something durable and easily cleaned, or replaced, in front of the bench (a rug wouldn't work without the cupboard doors opposite the bench having to be altered).
We thought we had a solution for the latter. Cut a well into the carpet in front of the bench, and insert a contrasting colour that could be lifted out easily. It didn't sound daft when we said it...
Einstein said "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change". I say this only to reassure myself that we, eventually, turned into intelligent carpet buyers. But to change you need information, preferably from people who know what they are talking about (a truism climate change deniers never quite seem able to grasp...). So we started visiting carpet shops, and discussing our requirements. Which is the point at which I realised how little I knew, or remembered, about a subject that appears simple enough on the surface, but, as so often in life, reveals it own little complexities the more you delve into the subject. Cut pile or loop, dense or shaggy, woven or tufted, wool or synthetic? Each have their pros and cons. Then there's traffic rates, considering where the join will be, and the perils of joining hand cut with machine cut. Not to mention wastage. Most carpets come in four and five metre widths, an L shape results in a huge unusable bit of carpet - wasteful and pricey.
OK, I could have come up with some of that through persistent Googling, but there's no substitute for talking to someone who knows their stuff - even if each new 'someone' gives a slightly different view on things. We had an estimate done, but it didn't feel right. We'd found a salesperson, not a carpet expert. But the second estimator was a different kettle of wombats, and brought his own experience into making suggestions, informing rather than following.
The result is nothing like the original vision. It's better. The ugly coir has gone, and a hard- wearing entrance matting runs from the front door to beyond the bench, with mottled carpet beyond. The only join is between the two carpets, and the substantial piece of the wastage has gone to provide new carpet for the wee guest bedroom (that's a small room, not a room for people under 5' 6"). And it works well, with a clear shoes on/shoes off divide and if the entrance area ever does need to be replaced it's only a short section that will need doing.
None of which would have happened if we hadn't taken our time and listened to the experts, people with years of experience in the field that gives them knowledge we couldn't possibly possess.
If only everyone sought out and followed advice from the relevant experts before making an important decision. If only brexshiteers had had to have a carpet fitted first...
And for those wondering...
Before...
And after...
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