Carpet

[Mister Sir Husband]

So I had my daycare space measured for carpet today, and will have installed soon. My question is what kind? They have industrial carpeting that will last forever, but doesn't come in a very wide selection and isn't very thick... or just normal carpet in a wide variety of colors and styles. Its being installed over concrete so a pad is happening either way. Any suggestions?

[Cradle2crayons]

I hate carpet but if I had to pick for a daycare it'd be commercial with a pad.

[butterfly]

Is this a home daycare or center? I would do commercial in a center and a residental carpet in my home. That way if I ever quit doing daycare, I'd have a carpet I could live with. I too like to have some hard surface for some areas of the daycare - for eating/craft area. I have 1/2 carpet and 1/2 vinyl tile in my home daycare. I love it. The carpet is in the toy/nap area only. It's so much easier to clean up that way.

Congrats on the new flooring.

[Blackcat31]

I also HATE carpet, but if I had to choose some, I'd make sure I got the kind that is looped and not shag, as well as a pattern or print that hid dirt and stains easily and above all else, I'd make sure it was scotch guarded to protect it from spills and stains.

[Mister Sir Husband]

Is this a home daycare or center? I would do commercial in a center and a residental carpet in my home. That way if I ever quit doing daycare, I'd have a carpet I could live with. I too like to have some hard surface for some areas of the daycare - for eating/craft area. I have 1/2 carpet and 1/2 vinyl tile in my home daycare. I love it. The carpet is in the toy/nap area only. It's so much easier to clean up that way.

Congrats on the new flooring.

It is a home daycare, and the area is my basement. I do have a separate area upstairs for naps, but crafts and such will be in basement. This wasn't a finished area when we bought the house, and if it wasn't for the daycare may not have ever been finished. I walled off some of it for our personal storage and such, and the remaining area is for the kids.

[Jewels]

I would look up "smart strand" carpet, thats what I have and it is guaranteed stain proof, the stuff is so nice, everything that has been on this carpet has came out, and you know what I use to clean it...bleach and water, it is carpet that you can clean with bleach, I also have it professionally cleaned 4 times per year, I've had it for 3 years and there is not 1 stain anywhere, I have it on my stairs in the living room and in my bedroom, the pad underneath is also one of the waterproof pads, in my dining room I have wood, kitchen is tile, and my playroom are those rubber tiles. but I love carpet in my comfort areas.

[daycarediva]

BERBER and something in a neutral shade.

Honestly though, I have all hardwoods, and would NOT do carpeting ever again if I had the choice. I do love my area rugs for cozy areas and to define spaces, but that's it. Today alone I had a kid dump green sand and pea gravel out of his pockets, pee, paint, and a LOT of food to clean off the floors.

[Blackcat31]

BERBER and something in a neutral shade.

Honestly though, I have all hardwoods, and would NOT do carpeting ever again if I had the choice. I do love my area rugs for cozy areas and to define spaces, but that's it. Today alone I had a kid dump green sand and pea gravel out of his pockets, pee, paint, and a LOT of food to clean off the floors.

I love area rugs....they allow you to change your color scheme or décor at anytime and if they get dirty beyond cleaning, you can just roll them up and toss them out and get new ones.... for a lot less than professional carpet cleaning.

[Patches]

If you're not dead set on the carpet, I would get laminate or hardwood flooring with area rugs. I hate carpet and would hate it even more for a daycare

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

BERBER and something in a neutral shade.

Honestly though, I have all hardwoods, and would NOT do carpeting ever again if I had the choice. I do love my area rugs for cozy areas and to define spaces, but that's it. Today alone I had a kid dump green sand and pea gravel out of his pockets, pee, paint, and a LOT of food to clean off the floors.

I have all tile in my daycare rooms and this is what I do. LOVE rugs for the centers and circle time area.

[Unregistered]

I would not get berber. When I checked for new flooring we were told berber will get caught and snag in the wheels of play cars and other toys, also snagged by pets paws.....once snagged, will continue to snag and fray.

Lowes offers Stainmaster carpet with a great warranty.

[sly red cid]

carpet

beware of berber if one loop gets pulled it can run(like stockings) with continued pulling by kids.We have green with salt and pepper color commercial grade in our toyroom.But need new flooring everywhere else and can't decide what to go with...it will not be carpet though.

[Mister Sir Husband]

If you're not dead set on the carpet, I would get laminate or hardwood flooring with area rugs. I hate carpet and would hate it even more for a daycare

Unfortunately, carpet is my only real option. The floor is currenty concrete, and mostly smooth, but being a basement isn't perfectly level. Hardwood is way out of my price range, laminate might be possible but would be kinda wavy as the floor surface does vary a bit. I'm leaning now towards a commercial grade carpet in a darker color, and then area rugs a bit softer (and in some cool colors) in a couple different spots on top. This allows me to roll up and move the smaller rugs as needed, and the commercial grade stuff can be scrubbed at will to remove any visible stains.

[Blackcat31]

Unfortunately, carpet is my only real option. The floor is currenty concrete, and mostly smooth, but being a basement isn't perfectly level. Hardwood is way out of my price range, laminate might be possible but would be kinda wavy as the floor surface does vary a bit. I'm leaning now towards a commercial grade carpet in a darker color, and then area rugs a bit softer (and in some cool colors) in a couple different spots on top. This allows me to roll up and move the smaller rugs as needed, and the commercial grade stuff can be scrubbed at will to remove any visible stains.

Have you considered using a leveling agent that would make your floor completely level?

It's super easy to use. You basically mix it up, pour it out and let it self-level and wait for it to cure. Usually overnight and viola` your floor is 100% level.

We recently built a new house and our concrete didn't turn out as level as we'd hoped in a few areas but self leveling concrete was a super inexpensive and simple fix.

We have laminate flooring (floating floor) but in all honesty, I would never do laminate again....we are switching over engineered hardwood but still floating as our house is slab on grade and the concrete is heated.

You can google videos of how people do this and it is rated a "beginners" level so it is pretty easy.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=self+leveling+concrete+for+uneven+basement+floor&view=detail&mid=1DE6CFE3A8925B60E39F1DE6CFE3A8925B60E39F&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR

[Willow]

Another vote for the smartstrand. Ours is like a short shag and is awesomely soft but incredibly durable. We still don't have a single stain on it and all sand/dirt comes up out of it leaving it looking brand new every single day.

I don't like Berber because we have pets (dogs and cats can easily snag nails in that stuff and rip them right out of their pads) and it holds sand in it like no other.

I would not get commercial carpeting even with pad if you plan to have any kids under the age of say 2 or so in your care. It's just not shock absorbant enough and imho looks far too industrial. An industrial look would definitely be a turn off for me personally.


I used to scotchguard and it's a great idea if you anticipate a bunch of messes being made on it, but we only eat and do crafts at the kitchen table, everyone washes up when they're done and I don't play the potty training game, so I haven't had it don't in awhile.