My second floor apt. in the Cute Cape Cod is vacant again since the skunky pot smokers opted to leave. I was going to get the cops eventually when I caught them smoking on the deck this summer. They have been smoking in their car and the downstairs tenants told me about it. Now the female, mother of new baby is asthmatic and should never be smoking. The grandmother, cosigner, swore up and down that grand daughter could not be the source of the skunky smell and would never allow pot smoking around her or her baby. Well, this week the grandmother told me that the former tenant spent six days in the hospital after a severe asthma attack and they could not get her breathing properly for days. I did not tell her that the downstairs had seen her smoking pot as I did not want to get them in trouble and risk someone getting revenge. Too late for that anyway. They had moved to an new apartment and they just left that after three weeks since they assume something in the new apartment gave her the asthma problem. They are now living with parents. Thank the good lord she did not have that attack in my rental as she would have blamed the downstairs people or something in my building instead of her own pot smoking.. She was making up stories about them as it was and complaining.

So the carpet is ruined after seven months. They are the second tenant to use it. The male worked at a convenience store that also sold gas. They put him outside on the gas pumps, I assume because he smelled like skunk as he did have deli experience and they were training him for inside work. The carpet has brown trails all over it where they walked around furniture. It did not clean up with the machine that the handyman ran for me. Also they cut a hole in it for some reason and patched it with a piece from the closet. I wonder if it was badly stained with something or they hid their drugs there. It's really obvious.

Went o Home Depot for an estimate. They were running a sale with free installation and removal. I chose commercial olefin berber. Estimate came back at $2,200 !! Ridiculous. I paid $1500 last time. Also there was a note that since my building is older there is probably a lead paint hazard and there were going to charge me $459. for remediation!!! I had lead testing done there by a professional with an xray gun and there is no lead paint.!! What a ripoff!

AllyM,

Yikes! Just seven months!

Thanks for the reminders why we do what we do

-No carpet in rentals

-In Home Visit to see how they live

AllyM,

Yikes! Just seven months!

Thanks for the reminders why we do what we do

-No carpet in rentals

-In Home Visit to see how they live

I am NEVER EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER GOING TO USE Home Depot FOR CARPET install again.

a decade ago - They never came . I drove to their warehouse and got the carpet their guy was suppose to install and hired my local crew for 30 pack of Budweiser and $300 to install the night before the tenant was to move in.

Their cut sheet had 12 cuts and seams - my guy did it with 3 cuts !!!!!! 2 seams

Sorry for the carpet being ruined and huge increase in price. But I have to ask...how old was it.

If it was a year old and the new tenant ruined it in just 7 months making you replace 1 1/2 year old carpet that would be a different reaction for me as opposed to....carpet was 10 years old and second tenant ruined it after 7 additional months.

My carpet story.....had one installed in 1982. Never rented to anyone with pets or kids until 2007. So at 25 years old decided to rent to someone with two old labs. They stayed for seven years and when they moved I still could have kept it but we did a rehab of the house so finally replaced it with tile.

But it lasted 32 years and was still just fine. It was good quality from the get-go but it's amazing how proper care can make a difference.

"Ooh, Ooh, that Smell.

Ally you and I am about the only 2 left on this site that still use carpet.

Dont forget nylon is tougher than olefin.

I only use 28oz low pile nylon in a darker color with a pattern (to hide stains). Same carpet as airports, banks ect.

When I first started I used carpet throughout. Today I still use carpets in the bedrooms. Tenants seem to prefer it and that's fine with me.

I buy my carpet at ProSource which is a wholesaler that sells to contractors and new home builders.They told me that the quality of the padding was more important than the quality of the carpet. Turns out they were right. I have carpet that's been in use for 11 years with children and dogs that looks as good as the day it was installed.

As for installation I have two independent flooring contractors that do the installations and they are considerably less expensive than the contractors from HD. HD's installers are 1099 contractors and both HD and the installers have to pay a percentage to HD which makes them more expensive than independent installers but not necessarily better.

Barbara, this particular carpet was purchased five years ago. I did not intend to suggest that it was only seven month old carpeting. It would have been good for a couple more years if they had stayed and not ruined it. It had a no pet tenant on it, then a tenant with a good cat, no tenant for a year due to problems with downstairs tenant and then this 7 month tenant. Being on the second floor with carpeted stairs coming up, it was in great condition with no stains or odors. It is olefin Berber which usually cleans up well. Since it had already two tenants on it I allowed a small dog with this tenant. Dog used the deck to go out and was walked also. I have had olefin berber last for double the usual carpet life with one clean tenant on it.

According to an old timer carpet cleaner, olefin Berber is the easiest to clean. I have light being/white on a second floor at another building and it has been there for 15 years now with zero problems and it looks great because they have two cats and take their shoes off and have carpet coming up the stairs. Nylon packs down.

The $459 for lead remediation was for removing the quarter round molding at the baseboard. The regular carpet guy pulls it off since it's either plastic or new molding painted with regular paint and I put it back after carpet install because of the gaps between the molding and the carpet. It's a stone covered cape and there are centipedes occasionally who would come out of the gap, plus cold air would also.

Along the same lines, I won't rent to a mechanic. Woodwork is always black right at waistish level.

try a local carpet store rather than someone like HD.

Ally,

When buying carpet at Lowes a couple of years ago, the salesman said that in order to protect the installers, I was required to pay an extra fee in advance for a lead inspection.

Carpet for upstairs.

Scott, he handed you the booklet! What a scam.

Cjoh and Nicole I am going to the small carpet store tomorrow It's kind of close to Princeton so not the cheapest but Carpet World is across Route One from it so he cuts price somewhat to compete. Owner waits on customers but he's kind of a bully. Tried to hard sell me some phony plastic tile last time so I walked.

Hopefully he won't be high or drunk, whatever he does, and I can get what I need. Other store is in bad neighborhood and third one is ten miles away.

I can't use anything upstairs that is not padded since the noise downstairs would be difficult and I don't trust people to go get area rugs and they are a tripping hazard.

I have a few rentals w/ carpet and I clean it (or stanley steamer) during re-rental. When it becomes ruined by urine, out it goes to never be seen again. It is actually the pad that gets ruined but I'm not going to pull up carpet and put the old one down over a new pad.

One tear out was extremely terrible. The carpet became one with the red rubber padding and the padding was melted to the floor. It took days with a heat gun and scraper to clean up 2 large rooms enough to then hit it w/ a sander.

NC what is the padding you use?

In upstairs apts where the downstairs complains of noise; I will sometimes provide area rugs that I find at estate sales cheap. Otherwise I prep the subfloor and have great success w/ paint n poly mixed together. I provide rubber feet for the beds to prevent scratches.