Figuring out how much carpet padding you need can be tricky without some help. Are you replacing your carpet but don't know how much padding will fit your space? We are curious about this and have done plenty of research to find you the answer.
A roll of carpet padding is usually 45 feet long and 6 feet wide. Of course, you can always cut down or buy another roll to fit your floor if the padding dimensions don't work for your space.
As we begin, we will cover all things carpet padding and discuss the different kinds available. Regardless of your flooring, it is essential to choose high-quality carpet padding. With that said, let's dive right into this topic!
How Wide Is A Roll Of Carpet Padding?
In general, carpet padding will come 6 feet wide. Price-wise, you can expect to pay between $75 and $725 for good quality carpet padding.
There are also 12 and 15-foot wide carpet padding options, so if your project is bigger, this is something to look into. Typically, you can expect standard 6-foot carpet padding to cover around 270 square feet of space.
How Many Square Yards Are In A Roll Of Carpet Padding?
When it comes to a roll of carpet padding, you can expect between 20 and 40 square yards. Of course, this depends on the size and who makes your padding, but on average, you can expect around 25 square yards.
What Is A Good Weight For Carpet Padding?
If you are stuck on what weight is best for your carpet padding, consider how soft you want your carpet to feel. A good weight for carpet padding is between 6 and 8 pounds, which is industry standard.
For the most part, your carpet padding should offer comfort and durability for the long term, so we suggest splurging on a heavier option. The denser your padding is, the longer and better it will hold out.
What Is A Good Carpet Padding Thickness?
Similar to weight, it is also important your carpet padding is on the thicker side. From what we read, residential padding should be no thicker than 7/16-inch, so try to stay around there.
With that said, if you opt for a thinner, less expensive carpet material, we would not recommend your padding be more than 3/8-inch thick. If your carpet is higher-quality, that is when the 7/16-inch padding is appropriate.
How Many Rolls Of Carpet Padding Do I Need?
When it comes to how much padding you need for your carpet, make sure to allow for a 5% variance. What this means is that ideally, you should make sure the square footage of your room is 95% of the padding's square feet measurement.
An easy way to do this is to divide your room's square feet by your carpet padding's square footage.
What Is The Best Kind Of Carpet Padding?
Between the various carpet padding options available, rubber and memory foam padding tend to feel the best and last longer. With that said, these nicer materials do come at a cost and will be more than a standard rebond or bonded foam carpet padding.
On average, you can expect to pay $2 to $3 more for rubber and memory foam options but won't need to replace them as often as cheaper padding. Opting for nicer padding and choosing a mid-tier carpet is a good way to cut costs while still having your floor feel nice.
Is Carpet Padding Necessary?
Although carpet padding may seem like an unneeded expense, we find it to be very important. The primary purpose of carpet padding is to protect your floors and carpets, thus helping them last longer.
Carpet padding also helps with soundproofing your space and even helps prevent water damage. According to a study done by the Carpet Cushion Council, carpets without padding lose roughly 19% of their pile height, versus those with padding only losing 5-10%.
How Long Does Carpet Padding Last?
Usually, carpet padding will last you between ten and 20 years. With that said, if your padding is on the thinner side, it will probably need to be replaced closer to every 10 years.
This timeline might also become shorter for those renting out their property if you have a revolving number of tenants. If you plan on renting out your home often, expect to replace your carpet every 2 to 3 years and padding every 4 to 5.
Can I Install Carpet Without Padding?
If, for some reason, you don't like the sound of installing padding before your carpet, you aren't technically required to do so. Although we recommend padding, as long as your floor is smooth, you should be fine without it.
Even with super plush carpet, not installing padding can make your floor feel uncomfortable to walk on and lead to issues down the road with your carpeting.
Can You Add Padding To Existing Carpet?
When it comes to installing padding under an existing carpet, this is completely doable. As long as your carpet is in good shape, you are OK to tear it up and lay down padding underneath.
If your current carpet is more than a few years old, we would not recommend laying down padding underneath it. Doing this will only put more pressure on your padding, so it's better to replace your carpet as well.
What Is The Cheapest Carpet Padding?
Price-wise, bonded foam is one of the cheapest carpet padding options. Generally, bonded foam padding should cost around $ .50 per square foot versus rubber costing about $2.75.
Although bonded foam is cheaper than rubber or memory foam padding, it doesn't last more than 5 to 7 years on average.
Does Carpet Padding Deteriorate?
Just like regular carpet, the padding beneath it will also deteriorate as it ages. Although thicker carpet padding shouldn't deteriorate in normal circumstances, problems will arise if you wait too long to replace it.
Like we said, even fancy padding needs to be replaced every 10 to 20 years, regardless of how much you spent on it. A good rule of thumb is to replace your carpet and padding together, so you have a similar timeline to follow.
To Wrap It Up
Whether you need to replace your current carpet padding or just built your home, knowing what size to get is essential. From what we found, carpet padding usually measures 6 feet wide and 45 feet long. For a roll of carpet padding around that standard size, you can expect it to cover around 270 square feet.
Between the many padding options, rubber and memory foam takes the crown when it comes to quality. Regardless of how big or small your space is, remember to invest in high-quality carpet padding, and don't forget to replace it every 10 to 20 years.
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