I have a few rental properties built on a slabs. Been thinking about gluing down inexpensive commercial grade (very low pile but tough) carpet with a releasable adhesive instead of the usual pad, tack strips etc. I’m familiar with the stuff from years in retail store remodels. Any downside to this I’m not thinking of?
One upside is that I can install it myself.
To those who have rental properties, what’s the best type and color of flooring you’ve found?
Ian
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Replies
I've done just that for many years and it's always worked well. The lack of a pad makes it harder for tenants to tear, liquids have no place to go and it usually cleans up well. I try to use a good quality carpet as th ebottom line stuff just doesn't last. I picked up some once that was so heavy the installer told me not to call him again. It's worked out fine becasue it's been down for 15 years with no signs of wear at all. I should add that this only works on lower end rentals.
Hi Rick, The stuff we used in retail stores was about $8 to $10 / yd. I'm guessing this is low end? Do you remember what the good stuff costs? 15 years would be phenomenal, you must have good long term tenants. Have you had to replace any carpet and if so, did you use a releasable latex adhesive?
You'll appreciate this. The carpet that lasted 15 years, and is still going strong, was removed from a Jefferson Store 6 months after it was laid. I got about 1000 yards for nothing except the hauling. The installer said it would sell for $60.00 a yard, no installation and that was in 1988. That may have been an exaggeration but you could tell it was good from the weight. It was stiff and heavy. I carpeted my house with it, over pad (still there too) and gave most of the rest away because no installer wanted to mess with it. Obviously this would not be something I would buy and put in a low end rental. I now pay about $12.00 a yard installed.
Ian,
My nieghbor's family owns about 50 rental properties, and they have given up on carpeting and now rent with bare floors. This might not work with concrete slabs, but if you lay a Pergo stye laminate you shouldn't have to touch it again for a long time, except maybe with a mop.
C
C, Just looked at a house today that had Pergo type flooring on a slab. I think it's a great idea especially for living rooms and dens. I'll look into it.
Pergo in low end rentals seems like a bad idea, it is the sort of thing that requires that you be easy on it and tennants are not that, i have visions of the couch being pulled across it to clean under it and a big gouge in the laminate being left from the cheap pad on the foot ( tack sticking through) if you wanted to go solid floor i would put in an enginered oak floor, i have one in my shop and i do it no favors, it still looks good and i drag equipment across it and have spilled automotive paint/ furnature finish on it and it cleans up with a scraper and some solvent well. the finish is tough.
james
I own a couple of rental units I have installed Vinyl tiles though out. With a mixed light grey colour I find it easy to clean when a tenant moves out and the apartment with a coat of paint is fresh and ready for the next tenant. I found carpet can never get completely cleaned.
geroge
I'd go along with CW on the bare floors, especially for the lower level of rental units / tenants. I used to buy area rugs for $69.99 at Lowe's for a 9x12. Trash them between tenants. A new area rug and a couple of ceiling fans really makes a rental unit look better.
Nowadays, with a better quality home to rent, I buy very good carpet at a very, very good price directly from Dalton, Georgia where all the big mills are. Check with H.R. Poe at Beckler's, 1-800-BECKLER. I have no affiliation with this company other than many years of tremendous service and good prices. He will UPS samples to you the same day you ask for them. The freight line rate for carpet is very reasonable. My installer picks it up from the freight company. I wouldn't bother them for anything less than 100 yards, but they stock vinyl, too. If you're doing an entire house or a couple of apartments, they can include the sheet vinyl at a low per yard price and ship it all together.
I highly recommend them.
Greg.
I have a couple of friends that sold carpet. One said that olefin resists stains better than nylon. I would think upgrading to something above the bottom end would get much better wear and stain resistance, which in the long run would be better value. The sales people at a better carpet store would know a lot about what to recommend.