Carpet works best in bedrooms and upstairs rooms in this climate. A tight stretch keeps it from rippling in humid weather.
Carpet in New Orleans homes now shows up mostly in bedrooms, upstairs rooms and dens, where people want something soft and quiet underfoot. On slab homes, a carpet over a damp slab can start to smell musty, so we check the slab and use a pad suited to concrete. On raised houses, carpet over an old wood floor sometimes hides heart pine that is worth refinishing instead, and we will tell you if we see it.
Humidity is hard on carpet that gets wet. A spill dries, but carpet and pad soaked by a leak or street flooding can grow mold within days and usually has to come out. For rooms on the ground floor of a flood-prone house, owners often keep carpet to the bedrooms and put vinyl plank or tile in the living areas. That choice can save a lot of tear-out after a storm.
A good install starts with a clean, flat subfloor, new tack strip and the right pad. The carpet is stretched tight with a power stretcher so it does not ripple in damp weather, and seams are placed away from doorways and heavy traffic. Stairs, transitions to hard floors and moving furniture are all listed in the written quote. Old carpet, pad and tack strip are pulled and hauled away when the quote includes it.
Carpet installation in New Orleans: common questions
Why does my carpet ripple in the summer?
Usually it was not stretched tight enough, and humidity lets it relax. Restretching with a power stretcher fixes most ripples.
Can carpet be saved after a flood?
Carpet and pad soaked by flood water usually have to be thrown out. Clean-water spills caught fast can sometimes be dried.
Is there wood under my old carpet?
In many older New Orleans homes, yes. Lift a corner in a closet to see. If there is heart pine or oak under it, refinishing may be an option.
How it works
- Free in-home estimate: Call, text or book online. We measure the rooms and check the subfloor.
- Written quote: Material, prep and price in writing.
- Prep & delivery: We plan the order of rooms, deliver material and let wood acclimate.
- Install & walk-through: Our crew installs or refinishes, cleans up and walks it with you.