Appreciation post: The carpet in my childhood home was older than I thought

I was helping my parents move last month in Cincinnati, and we finally pulled up the living room carpet. Underneath, the original tack strips were still there, and the wood had these perfect, unfaded lines. My dad mentioned offhand that the carpet was installed the year they bought the house, 1987. I did the math, and that stuff was down for 36 years. It really hit me how a good install can last basically a whole lifetime. The pad was dust, but the carpet itself, a basic olefin, wasn't even that stained, just worn thin in the walking paths. The seams from the original job were still tight, no buckling at all. It made me respect the guy who put it in, whoever he was, back before I was even born. Makes you wonder, what's the oldest carpet install you've ever seen that was still holding up okay?

2 comments

2 Comments

roseb471mo ago

Wow, 36 years is a serious run for a carpet. Makes the stuff I put in my first apartment look pathetic, it was pilling after like three years. I helped my buddy demo his grandma's place and we found this wild shag situation that had to be from the 70s. It was basically a petrified moss garden by then, but you're right, the seams were still kinda there. Really makes you think about doing a job right the first time.

evan_morgan811mo ago

Tell you what, @roseb47, that old shag story is why I always tell people to spend a bit more on the pad underneath. Makes all the difference for how long the carpet itself holds up.