The first thing that you should know is that you can purchase carpet from a number of different sources, whether it is a home improvement store such as Home Depot or a smaller store run by a family or small group of individuals. You may think that you will be able to shop around easily for different kinds of carpet and get a good deal, but this is more difficult than most people seem to realize. Many carpet stores have their own unique names for different rolls of carpet and so it will not have the same name at another store you shop at. This is called "private labeling" so if you want to do some comparison shopping, you will be hard pressed to do so.

You should purchase a different kind of carpet depending on where you plan on putting it in your house. The usual rooms that you will put carpet in are living areas and bedrooms, but never the kitchen or bathroom. Highly trafficked areas of the house like the hallway can be carpeted, but unless you purchase a durable carpet manufactured and recommended for this purpose, you are better off putting hardwood in main hallways. When asking for advice about carpet, you want to ask the manager or an older person with more experience. The younger clerks in the front will not have enough experience to be able to really help you.

You also want to look at the carpet pile and see how dense it is. Bend it and see how much of the backing is visible under the fibers. High quality carpet will not allow you to see much of it. The fibers of the carpet should also be wound tightly.

You will want to take measurements of the area that you want to put carpet in and take them to the store with you. Clerks or managers will often help you calculate how much footage you will need to get the job done and can even help you find someone to install it for you if you do not know how to do it yourself.