Anyone have any experiences with the major carpeting/flooring companies, like Empire or Home Depot?

Just wondering if it's even worth it to call them to come out and give an estimate or are their advertised "deals" attached with a bunch of fine print and fees?
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I'm not sure how their prices/quality of carpet compares but I seem with like $99 whole house installation fee (doesn't include removal of old carpet, padding & tack strips)

I'd look into it just for comparison's sake as long as the estimate is free
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From everything I read (haven't been able to get to a store, I'm traveling on business at the moment), Home Depot and Lowes both charge for their measuring and consultation (HD is $35, Lowes does not post a price).

Empire says free estimates, so I will probably give them a call.

I didn't want to start calling these places if there are a bunch of people who have had bad experiences or shoddy installation with any of them.

I really want to change the color/type of carpet in just a couple of rooms, and trying to make this happen within a couple of weeks.
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They all sub out their installation to local guys...they all do it, even the local carpet stores (same with their hardwood).
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I got a whole level of one of my rental houses done this summer. After researching the prices no one could beat Home Depot. The company they used for insulation was very quick and efficient. The $35 fee for measuring goes for the purchase price so its really no lost money unless you choose to not go with them. The $99 installation fee covered everything including transitions and tack strips. They even left the larger pieces for rugs or whatever. I rented a dumpster for the removal of all the old carpet and padding, it was about $300 and I did it myself and had the whole house sans carpet when the installers measured and installed. From the ordering of the measurement to installation was about 4 days. :-)
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Both times I have purchased carpets for my home I did look at Home Depot and Lowes - but decided to purchase from a regular carpet store.

Reason(s) - Quality of the carpets, pads and technical knowledge of the sales people.

These two items are more important to me than saving a few bucks on the installation fee. I prefer a carpet and padding that are going to last. Carpets need to be selected based on usage: traffic, pets, kids, etc.

And the store I choose didn't charge to come out and measure.


Ron
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