Dear James: The carpeting in our living room needs to be replaced. I know how to evaluate and select the carpeting, but what is the best padding type and thickness?—Sheryl T.
Dear Sheryl: Installing the proper type of carpet padding (called cushions professionally) is as important to the comfort and life of the carpet as the carpet itself. Intuitively it seems like thicker padding is better, but that is not always the case.
It is not surprising that the padding selection is confusing because many of the carpeting ads highlight the thickness of the padding as an indication of value. In addition to the thickness, the padding material itself is important, perhaps even more so….