Hit 500 square feet of carpet today and it stopped me in my tracks

I was finishing up a bedroom in a house out in the suburbs and I grabbed my tape to double check the yardage. When I added it up I realized I've installed exactly 500 square feet of carpet this week alone. That number surprised me because I usually don't track my totals day to day. I just show up, lay it down, and move on to the next job. But seeing that 500 made me think about how much wear and tear I put on my knees and tools in just five days. Has anyone else ever added up their weekly square footage and been surprised at the number?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy8581mo ago

Yeah I track mine and 500 is about when my knees start reminding me to stretch.

the_james26d ago

500 square feet is a solid week for sure, but I gotta call out that you're not counting it right. Carpet comes in 12 foot wide rolls, so when you're measuring yardage you're really talking about linear feet not square feet unless you're doing a perfect rectangle. A 12x12 room is 144 square feet but that takes 12 linear feet of carpet, and you're probably wasting more than you think on cuts and seams. You might be underselling yourself if you're just adding up the room sizes and not accounting for the drop offs and waste.