Summary

975 informants representative of the working-class housewives of England, Scotland and Wales were questioned about their present use and future requirements of room-carpets and stair-carpet, and measurements were made of the approximate length and breadth of the rooms in the home. All types of stair-covering (on the first flight of stairs) were recorded, together with the state of repair of the uppermost covering.

It is concluded:-

(a) Approximately 50% of working-class households have no floor carpeted.

(b) Approximately 30% of working-class households have a carpeted floor in one room only.

(c) Approximately 10% of working-class households have carpeted floors in two rooms only.

(d) Approximately 85% of working-class households have a first flight of stairs, and this percentage consists of 46% of carpeted stairs and 39% of uncarpeted (though not necessarily uncovered) stairs.

(e) About 42% of the housewives said they would be willing to pay £4 - £7 a room-carpet, 28% were willing to pay £8.11s., and only 17% and 13% respectively were willing to pay more than £11 and less than £4 , About 51% of the housewives said they were willing to pay about £2 - £3 a stair-carpet, 23% were willing to pay £4 - £5 and only 18% and 8% respectively were willing to pay less than about £2 and more than about £5.

(f) Approximately 80% of the housewives said they would buy room-carpet(s) within the next 12 months if they were available at a suitable price, and approximately 76% said they would buy stair-carpet(s) within the next 12 months if they were available at a suitable price.

(g) Approximately 57% of the housewives say they are in need of at least one room-carpet. About half the carpets are required for living-rooms, and about 46% for bed or bed-sitting rooms.

(h) Approximately 42% of the housewives say they are in need of at least one stair-carpet.

(i) Approximately 30% of the housewives said they would prefer to buy their room-carpets on the hire-purchase system, and approximately 60% said they would prefer to buy them outright.

The figures for stair-carpets were 29% hire-purchase, 55% outright.

It cannot be assumed that housewives will actually carry out their stated intentions of buying carpets. Amongst other factors this will depend on the extent to which furnishing intentions are quite definite and the means of financing the expenditure which they have in mind.