Old Shipyard Terraces and New Riverside Flats in Rowhedge

Usually, but it is worth checking first. What matters is where a vehicle can stop, how the entrance works, which floor you are on and whether there is a lift. Say all of that when you enquire and Louis will tell you whether it can be done as it stands, rather than turning up and finding out that it cannot.

It can lengthen it. Rooms near the water hold more moisture in the air, so a closed up room gives its moisture back more slowly than an airy one does. That is a planning point rather than a problem. You will be told what ventilation helps and given a realistic idea of when furniture can go back on the floor.

Neither is harder as such, they fail differently. A village terrace concentrates its wear into narrow runs by the door and on the stairs, which is obvious but localised. A new open plan floor soils evenly across a wide area and looks flat rather than dirty, which usually means working more of the floor rather than a few strips.

Say where you are when you enquire. The equipment needs to be near enough to the property to run hoses in, and on a narrow village road that sometimes takes a little thought about where a vehicle can sit without blocking anyone else. It is a short conversation that saves a wasted visit for both of you.

That is the usual way a newer carpet goes. Soil arrives thinly and spreads across a large floor, so nothing looks like a stain and the whole thing simply loses its colour. It tends to respond well, because the soiling sits on the fibre rather than being ground into it, though the honest measure is a cleaned section next to an untouched one.

Let it dry and lift whatever comes away with a vacuum. Wet mud spreads under pressure and gets driven into the backing, which turns it into a harder job rather than an easier one. Anything left after that is completely normal and is dealt with as part of the clean, so there is no need to attack it beforehand.

Often yes, though it depends on the carpet. Clean carpet photographs better and makes a house feel as though nothing is being hidden, which matters at a viewing. What cleaning cannot do is disguise a carpet that is worn out, and Louis will say plainly if that is what you have rather than taking money for a job that will not change the outcome.

No. Cleaning a carpet before it looks filthy is easier on the carpet, because the grit that does the real damage is lifted out before it has been walked into the fibre for years. A newer pile also responds better than a tired one. The question is not how old it is, it is how much has gone into it.

They can be discussed, though the person asking needs to be the one who can authorise it, which is normally a management company or a residents group rather than an individual flat. Communal carpet takes far more footfall across a much smaller area than domestic carpet, so the approach and the timing are worked out separately.

Worth a look. A carpet that has rippled has usually come loose or moved rather than shrunk, and in many cases that can be dealt with without replacing the room. Whether it is worth doing depends on the carpet, the size of the affected area and its general condition. Send a photograph and Louis will tell you honestly what he thinks.

It depends on the carpet, the method used and how well the room can be ventilated, so no single number is printed here. You will be given a realistic figure for your own rooms before Louis leaves, along with what will speed things up. Putting heavy furniture straight back onto a damp pile is the one thing worth avoiding.

Move the small and breakable things and clear the floor of anything that lifts easily. Larger pieces are discussed on the day, because some can be worked around and some are better shifted. Nothing needs hauling about the night before, and it is worth mentioning in advance if there is anything you cannot move yourself.