How Much Does It Cost to Repair Damage in a Persian Rug in NYC?
We often get emails asking us to provide costs for repairing or restoring damage in a Persian or Turkish rug. We know it can be a frustrating answer, but the truth is that the cost varies greatly from project to project. There are some broad frameworks that consumers can know ahead of time, however. First, is the cost of standard professional cleaning. For non-antique rugs (ie, rugs that are less than 100 years old) that are made of wool or cotton, the cost of standard cleaning is $6.50 per square foot. In the vast majority of cases, a standard cleaning is all that is needed to clean a fine rug. The only instances where we recommend an additional soaking (which is usually around $3 per square foot more) are times when the rug has been soiled by a pet, when the rug has not been cleaned for a decade or more and is especially dusty, when there is a strong foul odor usually caused by smoke, humidity, or pet accidents, or when there is a live moth infestation.
For repairs, the cost depends on two factors: how time intensive a project is, and how skill intensive the project is. Binding a loose fringe will always be less costly than restoring a hole in an antique rug or kilim, for instance. One project can be done in a few days; the latter may require months. The costs reflect that (or at least, they should). Some broad frameworks for the costs for repair or restoration are as follows: binding the fringe on one side of a 4x6 rug with a medium density pile can range from $200 - $280; repairing the selvage on one side of a 4x6 rug with a medium density pile can range from $150 - $350; replacing the selvage along one side of a 4x6 rug can range from $250 - $450.
Repairing more extensive damage, such as damaged fringe that needs more than binding, or repairing holes in a rug, or rebuilding fringe, can range from $100 to thousands of dollars. Much depends on the quality of the rug itself and what it is made of. A silk rug will have a very fine weaving density and therefore reknotting will take a much longer time and, similarly, will take a higher level of skill. An antique rug will pose challenges as well to a restorer: it will be harder to find yarns that can blend into the existing muted palette of the antique, and generally antique rugs are more fragile and therefore special attention must be given to preserve the rug as much as possible during the project.
Many considerations go into how much repairing or restoring a damaged Persian or Oriental rug costs. Be sure to ask questions so that you know what the cost entails. If a repair involves sewing in a patch from another rug to cover up a hole, then that "repair" should not cost anywhere near what a full restoration, including reknotting missile pile, should cost. The difference should be vast. (To be honest, we do not consider sewing in patches repairs; they are temporary fixes, and we generally recommend against them.) We always feel that more informed clients are our best customers. If a restorer is not clear about what the project entails, then we definitely recommend getting more opinions.