Decorating Tips

Before you begin shopping for flooring, it’s best to be prepared. The following information will help you understand the many flooring issues of which you should be aware of before you step foot into a store or talk with a sales professional.

Terms to Know Before You Shop for Carpet

Have you ever left your dentist’s office totally confused by what he has told you, or stared at your auto mechanic pretending to understand his explanations, but having no idea of what he is talking about? Every industry has its own lingo, and the carpet industry is no exception. When you shop for carpeting, you may encounter some confusing new terms relating to the carpet itself, or its installation and maintenance. If you have a general understanding of these terms, you will be better able to make the best selection, avoid confusion, and present yourself as a knowledgeable consumer. So here is a brief listing of carpeting terms that will make you a smart carpet shopper.

• Backing is the fabrics or yarns that make up the underside of back of the carpet, as opposed to the carpet pile, or "face," of the carpet. In tufted carpets, there is a primary backing into which the carpet yarn is inserted by tufting needles, and a seconding backing which is a fabric laminated to the carpet to give it additional strength and stability. In woven carpet, the backing is the "construction yarns" which are interwoven with the face yarns.

• Binding is a band or strip sewn over the edge of a carpet to protect, strengthen or decorate the edge.

• Berber is a style of carpet constructed with sturdy, coarse yarns speckled with random flecks of color. This term, drawn from the beautiful rugs made by the Berber tribes of North Africa, is sometimes used to describe any multi-level carpet.

• Broadloom refers to carpets manufactured in widths greater than six feet. Most broadloom carpets are manufactured in twelve foot widths.

• Carpet Cushion describes any material placed under the carpet to provide softness and support when it is walked on. The carpet cushion also protects the carpet back from extensive wear, and provides additional insulation. In some cases, the cushion is attached to the carpet when it is manufactured. It is sometimes referred to as the carpet "padding" or "underlay."

• Cut Pile carpets have a surface where the pile yarns are cut or sheared.

• Cut and Loop Pile carpets combine cut yarns and looped yarns.

• Filament is a single, continuous strand of natural or synthetic carpet fiber

• Loop Pile carpets have a pile surface consisting of uncut loops, either woven or tufted, with both ends of the carpet yarn anchored to the carpet back.

• Pile Crush refers to the loss of thickness in carpet pile or the blending of tufts caused by traffic or heavy furniture. This may be irreversible if the carpet yarn has inadequate resilience; frequent vacuuming will lift the pile for longer life.

• Pilling is a condition where carpet fibers from different tufts become entangled with one another, forming hard masses or knots of fibers. Pills can be cut off,

• Power Stretcher is a carpet installation tool used to stretch carpet for installation on a tackless strip. It is the industry standard to use a power stretcher to install residential carpet over a cushion with tackless strip to prevent wrinkles and ripples. Carpet installed by a power stretcher is said to be "stretched in."

• Resilience is the ability of carpet pile or cushion to return to its original appearance and thickness after being subjected to compression or traffic.

• Seam is the line formed by joining the edge of two carpet pieces by the use of various seaming tapes, hand sewing or other techniques.

• Shedding is the appearance on the carpet surface of loose fiber fragments left during manufacturing. Also called "fluffing" and "fuzzing," shedding is not a defect and disappears after carpet use and vacuuming.

• Tackless Strip is a wood or metal strip fasted to the floor near the walls of a room containing two or three rows of angled pins on which the carpet backing is stretched and secured in a stretch-in installation.