Carpet is the ideal soft flooring solution for any home, office or recreational room. It allows you to cover entire rooms – from wall to wall. The result is a comfort level that embraces you as you walk across the room in cushioned comfort. Carpeting is a very popular choice for bedrooms, living rooms, hallways, as runner and throughout other cozy home spaces like closets, offices, and loft spaces. It offers unlimited options ranging from distinct styles and pile heights not available with common hard surface flooring solutions.
Carpet Types
As you decide what carpet is best in your room, you must choose which pile height is best.
Cut Pile is a special type of strand that features a sheared strand. This is the part at the end of the strand where the fiber’s ends are exposed. It’s the most popular type of carpet and comes in a variety of lengths and thicknesses. When selecting a cut pile, be sure to look at the twist, the part where several strands are twisted together to form the final strand. Usually the tighter and heavier the twist, the more resilient and durable the face of matting and crushing will be including texture. Frieze is a style of cut pile that gives the carpet a luxurious feel along with a style that’s less formal.
Loop Pile, in contrast, refers to carpet that’s created in a more continuous strand. The loop pile can be found used in a similar pattern or contain a textured finish made using loops of various heights. This gives the construction the ability to have a pattern added or texture to the carpet. The random or sequenced loop design creates textures or patterns throughout the flooring and gives the carpet itself extra durability. Tighter, more heavily twisted loops are used for optimal resistance to crushing. While the looped pile created multiple option for appearance and durability, they are also more prone to pulled loops which can lead to runs in the carpet.
There is also a combination called a Cut & Loop Pile, which provides sculptured effects such as squares or swirls in the carpet surface that when combined produce additional patterns. While these three distinct types vary in appearance and comfort, they often come down to the owner’s preference to style.
Carpet Styles
Each type of carpet can be further divided into several different styles.
Some styles of cut pile include:
Saxony – The iconic style of long, plush pile with extra twist in each fiber. This is the style that comes to mind for most people when they think of carpet
Plush – Shorter pile than Saxony, with a soft, velvety appearance. It also can more easily display tracking from footprints and vacuuming
Frieze – Also known as shag, with a less formal appearance. It provides a more luxurious feel and style to a room.
Some types of loop pile include:
Level loop – A simple, repeated loop for a uniform carpet surface. It doesn’t show footprints and it often ideal for offices and rooms with high traffic.
Sisal – A textured loop, made in straight rows. It comes in a variety of patterns and textures.
Berber – Often characterized by chunky loops, originally popularized in commercial settings. The name originates from the style of weaving done by the Berber tribes of North Africa.
Carpet Padding
Choosing the right carpet padding is just as important as selecting your carpet! A fuller pad will also prolong the life of the carpet and should be considered when selecting carpet.
While carpet padding is not a necessity. It is, however, an important investment to help protect your carpet and extend its lifespan. An unseen addition installed beneath your carpet, padding serves to add extra cushion to your floors while minimizing noise and maximizing insulation. It’s the backing to your carpet a person often notices when there isn’t adequate carpet padding underneath.
Carpet padding options from Shaw range in cushion, comfort and protection. One of our flooring specialists will help you find the right balance of features for your budget.
