Carpet Information
     buying carpet
     carpet construction
     carpet fiber
     carpet pad
     carpet installation
     carpet warranties
     carpet allergies
     carpet care
Shop For Carpet
     kids' carpets
     shop for flooring
     custom carpet

Carpet Construction

Common Terms and Their Meanings

Carpet Types

Cut Pile: The fibers start off as looped, but are cut to give the look that most people think of as “plush,” “trackless,” or “textured.”

Indoor/Outdoor: A cheaper grade of looped carpet.

Level Loop Pile: The fibers are looped at equal heights.

Multi-Level Loop Pile: The fibers are also looped, but they are at two or three varying heights. The various heights can be arranged to create a pattern or be arranged in a somewhat random fashion.

Carpet Styles

Berber: Looped carpet with some variation or speckles of color. In general, larger loops will crush faster than smaller loops because of the air that is added to the fiber during production.

Frieze: This style is made by tightly twisting the fibers. This is the best wearing cut pile carpet.

Saxony: This style has more twist than a velvet, but is generally a little less dense.

Sisals: Like Berbers but have more of a woven look — sort of like a grass skirt. Most of them are made of olefin and offer long wear.

Trackless or Textured: This style is made by twisting the fibers in such a way as to hide footprints very well. Good for a more informal atmospheres and higher traffic areas.

Velvets: This style is sheared and has a very smooth, formal look. This style does not hide footprints well. The fiber has very little twist so the surface does not show individual tufts of fiber. The major difference between a velvet and a trackless is the appearance of the color. A velvet will have a very uniform looking color. A trackless (even if it is the same color as the velvet) will look like it has a random mix of light and dark fibers. This is due to the fact that the fibers are twisted to hide footprints.

Other Carpet Terms

Density: This refers to the amount of fiber that is in any given area of the face of the carpet. Carpet that is dense will wear better than carpet that is less dense. You can visually test this by folding a sample of carpet in half (so the backing of each half is touching) — then look at the fiber along the fold. A carpet that shows more of the backing will be less dense than one that reveals less of the backing.

Face Weight: This term also refers to the amount of fiber (per square yard) that is in the face of the carpet (total weight less the weight of the backing). However, this is different than density because tall, less dense tufts may have the same face weight as short, dense tufts. Short, dense tufts will be more resistant to wear and matting.

Twist: The number of times the fiber is wound around itself. You can count the twist be looking closely at a tuft of fiber and counting the number of twists you see. A twist of 4 or more is good for medium to high traffic areas.

Heat Setting: The process that locks in the twist. The fiber is heated or steamed so that the tuft will hold its twist over time.

Continuous Filament: One continuous fiber throughout the yarn system. This type of carpet will not fuzz very much (this will reduce fuzz in your vacuum cleaner).

PAR and CAP: Performance Appearance Rating and Carpet Assurance Program, respectively. These are measurements of the carpet's wearability. A PAR of 3.5 to 5 and a CAP of 8 to 10 is good for moderate to high traffic areas. Testing is done by “test walkers” who walk for long periods of time over carpet. Carpets are then rated according to how well they stood up to the wear.

Backings

Most backings are made of plastic. Most carpets have a primary and a secondary backing. The tufts of fiber are sewn through the first backing with needles. A secondary backing (the one that you see when you look at a piece of carpet) is added. Latex glue is placed between the backings in order to hold the tufts into place. The latex glue that is used is very important. If the glue is cheap, and therefore begins to break down in time, the fibers will begin to fall out and the carpet may begin to show ripples. As a general rule of thumb, higher priced carpets use a better quality latex.

Carpet Color

The number of available carpet colors is increasing all the time. The most important thing to remember when selecting a carpet color is that lighter colors will show soil and stain more than darker colors. Also, dark colors will make a room look small and formal, whereas light colors make a room look larger.

There is always a slight difference in color from one production run to another. Therefore, there is no way to assure that there will be an exact color match between the sample you have seen and the roll of carpet that you will buy.

home | kids’ carpets