Looking For Berber Carpets, Nylon Carpets, or Stainmaster Carpets?
The First Consideration For Most Carpet Buyers is Color
This is typically due to decoration decisions and matching paint colors that are already in place. However, by placing carpet color selection as the primary decision in buying carpet, the performance of the carpet may suffer.
You Should Also Look for a Carpet Style
For example, if you need a carpet with high endurance, a Berber carpet could be the one to focus on, and then choose carpet color based on the color hues available. At Michael’s Flooring in Niagara and Ridgeway (Fort Erie & Port Colborne), we have a wide range of suppliers, including Mohawk, Shaw, Beaulieu, and Anderson Tuftex, just to name a few. We carry a full range of Polyester, Nylon, and Smartstrand carpets —something for everyone!
With this in mind, carpet color selection should also be based on the purpose you hope to achieve with your new carpet installation. Did you realize that carpet color can change room dimensions? Well, it may not change a 10′ x 20′ room to a 20′ x 20′ room, but it can make the room “feel” and “appear” larger. Carpet color selection has a far greater impact than simply selecting a color that requires less carpet cleaning. Contact us today so we can help you get the right color carpet.
Styles of Carpet: Berber Carpet, Nylon Carpets
Carpet flooring can be grouped into three primary constructions: loop pile, cut pile, and cut and loop pile. Each of these construction types may be used in the home; although cut piles represent the largest market share for residential carpet. Loop pile carpets, such as Berber carpets, have been increasing in popularity over the past 10 years due to their durability.
All carpet flooring actually begins as a loop pile and the loops are cut during manufacturing to provide the cut pile appearance. As the name implies, cut and loops are a combination of cut loops and uncut loops to provide texture or patterns. Most cut and loops are primarily cut piles with some loops left uncut for patterns, although a few styles utilize the opposite effect.
Cut pile constructions can be used as carpeting in both residential and commercial flooring installations. However, cut piles are used far more widely in residential applications and comprise the largest share of the residential market. There are numerous subcategories of cut pile carpets. Each category provides a different appearance or finished look. The following categories of cut pile can be found when shopping for residential carpet.
- Saxony: This is a cut pile carpet in which two or more plies of yarn have been twisted and heat-set so that the tip of each carpet tuft is distinguishable on the pile surface. Saxony carpet has a tendency to show footprints and vacuum cleaner sweeper marks. This is based on the light reflection of the fiber when pile direction is changed. When brushed in one direction, the pile may assume a darker hue, while adjacent yarns brushed in the opposite direction may present a lighter hue. When viewed in the opposite direction, color hues of darker areas will appear lighter. This is not a defect of any kind, but merely a characteristic of this carpet construction.
- Plush: Sometimes called velvet because of the velvet or velour appearance obtained by using staple yarn (see fiber) and high-density construction. Plush carpets provide a more formal appearance than other cut pile constructions. They are subject to revealing vacuum cleaner sweeper marks and footprints due to light reflection similar to a Saxony. Delustred (non-shiny) yarns may reduce this shade variation. Plushes tend to be more subject to pile reversal or water marking. Water marking is the result of permanent pile reversal in localized areas. Watermarking provides the appearance of a wet surface in darker shaded areas. The shape of these areas may appear irregular, which reinforces the appearance of a wet area. This is considered a normal occurrence for Plush carpets and is not considered a manufacturing defect. The occurrence of water marking may be a result of local conditions or other unknown causes. In previous examinations, flooring products that have been replaced with similar problems develop watermarking in the same areas, suggesting local influences.
- Textured: Textured cut piles also may be called “trackless,” “foot-print free,” “stuffer-box,” and mistakenly, “frieze carpet.” These names describe the tendency of this construction to show fewer footprints and sweeper marks than other cut pile constructions. It should be noted that no cut pile can be classified as being completely free of shading. These constructions are obtained by stuffing yarn into a steam box (stuffer box) and providing a kinked or curled yarn. The fiber is exposed to live steam to set yarn memory in this curled position. This curling of the fiber reduces light reflection, thus reducing the appearance of footprints. Generally, when viewing a texture from the top, kinked yarns may provide a two-tone effect as a result of shade variations from reflected light.
- Frieze Carpet: A true frieze carpet is similar to a textured in that footprints and vacuum cleaner marks are disguised. The textured appearance is acquired by placing a high twist level on the plied yarns (see fiber). This high twist level causes the tuft to twist back upon itself providing a kinked appearance. In general terms, higher twist levels provide enhanced performance characteristics, when compared to lower twist products with the same construction attributes. True frieze carpet styles tend to be more costly because of higher costs of production and they may not provide the same perceived value as lower twist, textured products.
Pad
You’ve chosen your new carpet flooring and now it’s time to buy padding. You may be tempted to select the least expensive padding in order to cut costs, but this decision can potentially cost more in the long run while providing less than optimum satisfaction with your new Berber carpet, Smartstrand carpet or nylon carpets. Inexpensive and substandard pads can also void your floor.
Visit our showroom today!
At Michael’s Flooring, we’ll make sure that you get the product you need, with the value you expect!
