WHAT IS CARPET FLOORING?
Today, carpet is the most popular choice for floor covering. It’s inexpensive. It’s quiet. It’s comfortable. It’s easy to install and replace. It can hide subfloor irregularities. It can be installed over almost any surface. And it offers more options for color, texture, tone and hue than any other floor covering.
 
From casual to formal, solids to patterns, plush to prickly, there are carpets available today to compliment any interior (or exterior!) and provide years of performance and beauty for your home.
 
There are two primary ways to make carpet today. The first is called tufting. The second is called weaving.
 
Tufting is a technique in which computers direct machines to construct specific densities, patterns and styles of carpet using synthetic yarn materials.
         
Step one is to weave the fibers into the backing material, which is there to keep the fibers in place. The tufting machine is like a giant sewing machine where 800 to 2,000 needles work together to pull the yarn through. Most tufting machines are about 12 feet wide. As its needles penetrate the backing, a small hook called a looper grabs the yarn and holds it in place. This process results in what is called loop pile construction. For some styles, the looper rocks back against a knife, allowing the small loops of yarn to be cut, creating a cut pile carpet.
 
Step two is to dye the carpet. Sometimes this is done before the final few processes — and sometimes it’s done afterwards. Carpets dyed prior are usually a single color without a pattern or style. Carpets dyed after typically go through one or more silk screens to obtain the pattern or style that the computer had in mind.
 
In step three, a coating of latex is applied to both the tufted, dyed carpet’s primary backing, and also to secondary backing. The secondary backing is often made of a woven synthetic polypropylene material. The two parts are squeezed together in a large heated press, where they are held firmly to preserve their shape. Some manufacturers also apply stain protection during this step — a good idea now that red wine has become a new food group.
 
The final steps are shearing (to remove all the little loose ends) and inspection (to ensure both quality and accuracy to the digital design).
Weaving, on the other hand, can be done by machine on massive looms or by hand. In either case, fibers (called “warps”) are placed vertically on a frame and pulled tight enough to maintain tension while yarn is being woven over, under or around them.
 
After the weaving is complete, new fibers (called “wefts”) are laid horizontally across the yarn, locking the warps into place.
Woven carpets tend to be more luxurious and higher quality than tufted carpets — a fact reflected in their price.
 
Ninety percent of today’s carpets are made of synthetic fiber, comprised of one of three materials: nylon, polypropylene or polyester. All three are created by a chemical process that uses oil and natural gas.
         
The rest is natural fiber — most commonly wool, which is the most durable (and expensive), as well as silk and bamboo.
Carpet thankfully comes in only three basic styles: cut pile, loop pile and cut & loop pile.
 
·         CUT PILE
Cut pile is created when the loops that result from weaving are trimmed to the same height and allowed to slightly tuft, giving the carpet a dense, soft appearance. Cut pile carpet represents the largest share of the residential market and comes in four primary subcategories:
 
·         SAXONY
Saxony is what probably comes to mind when you think of carpet — all those thousands of perfectly even, solid colored strands of fiber standing at attention like a freshly cut lawn. This is the stuff that’s thick and soft and shows footprints and vacuum lines. You probably had it “wall to wall” when you were growing up. Today we know that Saxony tends to wear much quicker than other styles. It’s probably best kept for those low foot traffic rooms — like the formal living room that Mom saved for “company.” 
·         TEXTURED
If you don’t require that “freshly mown” look to your carpet, then Textured is the way to go. Because it’s twisted differently than Saxony and steamed to create a permanent curl, this product is “trackless” and reduces light reflectivity so it won’t show footprints. Textured carpet is casual, it’s cool and it will show far less wear and tear than other styles. 
·         FRIEZE 
 There’s nothing frosty about Frieze. Knobby, yes. Chilly, no. This cut pile offers a tighter “twist” than the textured style. The yarn actually curls over, creating a very durable and elegant product that hides footprints and vacuum lines. 
·         CABLE
This is the one cable in your home that won’t go on the fritz. Constructed of longer yarn than its cut pile companions, Cable is beautiful, comfortable and very luxurious. It can crush and matte with heavy foot traffic, however, so we don’t recommend Cable for parade routes, military yards or busy areas of your home. 
·         LOOP PILE
Loop pile is how all carpet actually begins — uncut. Commonly known as Berber, loop pile carpets have a smooth, consistent surface with a lightly textured appearance that results from coloration and the way light reflects on the pile. Made from yarns that are looped into the backing, this popular style is perfect for high traffic areas of the home and can be found in many commercial settings.
·         CUT & LOOP
The combination of cut pile and loop pile provides for some interesting patterns that result from the variation in surface textures. Also known as “sculptured carpets,” this popular style is great at disguising foot traffic and wear and offers a variety of surface finishes.