Current Carpet Style


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Old 01-30-07, 12:36 PM
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Current Carpet Style

We are looking at re-carpeting..., sooner then I had hoped. Some decisions are not always in my hands. What are the current styles that are going in homes. High end. We have seen some short shaggs. I remember shag from the 70's. Been there done that. Is it back? Currently have Burber or how ever you spell it. Every weekend since the first of the year we end up with a trunk full of samples. That has not helped. We invite friends over for a coctail and their 2 cents. Their 2 cents is not keeping up with the bar tab, and we are no further to making a decision. Whats out there, whats in, help us make the carpet salesperson's house payment.
 
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Old 01-30-07, 03:35 PM
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Actually the trend is hard surface floor coverings. More and more people are going with hardwood flooring and pulling up carpet to refinish hardwood that has been hidden for years. Many are installing hardwood in the kitchen. Others are going for the look of natural stone in kitchen and bathroom floors and counters. Both solid hardwood and natural stone add value to your home.

For carpet fans, solution dyed nylon is still number one. Solution dyed means that the dye is added to fibers while they are in the molten state. This results in a stable dye that does not fade and can resist dye loss from a bleach or benzoyl peroxide spill. Nylon fibers still rank number one for durability and abrasion resistance. Many decorators are currently favoring a combination of level loop and cut loop because this combo can be used to create beautiful patterns. Because the 'natural' look is in, many are also going with carpeting that mimics natural sisal and jute in natural plant fiber colors.

As with anything selected for your decor, it is a personal choice based on lifestyle and often budget. Many will put hardwood throughout, except for tile in kitchens and baths. Others still want the warmth and comfort of carpeting in bedrooms. Couples with young children who crawl and play on floors often want carpet in the family room. It's the hardwood and natural stone that get the oohs and aahs.
 
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Old 01-31-07, 12:04 AM
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Agree with twelevepole, most people are shying away from carpets. Hardwood floors add value to a home, but can be expensive depending on the shape of subfloors. Carpet can be a good investment, if you take into consideration where its being put and budget. Nylon carpets are the most durable, but can be stained. They also tend to be more expensive. natural fiber carpets ie: wool is the most common. Tend to also add value, but can be a pain to clean and are not durable. Olefin carpet, which is very common, is a cheaper grade of carpet, not as durable as nylon or wool....but it has excellent stain resistance. Nylon carpet can be kept clean with frequent vaccuming and the use of professional cleaning or very attentive spotting when spills occur. My suggestion would be to price out a good nylon. Olefin has it perks, but after 10 months of traffic...you will see why its a cheaper grade.
 
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Old 01-31-07, 01:49 PM
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Thanks for the input. I did wood on some floors a few years ago. I like it but it sure is cold on the feet this time of year. We are into areas that carpet is the way to go. Was out looking again today. We are leaning, well not leaning falling to the short shag. My wife likes the shag with a thin twisted thread that is longer and interspersed with the rest of the carpet. Had one salesperson say that you could not use a vacuum with a beater on that type carpet and therefore was a cleaning issue. Further stated that some of the professional cleaning people would not work on it for the same reason. The small threads get stuck in the beater belt or bearing on the sides. OK. I did not think those threads were long enough. Have you heard anything like that?
 
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Old 01-31-07, 02:32 PM
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You can contact the manufacturer direct to clarify care and maintenance procedures. Typically, beater bar is recommended for plush carpets to loosen and remove soil and dust deeper in carpet. Suction only vacuums are recommended for loop pile carpet to prevent fibers from fuzzing or getting pulled loose.
 
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Old 01-31-07, 04:15 PM
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Proper cleaning is essential to the overall appearance and longevity of any carpet, and vacuuming is part of that routine. Carpet is an engineered product and as such it is also designed to withstand the rigors of vacuuming.

To keep your carpet clean, it's necessary to vacuum regularly with a strong, well-functioning and properly-filtered upright vacuum with brush agitation and high-efficiency double-lined collection bag, or a final filter, to remove up to 99% of particulate matter at 1 micron.

Under "normal" conditions you should vacuum at least twice weekly. Also, make sure the beater brush on your vacuum is in good shape and free from nicks that may result in pulling tufts.

As for "professional" cleaning people: Confirm that they are trained and certified in the type of work to be performed and ask for credentials; informally interview the company representative or technician; obtain a written estimate of the work to be completed, and receive a written contract or invoice confirming the total price along with any statements or guarantees.

Last but certainly not least: Many of the leading carpet manufactures recommend "hot water extraction" (i.e. steam cleaning) in order to help maintain the carpets appearance but check the warranty information from the carpet manufacture to be sure which method they suggest.

I hope this helps.
 

Last edited by ClaimsInspector; 01-31-07 at 11:59 PM.
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Old 01-31-07, 07:35 PM
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Tuftex makes a material with yarn so long and loose that you're not supposed to use a beater bar on it. It has part thick heavy yarn and part smaller diameter, tightly twisted yarn and looks like the old shag that had to be racked. That's the only one I'm aware of that doesn't recommend a beater bar be used on it because the yarn will get caught in the bar and get jerked out. Please say this isn't what you're considering, it's ugly as home made sin. It sounds to me as if you're interested in cut berber. When berber first arrived on the scene, it was only available in loop pile carpet and it was that way so long that most folks, even many pros, thought it was the loops that made it berber. Berber is actually a color, not a weave. Berber coloring consists of an earth tone main body with flecks or speckles of blacks, browns, and tans. Enough folks complained about wanting berber color in a cut pile that we now have most manufacturers making cut berbers. What was once referred to as a frieze is now what is primarily used to make cut berber. If it doesn't have the berber speckles, it's still called frieze. Then folks wanted the same color style, but in something other than earth tones so the manufacturers came up with what they call jewel tones. It is built the same way as cut berber, but the colors encompass the rest of the spectrum. These two carpets come in any price range you can imagine and are very popular because they make great seams, are dirt friendly, and are comfortable to live on. As has been pointed out earlier, nylon is the best choice for durability. But, not all nylons are created equal. Nylon is made two ways. Type six has six molecules in the chain and six dye sites or pores to accept coloring. Type six point six or 6.6 nylon has twelve molecules in the chain and twelve dye sites. Type 6.6 is much tougher and dense than type six and holds up much better. There is also yarn construction to consider. You've got staple yarn and continuous filament. If you vacuum your new carpet and get huge amounts of fuzz from it each time, it's staple yarn. Continuous filament doesn't do that. I can explain the structural difference if you'd like, but it takes some explaining. Also take into account the number of twists in the yarn. This is a good indicator of how well it will retain it's shape. For instance, imagine a straight piece of wire. If you compress the ends of the wire toward each other, it'll just wad up. But, take that same piece of wire and wrap it around a broom stick to make a bit of a spring shape out of it and then compress it. It will tend to hold it's shape better. This is the purpose of the twists in the yarn. These are some of the things to look for in the yarn. The backing has two main things to look for. The back is made up of two layers and are glued together to create tuft bind or what it takes to jerk the yarn out. These two layers should be glued together with straight latex. In order to reduce the cost of manufacture and thereby allow a lower retail price, some times the latex will be cut or diluted with sand or clay. Latex is a white product so look for a backing that is white. If it is brown, it has clay or sand in it and the tuft bind won't be as strong. Also, look for the number of strings the backing has per square inch . The more strings per square inch, the stronger the backing. If your budget won't allow you to get both features in the backing and you have to compromise, do it with the strings per square inch and stay away from brown backed carpet unless it's jute back which is a whole different discussion. The backing I'm talking about right now is polypropylene which is what most carpet has.
 
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Old 02-01-07, 11:16 AM
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what's "in style" shouldn't matter as much as what YOUR style is, which you haven't revealed yet. what rooms exactly will this carpet be going in, and what is the style of those rooms? different carpet styles work with different decorating styles. ie: you wouldn't put the same carpet style in a formal living room that you'd put in your basement rec room. so think about the style of the room (casual or formal). and think about what color will work best (some carpet styles don't come in certain colors). mostly though, when it comes to carpet, the distinctions between styles is the texture and pattern (or lack of) the texture produces. so look to see if your room could use some more texture or pattern, or if there is already plenty of pattern.
 
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Old 02-01-07, 12:30 PM
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Wow,

Thanks to all. Smokey49, you were great. I know now more about carpet then I ever wanted to, but wish I had known before.

I have passed all this vital information on to the decision maker on this project. After 6 homes and many carpet changes through the years, this has been the most highly contested yet. It will be worked out probably by this weekend.

We are doing bedrooms, hall and living room. We lean toward a formal modern look. Not real formal. My wife would say traditional. No painted square end tables. All is in wood. Not colonel, but a little country. I forget what it is called, but it was a religious group that lived in Kentucky and made a style of furniture a hundred years ago. My wife likes that and we have a few pieces that are of that gender. That all sounds terrible, but we did have a decorator. He did have to work around an item of two, but it all is very nice.
 
 

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