How To Repair A Sweater Snag

When you decide to install wall-to-wall, you tin can count on it having a big impact on the look of the infinite. Simply carpet tin can likewise affect how a room feels—and not only to your anxiety. As a natural insulator, wall-to-wall carpet prevents warm (and cool) air from escaping and absorbs audio. And, unlike hard flooring, it can also inhibit slips and cushion falls, important considerations if you live with roughhousing kids or an aging parent.

Wall-to-wall carpeting, which first came on the scene in the 1930s, now accounts for half of all the flooring sold in America. The bulk of carpet is made hither too—how many things can you say that nigh these days?—mainly in Dalton, Georgia, where the industry began. Most is tufted, but some carpet is woven on looms for a tighter, more durable construction.

The Benefits of Carpet

Dissimilar hardwood and stone, carpet can exist laid over damaged or uneven surfaces, a concrete slab, and many types of existing flooring, so you may save money on prep work. And once it'south in, you'll find it a cinch to care for, thanks to advances in fibers and stain-resistant treatments. Not to mention there's an almost countless variety of styles, from nubby, looped designs to closely clipped "velvets" with a silky feel and sheen. Yous'll find patterns, too, including florals, imitation bois, damasks, and "sculpted" looks that combine different pile heights.

Before you kick off your shoes and sink your feet in, read on to acquire everything you need to know almost wall-to-wall carpet.

Shown: Velvet—a soft, short, dumbo-cutting pile—is a good choice for a family room where you lot spend lots of time on the floor.

Like to shown: Mink, in Crete, from $five per square foot; Shaw Floors

The Basics of Carpet

How Much Does Carpeting Toll?

From 49 cents to $21 per square foot, depending on the materials and type of construction. For a pro job, remember to factor in the cost of padding (almost 25 cents to $i.l per square foot) and installation (nearly 50 cents to $1 per square foot.

How to Treat Rug

Vacuum with the carpeting-beater brush at least once a week to suck up dirt and dust that can dull the carpet and mat down the fibers. Every 12 to 18 months, take a pro give it a deep cleaning to remove embedded grime—and keep your warranty intact.

How Long Does Carpeting Last?

Warranties on wear, stains, and "texture retention" (the fibers' ability to maintain their shape) range from five years to lifetime, but well-nigh carpeting is replaced every 10 years or so.

DIY or Hire a Pro?

Carpeting installation is a specialized skill. With a pro, you're unlikely to see wrinkles or unraveling seams— and you tin can get a warranty on the work.

Anatomy of Carpet

In tufted carpeting, yarn is machine-punched through a backing (usually polypropylene) to create rows of loops, which are snipped or kept intact, depending on the way. A 2nd backing (normally polypropylene) is glued on for stability.

Pile Primer: Cut Pile

Loop tips are trimmed to create a soft, cushiony surface that's best for lower-traffic rooms. Variations include brusk, dense Saxony and velvet, which show footprints and vacuum marks, and longer shag and twisted frieze, which hide them but are harder to clean.

Loop Pile

With no yarn tips exposed, this depression-pile rug, often called Berber, tends to wear better than cut styles in busy spaces, such as family rooms and hallways. But the tight loops aren't as soft as cut pile, and if you lot accept pets, their claws may snag in the fibers.

Cutting-and-Loop Pile

A combo of the two, the variation in texture creates a pattern on the surface that helps disguise vesture and dirt, so it'due south a good selection for high-traffic rooms. The pile can exist of the same height, or a mix of loftier and low to create more than visual involvement.

Material: Wool Carpeting

Soft and naturally crush-, stain-, and fire-resistant—no chemicals necessary—wool (about $6-$20 per sq. ft.) is exceptionally durable.

To save money, consider a wool-synthetic blend, which is on par with loftier-end nylon in terms of toll and performance and won't shed incessantly the way cheaper wool, woven from shorter fibers, tin. Bottom line: A groovy accommodating, though expensive, option.

Nylon Carpeting

Like wool, most nylon fibers (almost $2-$7 per sq. ft.) are yarn-dyed (dyed after they've been tufted), which allows for intricate patterns and rich colors.

They're typically coated with topical stain treatments. Some newer nylons are solution-dyed (infused with color and stain repellents prior to tufting), improving their fade and stain resistance, but they come in fewer hues.

Bottom line: As versatile every bit wool and about equally durable, with a lower cost tag.

Polyester Carpeting

Polyester (almost $1-$4 per sq. ft.) and the remainder of the synthetics (run across next) are solution-dyed, so they repel stains and resist fading better than wool and yarn-dyed nylon. Polyester doesn't hold upwardly as well as nylon in busy rooms and may crush permanently nether piece of furniture legs. Lesser line: Good for spill-prone spaces, like playrooms.

Polypropylene/Olefin

The most fade-resistant fiber, polypropy-lene, too chosen olefin (well-nigh fifty cents-$2 per sq. ft.), is ofttimes used in indoor-outdoor rugs. It's a decent pick for sunny spaces.

The textile cleans easily, though it also gets dirty more apace due to an oily film that attracts soil. Polypropylene crushes easily—and permanently—so stick to low-pile Berber styles. Bottom line: Apply information technology in a sunroom but not the family room.

Triexta Rug

Polymer-based Triexta (about $2-$four per sq. ft.) looks and wears like nylon and has the stain and fade resistance of polyester. Many are made with corn ethanol, a renewable resources. Bottom line: A greener synthetic that works all over the house.

How to Store for Carpeting

Face-weight: Carpet is assigned a weight, from 25 to lxx ounces, based on the amount of yarn in a foursquare m. The higher the number, the more durable the rug. But the mensurate is only useful when comparing the same material. A polypropylene sample, for instance, may weigh more a nylon one simply won't perform too.

BCF versus staple cobweb: Carpeting is woven from either bulked continuous filament (BCF) yarn, created from long threads, or staple yarn, derived from shorter strands. Most constructed carpets are made with BCF yarn, whereas wool is a natural staple cobweb. Both are equally durable, but staple carpets will shed for a few weeks after installation.

Twist: The number of times a carpet cobweb is twisted per inch of length. Well-nigh yarns have between 2½ and 8 turns; a tighter twist indicates a longer-wearing carpet. Manufacturers don't typically tout their twist numbers, then you may desire to count for yourself.

Warranty: Quality carpeting should accept a warranty of at least seven to 10 years. Pay special attending to the stain and texture-retentivity warranties. Stain warranties typically comprehend discoloration from food and beverages but may accept exceptions for pet stains and spots caused by blood, grease, ink, and cosmetics. Texture-retention warranties cover fibers' ability to maintain their original shape for a specified length of time.

Carpet Calculator

To get a crude estimate of how much new carpeting will fix you back, measure the room's square footage and add 10 pct for cuts and waste. Multiply that number by the price per square pes to become total cost.

Guide to Carpet Styles

Oriental Classic

Toll: Near $21 per sq. ft.

Maker: Karastan

Highlights: Take the traditional Oriental rug look wall-to-wall with this colorful 100 per centum wool pattern.

Like shooting fish in a barrel Green

Price: About $four.59 per sq. ft.

Maker: Mohawk

Highlights: This textured cut-and-loop nylon carpet has a Scotchgard treatment to help repel stains and soil.

Red Stripe

Price: About $12 per sq. ft.

Maker: Karastan

Highlights: A timeless fashion made of tightly woven wool; attempt information technology in a study or a dining room.

Nubby Chevron

Toll: About $14 per sq. ft.

Maker: Bellbridge

Highlights: Woven on a loom with New Zealand wool, this thick, sweater-like blueprint is dense and durable.

Moroccan Wait

Price: Virtually $v.49 per sq. ft.

Maker: Shaw Floors

Highlights: Inspired by tilework, the tone-on-tone pattern is made with a super-soft Caress nylon that feels great underfoot.

Diamond Tough

Price: About $2.38 per sq. ft.

Maker: Dixie Home

Highlights: Pet owners, take note: Stainmaster'southward solution-dyed nylon resists spots and releases pet hair easily; bachelor at Lowe'south.

Hip Squares

Price: About $fourteen per sq. ft.

Maker: Bellbridge

Highlights: A absurd geometric design is woven into this wool carpet; its jute and latex backing makes information technology a more natural option.

Berber Beauty

Toll: About $3 per sq. ft.

Maker: Coronet

Highlights: With a dirt-hiding mix of tan and soft green, this polypropylene loop style stands upwardly to high traffic on stairs or in hallways.

Versatile Option

Price: About $4.27 per sq. ft.

Maker: Mohawk

Highlights: Triexta frieze pile is silky and hard-wearing, with 25-year texture-memory and lifetime stain warranties; available at Habitation Depot.

Cherry-red Blend

Price: About $5 per sq. ft.

Maker: Couristan

Highlights: Mixing wool with polyacrylic improves resilience and reduces shedding in this archetype loop carpet.

Blue Velvet

Price: Near $5 per sq. ft.

Maker: Milliken

Highlights: Subtle stripes on this close-clipped nylon Saxony help disguise foot-prints, so it's a skilful bet for whatsoever busy room.

Buying Eco-Friendly Carpet

Reduced emissions: Everyone knows that unpleasant "newcarpet" aroma. The expert news is that formaldehyde hasn't been used in the manufacturing process for years. But carpets, backings, and pads are made of hundreds of unlike chemicals that can affect the allergy-prone and chemically sensitive.

To reduce exposure, purchase carpeting and pads that behave The Carpet and Carpet Institute's Green Label Plus seal, which certifies that the products emit depression levels of VOCs. With proper ventilation, VOCs fall to very low levels within iii days after installation. Exist aware that the certification process doesn't evaluate the safe of chemicals used in stain treatments and flame retardants, then if that'south of business concern, go for a wool carpet that doesn't accept either of these.

Eco-friendly material: Many carpets and pads now contain recycled or renewable content. Some polyester ones, like Shaw's ClearTouch, incorporate recycled plastic bottles.

Triexta (shown), a polyester polymer, is made from 37 percent corn ethanol, a sustainable resource. Sure nylon fibers can be reused over and over again in new carpeting, though currently at that place isn't enough recovered material to make this selection widely available.

Recycling programs: Check to see if your retailer will recycle your old carpet pulled out by the installer (the fee is typically congenital into the installation price). You can too detect a recycling center near y'all on carpetrecovery.org, but you'll pay about 5 cents to 25 cents per pound of carpet.

Choose The Perfect Pad Density

Pads are sold in densities of 5 to 24 pounds per cubic foot. In general, the heavier the pad, the more durable and supportive—but less cushiony—it is. Choose ane that's at to the lowest degree 6 pounds.

Pro advice: "If you accept a little room in your budget to upgrade, go for a premium pad rather than a pricier carpet. A quality absorber makes any carpeting look, feel, and wearable better." —Tom Jennings, World Floor Covering Association

Rebonded pad

Adding memory foam, a polyurethane alloy, makes this 8-pound pad more comfortable. Charity cushion, nigh 59 cents-79 cents per sq. ft.; Shaw Floors

Carpet Pad Thickness

Follow the carpet manufacturer's guidelines on pad density and thickness; venturing outside the specified range may void your warranty. While most pads are vii/16 inch thick, sure low-pile carpets, such as Berbers, require a thinner pad to prevent wrinkling. For a more luxurious experience, opt for a thicker pad.

Frothed-cream pad

With its strong spill bulwark, this 10-pound pad can double your carpet warranty. TripleTouch cushion, most 79 cents-$1.l per sq. ft.; Shaw Floors

Carpet Pad Material

Pads are typically made from polyurethane foam, but you lot tin can also find fiber or synthetic-rubber ones. Rebonded cream, made of multi-colored polyurethane foam chunks, is a practiced all-around pad and is used virtually often.

Prime urethane cream is more porous and tends to shrink, and then it's best for lower-traffic areas. Frothed foam—a firmer, denser material adhered to felt—and synthetic safety are extremely durable. Fiber or felt pads, crafted from constructed or natural fibers, such as jute, provide a resilient surface that'south sturdier than foam.

Synthetic-cobweb pad

Good for Berbers, this pad is moisture resistant and tin be used beneath grade. Mohawk Specifiers Pick, near 35 cents-65 cents per sq. ft.; Mohawk

Rug Style Guide past Room

Here is how to choose the correct rug way by

Living Room

In a four-flavor room that leads out to a deck or puddle, go for a polypropylene carpet that won't absorb wet or fade over time.

Similar to shown: Tuscany, in Rawhide, nigh $3.50 per sq. ft.; Stanton Rug

Manner Guide: Hallway

Multicolor striped wool in a low cut-and-loop construction can stand up up to the normal wear-and-tear that an entryway takes.

Like to shown: Biscayne, in Terra-Cotta, about $9.89 per sq. ft.; Couristan

Style Guide: Bedroom

Upwardly the cozy gene in the infinite where you're bare-foot most frequently with plush-cutting pile in a new, actress-soft nylon.

Shown: Truly Tender II, in Wavecrest, nearly $4.59 per sq. ft.; Mohawk

Style Guide: Dining Area

Go for a short, dense nylon cut-and-loop pile that makes information technology easy to pull chairs in and out and springs dorsum from indentations left by chair legs. Bonus: The stain-resistant yarn keeps spills from penetrating.

Shown: Suede, in Panama, near $iv.99 per sq. ft.; Shaw Floors

Source: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/flooring/21017998/all-about-wall-to-wall-carpeting