Carpet

Functions of Carpet Acoustical Beauty Atmosphere Thermal Insulations Safety Comfort

Acoustical Carpet absorbs ten times more airborne noise than any other flooring material. Beauty Carpet provides a marvelous choice of colors, textures and designs to suite every taste. (Ready and Custom design carpet)

Atmosphere Carpets enhance the feeling of quality in interior design Atmosphere Carpets enhance the feeling of quality in interior design. Important factor in enhancing patient moral hospitals and in student attitude in schools.

Thermal insulation The pile construction of carpet is a highly efficient thermal insulator. Over a cold cement slab, carpets surface temperature is considerably higher than of hard surface tile. Carpet relieves coldness at foot and ankle levels and lends a psychological warmth's as well.

Safety Carpet ability to cushions falls and prevent serious injuries Safety Carpet ability to cushions falls and prevent serious injuries. Comfort Carpet reduce floor fatigue.

Construction Methods In the beginning carpet looms were only 27 inches wide. Now, most carpets are 12 feet wide, although some carpet come in 15 foot width. Carpet can be custom sized for large installation.

Construction Method

Tufting It is a tufted piece of carpet, the back is woven first then the face is tufted into it and backed with additional material. This method reduced the cost of carpet, because the technique is fast, efficient and simple.

Weaving It is a fabric pattern process used for manufacturing carpet in which yarns are interlaced to form clothes. Carpet weaving is complex, it involves several sets of wraps and filling yarns. Coir and Sisal are always woven. Velvet carpets are the simplest of carpets to weave.

Axminster and Wilton The traditional fiber in both, is the wool + a blend of 80% wool and 20% nylon. They may look similar but they are different in construction. Axminster: piles tufts are individually inserted from colored yarns spools. Wilton: looms have jacquard (A special loom or the method employed in the weaving of a figured fabric) patterns mechanisms that use punched cards to select pile height and yarn color. Unwanted yarn color are buried under the surface of the carpet. The way to distinguish between both, is to roll them across the wrap and weft. A Wilton fold in both direction, Axminstre only in one.

Knitted The quality is generally high, depending on the yarns used and their thickness. It involves at least 3 different yarns and might be 4 for backing. Knitting is speedily process that produce fine quality carpet. Most knitted carpet is solid colored or tweed.

Needle Punching Needle punched carpet is a durable, felt like product manufactures by entangling a fiber fleece with barbed (sharp) needle. Latex coating is applied to the back. It is always glued down when installed.

Aubusson It is a flatly woven tapestries and carpets in silk or wool.

Fibers Fiber type is the major decision in selecting a carpet. Each fiber has its own characteristics. The most common natural fiber used in carpet is wool, but in some instances silk, linen and cotton may be used.

Synthetic fibers are always more colorfast than natural fibers because the dye can be introduced while the fiber is in its liquid state, integral dyes are more colorfast than surface dyes.

Fiber types Wool Acrylic Polyester Cotton Sisal Sea-grass Paper Jute Nylon Wool Acrylic Polyester Cotton Sisal Sea-grass Paper Jute

Nylon Synthetic fiber that accounts for nearly 90% of all carpet sold today. Absorbs little water. Excellent abrasion resistance.

Wool The best carpet fiber is wool, it has represented the standard of quality. The most important are the aesthetics and inherent resilience (hardness & flexibility) of wool. The best wool for carpet comes from sheep that are raised in colder climates. Wool retains color for life of the carpet despite wear and cleaning. It has good soil resistance because of its naturally high moisture content.

Acrylic Acrylic is the synthetic fiber that most feels like wool. It have a low soiling rate, clean well and they are highly static resistant and have very good to excellent abrasion resistance and color fast.

Polyester It has excellent color clarity and keep its color and sheen. It is resistant to water soluble stains. It is important carpet fibers but more in residential styles than for commercials carpet. Polyester should not be used in heavy traffic areas.

Cotton Cotton is an expensive natural fiber most often used for flat woven rugs.

Sisal It is the world strongest natural fiber, the fiber is harvested from the leaves of henequen planet. Coir is a natural fiber taken from the tough fibers that surrounds the coconut. Both sisal and coir are natural and will be color variations when left un-dyed.

Sea-grass The lasting grasses of salt water marches is cut from the plant. It is a natural fiber that absorbs atmospheric humidity and releases it depending on climate conditions. All sea-grass carpet are backed with natural rubber backing.

Paper Coniferous softwoods produce stronger paper then hardwood because of their fibers are longer. Paper carpeting can be completely recycled after use.

Jute The softest plant fibers. Comes in natural colors – creamy white to browns. Economical.

Dyeing Color is the most important aesthetic of carpet. Solution dyed Stock dyeing Skein dyeing Piece dyeing

Stock dyeing It is the application of color to fibers before conversion into spun yarn. It is the oldest method of coloring yarns and still important today for dying wool. Acrylic, polyester and some nylon can be dyed in this way. How? Bulk fiber is placed in large drum where prepared dye liquor is forced through the fiber. By controlling the temperature and pressure the dying is continued until the dyestuff has been exhausted from the bath onto the fiber. Then fiber is rinsed followed by centrifuging (separate) to remove the excess water. It is then dried and ready for spinning.

Skein Dyeing It is a technique that applies color to yarn. Any yarn and fiber may be dyed this way if the yarn has sufficient strength and resistance. Skein dying is especially suited to small volume production of custom colorations.

Piece Dying It is the application of color from an aqueous (watery) dye-bath onto unfinished carpet consisting only as primary backing and un-dyed yarns. Piece dyeing is generally for solid colors, however 2 or 3 colors can be produced in tweed (knobby woolen fabric).

Types of Pile Loop pile Cut pile Frieze Semi-shag Shag Tip sheared Berber

Loop pile: has a surface consisting of un- cut loops Loop pile: has a surface consisting of un- cut loops. Variations include high and low loops – multilevel loops- colors and highly twisted yarns.

Cut pile: may be made form un-set yarns, curly ends Cut pile: may be made form un-set yarns, curly ends. These carpets look more luxuries than loop, but they tend to show foot steps

Frieze: is cut pile from a highly twisted yarn set in cruel pattern Frieze: is cut pile from a highly twisted yarn set in cruel pattern. It will hide footsteps, shedding and shading which occur when pile lays in opposite direction.. Semi-shag: is soft, cut pile with shorter piles than shags.

Shag: is soft carpet with long pile Shag: is soft carpet with long pile. Tip sheared: is loop pile carpet with some loops sheared on the surface to create areas of cut piles and luxurious sculpted look.

Berber: it is usually coarse loop pile but also made in cut pile, shags and a verity of designs. It is more often used in contemporary rooms.

Carpets are divided into 4 grades 1. Is intended for residential or domestic use 2. Is for normal commercial use 3. Is for such public areas, as lobbies where face weight is important 4. Is for stairs, offices containing chairs with casters and institutions.

Carpet Cushioning Cushioning makes the carpet feels better and looks better longer. There are three basic types of fiber carpet cushions: Foam, rubber and fiber.

The heavier the traffic the thinner the cushion The heavier the traffic the thinner the cushion. In areas such as, hallways, stairs, rooms with lots of activity choose thinner and heavier cushion to protect the carpet. (3/8 inches or less). For bedroom, and area where a more luxuries feel is desired, thickness and more resilient cushion can be used.

Problems Sprouting: a tuft will rise above the piles surface of carpet. If you pulled them out it will create a hole. Ripples: it is a result of improper stretching during the installation, stretching of the back yarn after the carpet was installed.

Mildew: bacteria growing Mildew: bacteria growing. Indentations: when a heavy item or piece of furniture is allowed to remain for an extended period of time in one spot on a carpet, a crush mark will develop. The area should be steamed with a iron held 4 inches above the pile.

Corn Rowing: it should be expected in carpet with higher tufts and lower density pile. It develops in the traffic areas or those areas subjected to mechanical action such as in front of TV sets. Shedding or fluffing: when a newly installed carpet is vacuumed a large amount of fiber maybe found in the vacuum. The shorter the fiber and the longer the tuft, the greater the number of loose fiber in the yarn.

Static electricity: it is caused by rubbing together of two different type of materials, with results in a transfer and a buildup of electrical charges. Shading: called watermarking, it is natural characteristic of cut pile carpet. Shading helps to break up the plainness in solid color. It occurs in good quality carpet.

Carpet yellowing: can occur on the surface of light colored carpets.

Maintenance Daily and periodic procedure: regular vacuuming and spot cleaning. Color as a maintenance factor: color should be blend with the color of the dirt brought from inside, grey’s, beiges, browns, reds…..

Walk-off mats: it collect dirt's before it reaches the carpet inside.

Installation Three principles of carpet installation: 1. Stretch in. – tack-less stripes 2. Direct glue down. 3. Double glue down.