At Okanagan Hardwood looring, our sales team has an extensive knowledge about carpet, and we would love to show you all of the wonderful options available.
Before you decide which carpet product is right for you, take time to watch our video, and review a few of the key points below. Making sure you choose the right carpet for your lifestyle and budget is important to us.
1. PADDING
- Spend a bit more on your carpet pad – padding adds support, strength and cushioning.
- Made from foam or rubber materials, it conceals imperfections in the subfloor, and results in a better appearance overall.
- Is an insulator, absorbs sound.
- Supports your carpet preventing the backing and fibres from breaking down.
- Depending on the area of your home the carpet is installed in, different padding is used for different conditions. High traffic areas require a firm pad, light traffic need less firmness.
- For Cut Pile of Loop carpet – 11mm pad with 2.7kg density per cubic foot
- For Thin Loop or Berber – 9.5mm or less, with 3.6kg density per cubic foot
2. STYLE
- Textured, Saxony, Frieze, Cable, Looped, Cut & Loop – so many choices, but each with different characteristics that lend themselves to certain applications – make sure you recognize which styles are best for your project. Your lifestyle has to match your carpet.
- Textured carpet has fibres of varying heights which makes them reflect the light – perfect for hiding tracks and dirt. A good choice for high traffic areas.
- A plush style carpet like Saxony may be soft and thick, but it will show footprints, vacuum tracks and areas that appear shaded because of a reversal of the carpet fibre direction. Best for light-traffic areas like bedrooms and sitting rooms.
- Cut pile carpet like Frieze have long fibres that have a high twist. Comparable to the old shag carpets but modernized with trendy colours and thinner fibre strands. Durable, due to the fact that the fibres are long and the impact of walking on them comes from the side, not the top where it could untwist and become fuzzy. This style hides seams and while the long fibres are good for hiding the dirt, it will take a bit more time to vacuum.
- Cable carpet has fat, nubby yarns and is thicker than the other styles. A very comfortable and soft carpet, it has a casual look to it, and is best for light to medium traffic areas.
- Looped carpets, also referred to as “Berber” can have either a random or patterned appearance. Available in a host of colours, both solid, flecked and multi-colored. A flat, dense, continuous loop carpet is a good choice for high-traffic areas because it doesn’t show track marks, and has good stain resistance. Some Berbers come in textured varieties. Excellent for hiding traffic patterns, but seams can sometimes be more visible that cut carpets.
- Cut & Loop is popular for patterned styles of carpet. Florals, pin dot, geometric and scroll – the variations are endless. For larger patterns, more carpet needs to be purchased so that the seams can align properly. High traffic performance.
3. BUDGET
- To get the best value from your carpet, considering lifetime replacement and maintenance expense – for high traffic areas make sure that you choose the carpet that can withstand wear and tear the longest.
- Choose stain resistant products if you have a busy family. A bit of extra cost at the onset could really pay off in the long run, and keep the professional carpet cleaning to a minimum.
- Compare wisely – with all the different carpet manufacturers having their own terminology with respect to their products, make sure that you are comparing “apples to apples”. And make sure to check out what is covered by warranty.
4. MAINTENANCE AND WARRANTY
- Children and pets can be hard on your carpet. Before you purchase your carpet, ask us about the cleaning requirements to make sure that the product you choose is right for you.
- Remove spills immediately, follow the instructions from the manufacturer. In order to have your warranty work for you, make sure you read the wording carefully.
