Carpet
As you plan your remodel, carpet can add warmth and comfort in many rooms, with extended benefits you’ll love in each. Durability, visual appeal, and ease of installation are all great reasons to learn more about the product line. Here are some carpet facts that can help you create the perfect surfaces and a lifespan to match your lifestyle.
What to Know About Carpet
Many homeowners think carpet is exceptionally delicate, but it can be as durable as you need, even in high-traffic areas. With professional carpet installation, many products can last over 20 years, especially with proper maintenance and commercial cleaning on schedule.
If your priority is the perfect décor match and visual appeal, you’ll enjoy the colors, patterns, and textures that cater to your décor and personal taste. For example, carpet often helps create an inviting atmosphere that feels more like an oasis than a living area. It can also enhance the appearance of your furnishings and accessories by adding the perfect harmony or contrast where needed most.
We recommend only professional installation for your carpet, as special tools and experience are needed for the perfect fit. Seam connections and proper stretching help ensure these floors’ visual appeal and performance, guarding against bunching and premature wear.
Broadloom Carpet
Broadloom carpet is produced on a wide loom and commonly sold in 12- to 15-foot wide rolls. It is laid against carpet padding and cut to size for wall-to-wall installation. Broadloom carpet is flexible, forgiving, and available in various colors and patterns. It can quickly and cost-effectively cover large areas, and the padding helps mask substrate imperfections. However, broadloom carpets do not install as quickly in tighter areas, produce more waste, and are much more costly to repair.
Broadloom carpets also come in a variety of styles and designs. Today, many looms are operated with computer programs, which allow the designer to precisely program desired patterns and sizes. The computer can also dictate the height of the pile and any additional features.
How Is Broadloom Installed?
Broadloom is often sold to be installed wall-to-wall. Broadloom is sold on rolls that are standard width. They are usually 12 feet wide but can also be 15 feet or 13 feet 6 inches wide. When installed, they are laid on a carpet pad on your floor. The crew will align large pieces and cut some to the correct size for your room.
For rooms that are wider than the width of the roll, two or more pieces of broadloom will have to be seamed together. For rooms narrower than the width of the roll, the carpet will need to be cut down to the appropriate width. While doing so is not difficult, it usually means that the extra amount being cut off must still be purchased.
Advantages of Broadloom Carpet
Broadloom carpets have many design options, including patterns, colors, and mosaics. The aesthetic possibilities are endless, meaning there is a broadloom carpet to match every space and style. Some high-quality broadloom also come with a moisture backing that offers stain resistance. Certain broadloom with the right underlay material can create a softer and more pleasant feel than carpet tile allows. Additionally, you will find that broadloom carpets are less expensive than carpet tiles.
To prevent air bubbles, you have to lay the carpet from the center and slowly work outwards to the edges of the room. You can install carpet two different ways depending on the backing. Stretch-in and with adhesive. Both methods require a stretcher, knee kickers and a tape seaming.
Carpet Tiles
Also known as modular carpet or carpet squares, carpet tile is produced in pre-sized squares joined to underlay backing. This makes installation exceptionally efficient. It installs like traditional tile with minimal cutting. The main benefits of carpet tiles include the following:
- Sold in packs of modular squares
- Easy installation
- Pre-backed and padded
Pre-sized squares fit any area and can be arranged to add character to any space. Repairs are simple, and replacement squares are easy to keep on hand. Carpet tile is not as soft because there is no padding. Flaws in the substrate flooring also tend to show through carpet tiles.
Broadloom vs. Carpet Tiles
Broadloom carpet offers lower upfront costs, superior stain resistance, a softer feel and padding, invisible seams, and the ability to mask flaws. Other considerations for broadloom carpet include a longer installation process, time-consuming repair, high material waste during installation, the requirement for underlay, and the need for full replacement, given irreparable damages.
Carpet tile offers easy installation with little waste, convenient modular design, built-in underlay, easy replacement, and the ability to mount directly to the floor substrate. Other considerations for carpet tile include a higher upfront cost, fewer available styles and colors, visible seams, less cushion, and an inability to mask substrate flaws.
However, both broadloom and carpet tiles can meet EPA environmental standards. When you choose these materials, you choose materials made from post-consumer, recycled materials.
Expert Flooring Solutions from Indiana Floor
With our expert staff to help make decisions, we work with homeowners, contractors, and commercial business owners. As a family-owned and operated business, we pride ourselves on caring for our customers. We pride ourselves on having a wide selection of unfinished and wood flooring, sundries, tools, and machines to help contractors and dealers achieve and deliver the best level of commitment and quality for their clients.
Indiana Floor, Inc.: Your One-Stop Shop for Quality Flooring Products
Since 1993, Indiana Floor has been the leading choice of contractor supply to the hardwood flooring trades. We offer a vast inventory of finished, unfinished, engineered flooring, sundries, and tools to meet customers’ needs. With 5 locations in the MD and VA areas, we are dedicated to providing quality flooring products to our clients. Contact us today at (703) 550-0020 or fill out the contact form on our website!