Flooring
Tips
Carpet
Purchasing|Types|CRI|Padding|Installation|Removing
Spots|Cleaning
Hard Surface Floors
Sub Flooring|Hardwood|Vinyl Sheet|Laminate|Ceramic
Carpet
Purchasing Carpet
Visualize the desired look and feel of the room you are
carpeting: monochromatic or rich in colors, exciting and
dramatic or simple elegance, warm and cozy or spacious. Do you
have pets? Consider their hair color in contract to the
carpet color. Bring swatches of fabric from your home when
shopping for carpet.
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Types of Carpet
Berber carpet has a sculptured pattern
achieved by using multilevel loops. It is very durable and
ideal for most areas of the home.
Plush carpet
has a dense pile which absorbs sound and adds
warmth and softness to a room. Its plush look is achieved by the use
of solid colored, evenly cut pile. Colors can be vivid to
subdued and presents a more formal look to a room.
Textured carpet has a pebbly look achieved by cutting and
twisting the yarn. This carpet is ideal for homes with
children and pets. Textured carpets are available in a wide
range of colors and pile density and are the most popular of carpet
textures.
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Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) seal of approval assures that a
carpet dealer is committed to providing customers with dependable
advice and service and the best possible assurance of
satisfaction. CRI offers five points to consider when choosing
a carpet:
1. Use. How much wear-and-tear will the carpet
encounter?
2. Quantity. To determine how much carpet you
need, measure the area in square feet, then add 10 percent to
account for room irregularities.
3. Color. The carpet color should unite
decorative elements with practical considerations.
4. Cushion. Carpet cushion plays an important
role in extending the life of the carpet. See the Carpet
Padding section below.
5. Cost. Buy the best carpet you can afford for
high-traffic areas, such as halls and family room. A lower grade
carpet will provide good service bedrooms, guest rooms and lower
traffic areas.
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Carpet Padding
Use 6 lb. or 8 lb. pad under the carpet, depending on the carpet
style. Never use double layers of pad or too thick a pad for
the style of the carpet as too thick a pad can cause the backing of
the carpet to break down and delaminate quickly. Too thin a pad
can cause carpet to "mat" and show traffic lanes.
textured carpets: use 6 lb. (shaved 7/16" foam
composite)
Berber carpets: use 8 lb. (shaved 3/8" foam
composite)
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Installation.
Wall-to-wall carpet
is held in place by tackless strips that are nailed around the perimeter
of the room. These strips have projecting points. The
carpet is stretched over these points on the strips. The points bite
into the carpet, securing it.
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Removing Spots from Your Carpet
Detergent in some spot removers may leave
a residue that attracts dirt. Many types of spots can be
removed with a solution of one-quarter teaspoon of dishwashing
liquid (be sure the dishwashing liquid does not contain
lanolin). Dab the solution on the spot (do not wet the carpet)
and blot with an absorbent white cloth. Remove the detergent
residue with a solution of half white vinegar and half water.
Blot the spot with the vinegar/water solution, and then continue
blotting with plain white paper towels until the spot is as dry as
possible.
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Professional carpet cleaning once a year is recommended to
keep your carpets fresh and beautiful. Ask family, friends,
neighbors who they have used to clean their carpets. Check
with the Better Business Bureau for companies who have good customer
service. A company that has a good reputation will work hard to keep
it. Companies that offer cleaning with unusually low prices
may use inferior cleaning products or equipment or may have hidden
charges. Ask the cleaning company questions: what is included
in the price - moving furniture, pre-treating spots? Check
into certifications that the company exhibits. What did they
have to do to earn the certifications?
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Hard
Surface Floors
Sub Flooring
Wood flooring and carpet can be installed directly on the sub floor.
Any irregularity in a sub floor will be visible through vinyl
flooring, so it is usually installed over particleboard that has the
cracks and nail holes smoothed with spackle. Ceramic tile,
marble and other stone floors must be laid over a sub floor to
reduce the possibility of flexing and cracking the tile or grout.
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Hardwood floors are considered to be among the most elegant
of floors. They cover the spectrum of color, types of wood,
style and price. They range from be tongue-and-groove or
parquet squares.
They are labor-intensive and require upkeep. Properly
maintained, hardwood floors can last for years.
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Vinyl Sheet is impervious to water and is easily scratched or
cut. It offers attractive patterns and covers a large area
without seams to work loose.
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Laminate flooring is constructed of several layers of
plastic-type resins that are compressed under high pressure to a
particleboard core with a printed surface. It can be made to
have the appearance of wood, marble and flagstone. It is laid
tongue-and-groove fashion. It has good resistance to staining or
fading.
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Ceramic Tile
To make ceramic-tile floors less slippery, try a clear, spray-on
anti-skid coating called Skid-Tex, made by Bondex sold at hardware
stores. Spray first in an inconspicuous area to see if you
like the effect.
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