CHOOSING CARPET

Things to consider when you make your choice of carpet:

• How many people live in the house?This could affect the grade you choose.
• Is the house owner occupied or rented?This could affect the grading, colour and style.
• Will the carpet be used for stairs?If so, you’ll need to choose a suitable grade.
• Will wheelchairs be used on the carpet?This will impact your choice of underlay as well as installation method.
• The ambiance of your home.This will affect the style and colour you choose.
• Carpet colour can make or break a room.Choosing wisely is vital, because the floor acts as an anchor, bringing the overall colour scheme of a living space together. We offer a wide range of colours, ranging from hugely popular neutrals, to striking contemporaries like aubergine, charcoal and chocolate.Bear in mind that very light-coloured or very dark carpets show more dirt. Also remember that a carpet sample can be deceptive. Once you carpet a larger space, it will appear around 10% lighter than it did as a smaller piece.
• Loop pile carpet is formed from loops of yarn standing upright.They form a near level surface if all loops are the same height, or a textured surface if the heights of the loops vary from one row to another. Loop pile tends to give a more casual look, wears well and is not as susceptible to tracking and shading (the appearance of irregular light and dark areas) which can occur with cut pile carpets. Twill and Textured are two popular loop pile styles.
• Cut pile carpet is basically the same as loop pile, but with the tops of the loops cut off. It generally has a more formal, luxurious look and feel. There are two basic styles of cut pile carpet – ‘hard twist’ which has a tight twist set into each tuft, and ‘plush’ which is loosely twisted. You should be aware that cut pile carpets might track (show footstep impressions) or shade (display irregular light and dark areas), like velvet does when you brush it in a different way. This is because, much like velvet, all the piles do not stand up vertically in a uniform way. Because of the tight twist set in each tuft, a hard twist cut pile carpet does not have such an obvious pile direction, and therefore minimises the effects of tracking and shading.
• Underlay A good underlay will increase the comfort level of your carpet and add a nice spring. You can choose between rubber or foam underlay – neither is better than the other, it will depend on your personal preference. And always choose the best underlay you can afford.