Carpet
Carpet is made of thick woven fabric and is one of the most popular materials for floor covering. Some of the benefits of using carpet are warmth and comfort, insulation, noise control, and low price. They can be cut and woven in several different ways, and from a variety of fibers. The main carpet fabric construction methods include tufting, weaving, knitting, needlepunching, and bonding. More than 90 percent of carpets are tufted that consists of the face yarn, primary backing fabric, a bonding compound, and (usually) a secondary backing fabric. The face yarn can be cut pile, loop pile, or a combination of both. The bonding compound is SB latex, polyurethane, PVC, or fabric.
Carpets are classified based on their different properties, such as pile yarn weight, pile thicknesses, backing, surface texture, and number of tuffs per square feet. Pile yarns can be made with many materials, such as nylon, olefin (polypropylene), acrylic, polyester, wool, or cotton. Wool has been used for many years and is proved to have good performance. However, synthetic fibers are receiving more attention recently since they have a variety of high quality and durable products with an affordable price. The production process for synthetic fiber includes extruding a jet of molten polymer (or polymer solution) through tiny hole of a spinneret. The filaments are cooled down in different shapes and with different specifications. These fibers are used in carpet production based on their required properties.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), through the “Use of Materials Bulletin Um-44d”, does not allow the use of carpet in baths, kitchens and service areas, such as laundry, utility and furnace rooms.
Carpet installation needs proper estimating and coordination. Considering the architecture drawings of the building, carpet location and direction is recognized. Before the installation for around 48 hours the room temperature should be (65 ̊ to 95 ̊F) and the surface temperature should be around 65ºF. The humidity should be around 65% and ventilation is required during and 48 to 72 hours after installation.
Carpet can be installed over finished flooring, concrete, plywood, particleboard or any other smooth surface. The sub-surface should be clean, dry, free of contaminants, high quality and leveled properly. Vacuuming is required to remove dust from the floor area.
The two main methods of installation are stretch-in and glue-down. The stretch-in method is more common in residential buildings. In this method, a power stretcher is used to stretch the carpet and put it in place. Tack strip is mounted around the perimeter. Tack strips are pieces of plywood with rows of metal pins designed to grip carpet. There are variety of tack strips with specific uses. Padding is placed between the tack strips with appropriate adhesive. Carpet is placed above padding and stretched until it is attached to strips. Adhesive or heated seaming iron shall be used for seaming. Seam placement is critical for successful installation. Seams may be held in place after edge securing by hot-melt tape, tape and latex, hand sewing, or other methods.
The glue down method includes direct glue-down and double glue-down. In direct glue-down, the carpet is directly attached to the floor with an adhesive. The carpet may have attached cushion. In double glue down method, first the cushion is attached to the floor, and then the carpet is bonded to the cushion with adhesive material.