Carpet Buying Tips

For most of us carpet is the largest chattel investments you make in your home, whether it is a new-build or refurbishment project. Like most large-ticket purchases, wading your way through the myriad of make and model options can be confusing if you don’t have a clear focus, and carpet is one of the more complicated products to research. Answering a few simple questions can narrow down the field to ensure you buy carpet that meets the specific requirements of your lifestyle and  the room in which you are planning to have carpet installed.

Carpet can be produced in many different ways and these options result in different surface textures, affecting the way a carpet looks and feels. Carpet construction methods can be tufted, woven or needlepunched. Most carpet sold in New Zealand is tufted, which means the carpet yarn has been threaded through a backing by hundreds of needles to form loops to a desired length. Tufted carpet can then be either cut pile or loop pile. Cut Pile means the tops of the loops are cut off to create individual yarn ends. Generally this carpet yarn has more twist which is set so the tufts won’t flatten. The harder the twist of the carpet yarn, the more textured it will look and the longer it will take to wear.  Cut Pile carpet is best suited to areas where underfoot comfort is important. Loop Pile is generally more durable than cut pile, however it is less-soft under foot and less comfortable. The carpet fibre loops are not cut or sheared, so the loops form the carpet surface and this is where the soil tends to stay, making cleaning easier. Level loop pile has a tight, pebbly surface. Multi-level loops produce interesting patterns that have enhanced soil-masking capabilities. Loop Pile carpets are best suited to areas where there is high foot traffic such as commercial environments.

Woven Carpet  is made by weaving the yarn and backing at the same time. The best-known types of woven carpet are Axminster Carpet and Wilton Carpet, their names being taken from the type of loom on which they are woven. Axminster is always cut pile but Wilton can be either cut or loop pile or both. 

When considering your budget, carpets which ensure high performance are generally more expensive compared with other carpet types.  They not only tend to wear substantially better than standard production carpet, they stay looking good for much longer and the overall life-cycle costs including professional cleaning will be far less. How should my carpet perform? Most of us want our carpet to wear well and stay looking good for many years to come. However an average household of 2 adults, 2 children and a cat and or a dog, demands much more from a carpet than the pet-less owner of a one bedroom apartment! 

Similarly, those of us with lots of north/west/east facing windows will be particuarly interested in purchasing a carpet which will not be susceptible to fade or deterioration from UV sunlight.

It pays to consider the total cost of the carpet plus installation.  There is often negligible difference in the installation costs of an expensive carpet versus a carpet at the opposite end of the scale in price, so stretching to the maximum of your budget will help you avoid the deception of false economy.

Please contact us on 0800 367 773 or at one of our Flooring Design Centres in Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington or go now to the carpet section of our website by clicking on the following link http://irvineinternational.co.nz/Products/Carpet/