The key to making exceedingly soft nylon carpet is using fine yarn, which can be gauged using a unit of measurement of fineness known as “denier.” The smaller the number, the finer the yarn. When a carpet manufacturer tells you that its carpets feature yarn with a “denier per fiber” (dpf) count of 4, you can rest assured that it will have a...

Life may be full of compromises, but sometimes you can actually have the best of both worlds. If you have any doubts, take a look at luxury vinyl tile collections that are designed to capture the look of stone, slate and other natural flooring materials. Vinyl flooring manufacturers now make use of state-of-the-art manufacturing processes that...

When installing carpeting or (particularly) wood flooring in new construction, it is important the flooring material has time to adjust to its new surroundings. Consequently, experienced installers are careful to allow wood plants enough time to acclimate to the temperature and humidity levels of their intended location. With the indoor...

A carpet’s “pile” deter-mines the carpet’s texture and can be loop, cut, or a combination of both. One common variation is level-loop pile (such as Berber) made of tightly knit loops of fiber of equal height and known for its durability and long wear. Multi-level loop pile, common in today’s casual, textured carpets, combines two or three heights...

If you want to transform a lackluster room into one brimming with visual excitement, lay down an area rug. Unlike the long-term investment of wall-to-wall carpet, area rugs can be bought with a more adventurous approach and moved about the house as whim dictates. Area rugs are perfect for enhancing carpeted floors, particularly when they are set...

When it comes to flooring materials, solid wood, stone and ceramic tile all seem so very sexy, and they are – if you can afford their relatively high price, installation costs, and upkeep. Resilient vinyl flooring, on the other hand, can not only give the appearance of its more costly counterparts, it is also far less expensive and far easier to...

Now that you have chosen a wood-flooring product for your new or renovated living space(s), it is time to give some thought to how you will lay it down. If the goal is to make a room look larger, orient the flooring parallel to the longest wall. Conversely, running the board parallel with the shortest wall emphasizes the width of a narrow room, or...

After a carpet’s fiber is attached to the backing during the manufacturing process, it is sheared to give the carpet its texture. The three main types of carpet texturing are loop pile, cut pile and selectively sheared pile. Level loop features fibers stitched to the backing that have not been cut off at the top. This pile has excellent crush...

Today’s sheet vinyl flooring provides the advantages of low cost, easy maintenance, comfort and high durability without sacrificing beauty. This flooring product very nearly perfectly mimics the look of ceramic tile, wood, stone and other mate-rials, but it does not require laborious installation or special treatment. While the top finish layer...

Despite all the abuse to which it is subjected and all the footsteps it must endure, a carpet should stand up to everyday wear and tear without showing signs of stress for at least six years. One quality that determines long wear is carpet density. The less backing that shows through when a carpet sample is folded into a “V” shape, the denser the...