What are seven considerations when choosing flooring when it comes to function?
1) Durability. Will the floor covering have to stand up to heavy traffic or will it be gently used?
2) Stain-resistance. In the kitchen, bathroom, and playroom, dirt and stains can be a real problem.
3) Moisture. Slipperiness is a consideration in foyers, kitchens, bathrooms, and utility rooms. So is mildew and the rotting of the flooring material.
4) Warmth underfoot. This is important in bedrooms where people may be barefoot, particularly in cold climates.
5) Sound-proofing. Some flooring materials reverberate sound; some muffle it. This can be particularly important when you want to insulate a room below from the clatter of feet in rooms above. In fact, in many city apartments the lease requires an upstairs occupant to carpet the floor to muffle the sound of footsteps from disturbing the downstairs neighbors.
6) Allergies. Some flooring—for example, shaggy carpeting—traps dirt and dust and aggravates the problem.
7) Cost
What to consider with flooring when it comes to mood?
flooring should fit the style of the room and how you want to decorate
How do you ensure harmony when it comes to choosing flooring?
Consider pattern and scale (area rug v/s carpeting)
What are the three main types of flooring?
1) Hard flooring
2) Resilient flooring
3) Soft flooring
What are some different types of hard flooring?
Typically they are natural materials like stone, wood, marble, ceramic tile
What are some challenges to hard flooring?
1) Leg fatigue
2) Noise
3) Slipperiness
4) Expensive: both material and labor
5) Weight: tend to be heavier material so proper sub flooring material is needed.
What are some benefits to wood flooring? Some challenges?
1) Versatile for many different decor styles
2) Relatively inexpensive
3) Softer than many other hard floorings
4) Relatively weightless to compared to other hard surfaces.
Challenges:
1) Noisy
2) Slippery
The mood of wood flooring depends on these three factors:
1) Type of wood
2) Pattern when laid down
3) Finish on wood
What are some types of hardwoods and their characteristics?
1) Oak: Widely available, lower cost, and is hardier. Typically offered in a Red Oak or White Oak
2) Maple: More expensive and hardy than oak and usually has reddish/brown hue
3) Bamboo: Durable, hardy, and can come in several color finishes. Also eco-friendly.
What are four common wood floor patterns?
1) Strip
2) Plank: 12"+ planks and arranged in varying widths (country cottage, informal look) or same widths (formal federal and georgian style)
3) Parquet: Strips of wood arranged in herringbone, parquet or combo. Parquetry are the prefabricated squares to look like true parquet but less expensive.
4) Block: When a thin veneer of decorative wood is glued onto plywood, cut into squares and then installed. Very inexpensive but cannot withstand wear and tear. Cheap looking too.
What are some examples of stone hard floors?
1) Marble
2) Slate
3) Terrazzo
4) Flagstone
What are some characteristics of flagstone?
1) Irregular or rectangular shaped
2) Typically used outdoors or in entryways or kitchens
3) Surface is uneven
4) Must be set in concrete or the earth
What are some characteristics of slate?
1) Come in many shapes, sizes, color options
2) Smoother surface
3) Can be installed on regular subflooring
4) Newer synthetic sealers keep integrity of stone but be sure to test the finish before making decision and installing.
5) Great flooring option for a variety of indoor rooms.
What are some characteristics of marble?
1) Tend to be expensive
2) Marble comes in a almost any color
3) Has a very elegant feel but can also be used in informal settings
4) Must be sealed every year to protect it
5) Polished marble can be slippery when wet
What are the characteristics of terrazzo?
1) Man-made
2) Most durable
3) Can be customized in color, shape, polish
4) Can be installed on concrete surface or wood subflooring
What are three types of man-made hard flooring?
1) Brick
2) Ceramic tile (unglazed/quarry tiles-fired once and glazed where surface has been painted etc and then glossed with another fire).
3) Concrete
Which tile is more durable? Quarry or unglazed?
Quarry tiles which are man made and extremely durable, moisture, staining, but does need a sealant when installed and from time to time. They usually come in earthy tones.
What are some characteristics of concrete flooring?
1) Very durable
2) Can be "stamped", sealed in a shiny polish, or colorized
3) Expensive due to it being labor intensive to install
What are two types of resilient flooring?
Sheet goods (Linoleum) and tile (vinyl, asphalt, cork)
What are some drawbacks to vinyl tile?
1) Due to its flexible, thin nature, the subflooring needs to be in perfect condition otherwise it will show through tile.
2) Can be expensive due to pure vinyl being affected by cost of oil.
3) Emits harmful VOC chemicals
4) Doesn't compare to the real deal with looks
What are some sheet good advantages?
Advantages:
1) Inexpensive
2) Reasonably durable
What are two types of soft flooring?
Carpeting (broadloom) and rugs
If carpeting needs to be seamed, what should be known before hand, especially when notifying the client?
If the carpeting is to be seamed, specify, in writing whether this will be done by taping or hand-sewing and heat-sealing. Ask your supplier to show you the differences and to discuss with you their relative costs and merits. In any installation, also request that they submit a written “Seaming Plan,”
When figuring out the cost of carpeting, ensure you include what?
Cost of padding/lining and installation costs. The firmer the padding (and at least 3/8" thick) the more it will protect the carpet and provide comfort.
What is tackless installation?
It involves nailing down strips of wood around the edge of the room. These strips have a myriad of nails pointing up out of them. The installer uses a knee-kick device to stretch the carpeting taut across the entire floor and attach the edges of the carpeting onto these nail points.
**Use tackless installation whenever possible
What is the best quality carpet you can install where every other material is compared to?
100% wool carpeting
What is the standard size of stair carpet runners?
27" wide. With a open banister on one side you can either run carpet to banister rails or have 3"-6" of wood flooring border on either side of runner.
What are some qualities of Chinese rugs?
1) Usually the color is determined by the background.
2) Color backgrounds are usually soft yellow, brown, tan, or coral with often a blue design cut along the edges to give embossed look.
3) The surface is often thick, soft, and plush
4) Features themes of dragons, nature, birds, mountains.
What are two types of French rugs?
1) Aubusson (OWE-byou-sone): lighter in weight and used as "summer rug" for french royalty
2) Savonneries (sah-VONE-er-ee): Heavier and used as "winter" rugs
What are three types of rug surfaces?
1) Carving is a process whereby hairline grooves are cut between two colors, accentuating the pattern and giving a crisp look to the rug.
2) Embossing involves carving the surface to achieve a high-low effect—the decorative motif, for example, may stand taller than the surrounding background.
3) Beveling involves rounding the edges of the rug or the raised patterns in the rug.
Which synthetic material is the most durable for carpeting/rugs?
Nylon
*Durable
*Moth-proof
*Mildew-resistant
*Mold-resistant
*Non-allergenic
What are some other synthetic fibers used for carpeting/rugs?
1) Acrylics: Most wool-like but least durable and attract dirt
2) Polyesters: In between nylon and acrylics in both looks and durability. They are more soft and wool-like than nylon, but less so than acrylics. They are more durable than acrylics, but less than nylon.
3) Polypropylenes: also called olefins—are tough new fibers used in indoor/outdoor carpeting. As tough as nylon, they are impervious to water and are extremely fade-resistant. Rough-textured, they are not good for fancy indoor installations
4) Blends: A mix of natural and synthetic fibers to bring out the best qualities of both
What are two major methods of which carpeting is made?
1) Weaving: Carpeting by hand when long strands of yarn are woven together to form a continuous interlocking fabric in which the backing is an integral part of this interlocked structure. Expensive and time consuming
2) Tufting: backing material is fed into the machine and the needles are jabbed into this backing, each needle inserting a tuft of yarn with each jab. Unlike woven carpeting, where the yarn is interlocked with the backing, in the tufting process the yarn is simply stuck in.
Explain the Wilton weaving technique.
Some yarn is lifted to the surface to define the pattern, and another yarn is pushed below the surface and “buried” in the backing. This makes is unusually dense and durable good for high traffic areas like commercial spaces.
What are the characteristics of the Axminster weaving technique. What are the benefits?
1) Less thick since yarn is not pushed down below the surface and has fewer threads
2) lighter weight and less durable
Benefits:
1) less expensive
2) woven in free-form pattern and limitless color options
3) Heavy and durable enough for most residential purposes
Describe the level-loop carpet surface.
The yarn is inserted in loops so that the surface of the carpeting that you see and walk on is composed of myriad looptops called level-loop surface. Most commercial carpeting is this because its durable and resists dirt. Similar to hand woven berber carpeting
Describe Cut pile surface carpeting
surface composed of the cut ends of the strands of yarn, with a look like that of velvet. In fact, cut-pile carpeting is sometimes referred to as velvet carpeting.
What are some various velvet carpet yarn styles?
1) Plush: The most expensive, deep, soft, richness (make sure its dense and consider length of strands)
2) Saxony: Less deep and plush than saxony, threads are heat twisted. Most popular carpeting today
3) Shag
4) Sculpting: surface contour consisting of high and low areas that define patterns or designs.
How do you assess the quality of carpeting?
1) Observe yarn: Heat-twisted? Natural or synthetic? Treated with stain resistant? Moth-proof?
2) Weight and Density: Shoot for 30-40 oz density for quality. Federal financed housing grade minimum is 24 oz.
3) Grin test
What are six different style rugs?
1) Aubusson
2) Berber
3) Braided: made of scraps of yarn and rags braided and sewn together in colorful designs
4) Dhurries: Dhurries are rugs of Tibetan and Indian origin that feature bold patterns, often geometric, in colorful pastel hues. They are flat-woven, reversible, durable, and relatively low cost.
5) Caucasian: Usually feature bold, geometric patterns. Historically produced in Caucasus Mountains
6) Chinese
What are additional rug styles?
1) Flokatis
2) Kelims: Kelims are tapestry woven rugs that have been made for centuries in the Middle East. The classic "Oriental" rug
3) Navajo rugs: wool rugs in geometric motifs and bright colors.
4) Rya rugs: Modern Scandinavian rugs featuring
bold, colorful, abstract designs in a short shag surface.
5) Savonnerie