Carpets & Flooring Buying Guide
10 Steps to Flooring Heaven:
1) Set Your Budget!
It’s an obvious one to start with but when considering the purchase of a new Carpet of floorcovering, set aside not only a sum to cover the cost of the flooring itself but also any underlays and accessories required plus any installation costs, be wary of organisations offering too good to be true Free installation offers, as often inferior quality products are sold at elevated rates to cover the hidden costs. Set your budget to the top of your limit as the cost and hassle of replacing poor quality products prematurely will soon eat into any savings made at the point of purchase. Quality products and materials that are professionally installed will repay any investment with years of good service; we have regular accounts from valued customers of our installations lasting for decades
2) Is it Suitable?
Ensure that you check the product suitability and wear ratings to ensure that they are suitable for the given purpose, this information will be on the rear of the product sample
3) Don’t underestimate the Underlay!
Always set aside money for a high quality underlay, as a good quality underlay will offer thermal insulating properties, acoustic properties, and will also prolong the life of your new Carpets or floorcoverings. Paying back any initial outlay, a cheap underlay just doesn’t do your Carpet justice, a high quality underlay will promote even wear and give a great feel underfoot, a high quality carpet underlay can increase the life of your carpet by up to 40% and will even save you money in reduced heating costs
4) It’s all about the preparation!
As with any trade preparation is the key to a successful installation, we can check your sub floor, ensuring that your base is smooth dry sound and even, giving our clients the perfect finish every time, if required we offer a full range of sub floor preparation services such as plywood, latex smoothing compound, and even damp proof membranes
5) Get your Measurements Right!
Don’t take the risk yourself! Your own measurements can be brought in store to get a general guide cost, but let us task the risk and burden away from you, take full advantage of our expert team of estimators and carpet planners with in excess of 100 years combined experience, we can save you money with careful planning of materials, reducing wastage, eliminating unnecessary joins, and ensuring that materials are set out with the pile running in the correct direction, All of our expert planning and estimating services are Free and without obligation
6) Choose the Correct Width of Material!
Eliminating joins where ever possible right from the start. Carpets and flooring materials are now available in a variety of widths, we can help you select the correct materials saving you money and eliminating waste
7) Take our Samples!
It’s always best practice to view our samples in the comfort of your own home in your own specific lighting conditions; we can collect your samples when you are finished at your convenience or when we call to measure, bear in mind when viewing samples of any material that samples are indicative only and colour variation from manufacturing batch to batch is normal, this will especially be evident in natural wood products with a flecked appearance, you are the customer! Take your time & do everything you can to satisfy yourself that you are happy with the materials before ordering.
When selecting solid wood flooring or engineered wood flooring, or any other natural flooring product, colour & grain variation between boards is normal, these colour grain and shade variations make each installation unique as is the nature of a natural flooring product
8) Fitted by an Expert!
Always use our expert installation services, Our time served craftsmen floor layers, carpet fitters and carpenters are at the pinnacle of their trade, we only use the very best fitting teams, giving your flooring the best fit from the word go!
9) Care for your Flooring!
It’s not over! The installation of your new Carpets and Floorcoverings is only the start and as with any relationship there has to be give and take, Care for your flooring taking care to follow the manufacturers recommended cleaning and maintenance regimes, this will ensure that your products are covered by any manufacturers warranties
10) Enjoy!
It's all done! Sit back and enjoy your fine new Carpets or Floorcoverings from Cameron Lee Carpets Bristol Limited
Different Types of Carpet Piles:
Twist Pile Carpet:
Twist Pile carpets are manufactured using several cut pile fibres that are twisted together, creating a strong carpet with a lightly textured finish to the surface, Twist pile carpets are available in plains and heather type effects and can be found in both wool and man-made fibres, the most common combination of twist pile fibres would be: 80% wool with 20% Nylon, 50% Wool with 50% Nylon, or 100% Man-made fibre such as polypropylene. The 100% man-made fibre Carpets are normally inherently stain resistant and are perfect for customers looking for an easy to clean, durable and hard wearing product. Wool or Wool Combination Twist Pile Carpets give a more subtle and natural look and will normally offer a wider range of colours, these products are equally as durable as their man made counterparts, although not as resistant to soiling. For clients preferring the natural look of a wool product an additional layer of Scotch guard treatment can be applied.
Twist pile carpets generally perform well and are amongst the most popular types of carpet sold today; Twist pile carpets are hard wearing and suitable for most areas within the home such as Hall Stairs and Landing Areas, Dining Room Areas, Lounge, Study Areas & Bedroom Areas
Velvet or Velour Pile Carpet:
Velvet or Velour Pile Carpets offer and opulent and luxurious look created but using a straight cut pile manufacturing process, Velvet pile carpets will show light and shade as the pile direction moves, they can be made of Wool or Wool Combinations and man-made fibres.
A low maintenance Carpet with a medium to short pile, suitable for most areas within the home. Velvet pile Carpets can give the look of a more solid overall colour when compared to the lightly textured look of a Twist Pile Carpet
Saxony Pile Carpet:
Saxony Pile Carpets are created by using a deep long length cut or twist pile, giving a luxurious look, Saxony Pile Carpets with very long piles can be more difficult to clean, the pile being longer can also flatten. Often used in Bedroom areas for softness, feel underfoot and smooth to the touch, the long pile length can also be prone to showing footprints and traffic routes, so we would not normally recommend for use is high traffic areas such as Hallways or Stairs.
Loop Pile Carpets:
Cut and twist pile carpets are sheared at the surface, Loop pile Carpets leave the uncut loops of yarn intact at the surface of the carpet creating a Looped Look that can be flat or textured, there are limitless combinations of how the loops can be orientated to give different surface appearances with a uniformed or alternating height, Loop Pile Carpets are tough an durable, they can be made of Wool, Wool Combination, or man-made fibres, Loop Pile Carpets are suitable for most areas of the home especially stairs and hallway areas. Loop Pile Carpets generally will not show footprints and walkways as much as their Twist and cut pile counterparts.
Cut and Loop Pile Carpets:
Cut and Loop Pile Carpets are created by using a combination of both Cut and Loop Pile construction methods, creating a textured and patterned effect.
Wilton & Axminster Carpets:
Axminster and Wilton Carpets are woven using traditional methods, the Wilton type weaving method uses one continuous yarn woven throughout the product, Where the Axminster method uses individual sections of yarn woven with the weft.
Axminster and Carpets are known for their durability and performance in both commercial, contract and domestic locations, woven carpets do not use a separate bonded backing layer as the backing is an integral part of the woven product.