FloorTalk – for all the latest flooring fashions

Floor Talk! has recently posted it’s 100th post! Floor Talk!’s first post was created on September 14, 2007. We are proud to still bring you informative posts and advice.

Since then, we are proud to have brought you information on Green flooring products, Products from the 2007 Remodeling Show in Las Vegas, Products from the 2007 Green Build Expo, Products from Surfaces, The latest trends on color and design, Reader Questions and Answers and many other categories!

Thank you for being a loyal reader or subscriber and keep checking in for more informative posts on flooring and design. Should you have a question, leave a comment on any post and we will be happy to answer it for you!

This blog is sponsored by the WFCA. (World Floor Covering Association):

The World Floor Covering Association, official sponsor of Surfaces™, is the floor covering industry’s largest advocacy organization representing flooring retailers, contractors and allied service providers throughout North America. The WFCA is a recognized leader in marketing research and industry certification programs and operates the premier consumer flooring website — www.wfca.org, providing unbiased information about every type of floor covering and connecting customers to member retail stores.

The WFCA also influences public policy affecting the floor covering industry and consumers.

Rob McNealy from Ask A Floor Guy interviewed the president of the WFCA (World Floor Covering Association) on his site www.askafloorguy.com.

Rob McNealy has more then 10 years of construction experience under his tool belt, and more than three years running a flooring company in Colorado, called Natural Wood Floors.

In addition to running a successful flooring business, Rob has also been providing social media consulting through his company called Contrived Media, and is an advocate for small business through his small business and startup podcast, called Startup Story Radio.

You can hear the podcast here. Look for more interesting interviews on his site.

Question:

We have just built a 20 by 14 foot four seasons sunroom in place of our deck in the Texas Hill Country. The substrate is plywood, and we will be adding a 3/8 layer on top for a smoother surface, since some of the knot holes are deep. Underneath are both insulation and a moisture barrier. The room contains a heater air conditioner, but we were planning to leave that on extreme temps of 85 F when unoccupied and about 45 or 50 in winter. The room has many sliding windows and a propane fireplace.

We have had a couple instances of leaking, hopefully repaired now. A very low maintenance, grandchild friendly floor is desired, so vinyl seems a good choice, but I cannot verify the temperatures it can handle. We can maintain good temperature for installation.

Do you have any suggestions? The local Home Depot has Allure by Traffic Master, and another local store would order Armstrong. Though I think the cushion kind would not be good with animals and kid ride on toys.

Any suggestions you have will be much appreciated!

Answer: To determine what floors are suitable for temperatures like 85 degrees, it really is best to check with each individual manufacturer’s specific guidelines or ask a trusted retailer. (For store locaters in your area, click here.) Other products you might want to consider are cork and products like Mannington’s Adura.

For a general guideline on vinyl : All resilient products must be stored in a protected interior location, ideally one that can be climate controlled.

Optimum storage temperatures are between a low of 65ºF and high of 100ºF. Additionally, the humidity of the

storage area should be controlled and maintained between 30% and 70%.

For the entire life of the floor, the temperature should never fall below 55°F or exceed 90°F. If this minimum temperature

cannot be maintained, the performance of the flooring products and adhesives can be adversely affected. Ideally

the job site relative humidity will be maintained in the 40% to 50% range.

Cork can definitely be used in warmer temperatures because it is used in hot yoga rooms all the time! Another great benefit of cork is its retention and cushioned feeling. This would be a great choice for the kids with toys if your design style coordinates with cork.

Paul from Rugsale.com has written a guest post to give us some insight on hand tufted area rugs and hand tufted area rugs. Look for tomorrows post on hand tufted area rugs! Thanks, Paul!

Hand Tufted Area Rugs

While most handmade rugs are of the hand knotted type there is a different weaving process that doesn’t involve any knots whatsoever. It is know as the hand-tufted process. Hand-tufted rugs were very fashionable in the 1920’s and 1930’s and though they are not as popular today they do offer people a less expensive option to hand tied rugs.

The base material in a hand-tufted rug is primarily a pre-woven canvas. The pile of these rugs can consist of wool, silk and synthetic fibers.

Hand-tufted rugs can be mistaken for hand-knotted rugs because they can share similar properties, however they’re not as durable as hand knotted rugs but they cost considerably less. The main reason hand-tufted rugs are cheaper then hand-knotted is they are much easier and quicker to make. Hand-tufted rugs aren’t made by forming little knots; instead they’re made by forming little tufts using specific tools.

The process starts by cutting the backing material into the correct size and shape so that it can be stretched over a backing frame at which point the craftsman can commence. A drawing of the proposed area rug is created so that its image can be projected onto the material and the area rugs design can be traced. Like a paint-by-numbers kit, numbers are given to each area to represent the colors to be used. The correct color yarns are than pushed, with the use of a unique device called a tufting gun, through the backing. Latex glue is then applied to hold each tuft to the backing. The looped tufts are then cut to create the pile. A layer of latex is then laminated on the back of the rug along with a layer of a material designed to protect the floor in the homes where the area rugs will be placed.

While not as durable or valuable, hand tufted rugs do come in similar styles to hand knotted and at a price more consumers can afford.

This article was produced exclusively for Floor Talk! by the staff of RugSale.com an online retailer.

Paul from Rugsale.com has written a guest post to give us some insight on hand woven area rugs and hand tufted area rugs. Look for tomorrows post on hand tufted area rugs! Thanks, Paul!

Hand Woven Area Rugs

Although power machinery turns out most of the carpets sold today, it has not eliminated the ancient craft of hand weaving. Rugs were listed as valued belongings in Persian literature as early as the 6th century. They were most likely coarse flat-woven fabrics produced on looms in much the same way that other plain textiles were made at the time. Hand-knotted rugs were created later, possibly by nomad tribes of Turkestan or the Caucasus. The weaving of hand-knotted rugs spread throughout the Orient, and Persia became the predominant center of manufacture. Most handmade rugs are Orientals and are still made in the Middle and Far East.

Oriental rugs are usually classed geographically. They are referred to as Persian, Turkish, Caucasian, Turkoman, Indian, or Chinese. The different varieties within these groups may be named for towns in the various weaving districts and marketing centers.

Hand tied rugs are constructed on a special form of loom which consists of evenly spaced pegs on long, parallel beams. Most hand tied rugs are made with wool which is spun and died to the specifications of the rug pattern and planned color pallet. Some higher end rugs use silk for highlights in the pattern.

The base components of the rug are called the warp, weft, and Tufts. The stands of warp run parallel to the length of the rug and stick out each end to create the fringe. The spun bunches of wool, known as tufts, are hand tied to the warp stands. After a row of tufts are tied, a weft strand is woven perpendicular to and through the warp strands and then pushed together to create a denser pile. This meticulous time consuming process is then repeated until the rug is complete. The tufts (wool bunches) are then trimmed to create an even pile. This whole process can take a small group of people three years or more to finish but the results can be fabulous. There is nothing like the durability and artistry of a genuine hand tied area rug.

This article was produced exclusively for Floor Talk! by the staff of RugSale.com an online retailer.

 Question:

Can I Install New Laminate Floors Over Pre Installed Laminate Floors?

Answer:

Unfortunately, laminate flooring should not be installed over existing laminate flooring. The good news is, because of the installation method of laminate, the existing will be simple to remove.

You can, however install laminate over ceramic tile if the tile is smooth, sound and dry. Laminate can also be installed over vinyl or resilient flooring that is adhered well. This is particularly useful when going over older vinyl that may contain asbestos that would be costly and dangerous to remove.

Always use the proper underlayment when installing laminate flooring. Other helpful hints are to use a professional installer and always keep mats at every entrance to keep dirt and grit from scratching your laminate floors.

To locate a floor covering professional in your area, click here.

For other posts on laminate flooring, click here.

This home features amazing travertine with lots of range. This floor was an exceptional choice for this home, especially at the front door and main traffic thoroughfare.

• The range in the floor will do a great job of hiding dirt
• The range in the floor shows off the natural beauty of travertine
• The large size tiles help the area appear larger
• Turning the tiles on the diagonal help the area feel larger
• Turning the tiles on the diagonal add a design element to keep the floor interesting
• Notice how the same stone was used as the stair riser (the stair treads can also be travertine)

Some things to remember about this floor:

• This floor should be properly maintained to last
• This floor should be sealed for protection
• If you were to order this exact same floor, it will not look exactly the same since travertine is a natural stone product
• This floor can be used with radiant heat flooring

For a flooring store locater in your area that can show you travertine samples, click here.

To visualize a tile like this in a room, click here.

To learn how to maintain this floor, click here.

To browse travertine samples, click here. (many others are available)

Why is this so exciting?

Carpet tiles are one of the greatest flooring inventions. The offer design flexibility because you can lay them straight or 1/4 turn them for more pattern. The best part is if something happens to one of the tiles, like a stain or damage, that tile can be removed and replaced! Read below to learn about new residential carpet tiles!

Dalton, GA, June 18, 2008–For the first time, Mohawk is offering carpet tile to Mohawk residential dealers.

Modular by Mohawk is part of the Aladdin Home and Office Collection.

The line features four styles and design options. The company sees residential tile as a growth area.

“Light commercial is still a strong market segment, and this lets dealers pursue business they couldn’t before, with a stylish, competitive tile product,” said Phil Stoner, Mohawk market development director.

“Not only can dealers build tile business now, but the availability of tile opens discussions for other types of commercial business.”

The tile line contains Mohawk’s Encycle backing, which is produced in an ISO_14001-certified and Clean Air Class 1 facility. Encycle is the first and only non-PVC carpet tile that can be completely recycled back into itself in a single process, which Mohawk calls “thermal re-activation.”

Encycle carpet that has reached the end of its useful life is melted down and made into new Encycle backing without ever separating the face fiber from the backing layers. Avoiding the separation process altogether reduces energy use and saves resources in the recycling process. The reclamation and recycling of Encycle tiles is all handled by Mohawk’s ReCover program.

Encycle is a 100% non-PVC thermoplastic modular backing technology. It uses a minimum of 28 percent less virgin raw materials than its previous generation PVC modular carpet tiles.

• The carpet pad actually determines the comfort of carpet rather than the carpet
• Floor Covering stores often only carry one or two types of padding because they buy in bulk. Other types can be special ordered.
• It is best to buy carpet cushion that is not too soft or too hard. Soft padding doesn’t absorb the shock as well leaving the carpet to take the rest of the impact.
• Thicker padding is not always better than thinner padding. Individual needs are more important to consider when determining what carpet cushion is needed.
• All carpet pad does not have to be the same in one house. Different rooms with different lifestyles can benefit from different types of cushion.

For more posts on carpet cushion, click here.

For more information on carpet cushion from The Carpetology Blog click here.

As a follow up to the 2 previous posts, here are some tips on how to buy carpet pad!

• Factor a good padding into your budget before looking at carpet prices
• You can buy a lower pile carpet with a better cushion and it will be more comfortable, the carpet will look better and the carpet will wear better
• Purchasing the best carpet with an inferior pad will result in premature packing of the carpet, premature crushing of the carpet and overall comfort
• It shouldn’t be too soft or too firm
• Like a mattress, the softness or firmness depends on your personal preference
• Not all carpet cushion types are the same across manufacturers, look for companies that use first quality ingredients
• Make sure that prime urethane cushion is stamped FHA approved
• The impact of foot traffic can cause the synthetic latex in the carpet backing to break down, stretch and separate the primary backing from the secondary backing and also stress on the face of the carpet fiber
• Take the cushion sample you are interested in and place it under the carpet sample you are interested in. Walk with your shoes on and walk barefoot to feel the difference.

For more posts on carpet cushion, click here.For more information on carpet cushion from The Carpetology Blog click here.