What Carpet Where?
At Star Carpets we offer a wide range of flooring. So what would we reccomend for different areas of the home?
Lounge:
Carpets, laminate and vinyl are all suitable flooring types for this area. The amount of people living within the home determines the type of carpet we would advise. For a home with small children or pets, a polypropylene or acrylic carpet would be advisable due to its stain resistant properties. Man-made fibres are oiled based, therefore the stain is not absorbed into the carpet as it would be with a natural fibre, such as wool, but sits on the surface allowing you to quickly remove the stain. An 80/20 wool mix is the best proven carpet from a wear point of view (see FAQ’s for details.) A loop pile Berber is unsuitable for all areas of homes with pets such as cats or dogs as claws can get caught in the loops which damage the carpet causing the loops to unravell.
As with the Lounge, Carpet/Carpet tiles, Laminate and Vinyl are all suitable for use in the dining room. Carpet can be fitted using Cloud 9 Cumulus 11mm underlay or an alternative 8mm P.U foam underlay to give a comfortable feeling to the room. Vinyl, as well as laminate, has the advantage of being easy to keep free of dirt and marks. Tarkett Laminate is scratch resistant and durable. It also comes in a variety of finishes and colours. As with all woods, Laminate expands and contracts due to temperature. Therefore laminate is fitted with a small expansion gap around the outside of the room. Beading or Scotia of the same colour is then fitted over the expansion gap to complete the look. The other option is to have the Laminate fitted with an expansion gap direct to the wall and then you could have new skirting boards over the expansion gap for a more authentic look. Laminate is fitted using the “Tarkett T-lock”, glue free installation system. We use a professional carpenter to fit all of our laminate and all work is guranteed by ourselves.
Kitchen:
For the kitchen area both Carpet, Carpet tiles and Vinyl are suitable floor coverings. Laminate is unsuitable for the kitchen due to moisture retention which causes the Laminate to burst. Although there are some Laminates available designed specifically for bathroom or kitchen areas we do not advise these to our customers. Special gel back carpet is available for the kitchen which stops water being absorbed into the backing therefore allowing it to evaporate from the Carpet surface. Vinyl in the kitchen is water resistant and easy to clean. Vinyl is fitted with perimeter fixing, for this we use a special double sided tape which doesnt allow the adhesive to eat into the backing of the Vinyl. Vinyl is fitted without underlay making the condition of the sub-floor imperative. After time and use, any imperfections on the sub-floor will show through to the surface of the Vinyl. Therefore if there are uneven floor boards or tiles / pimpled concrete on the existing floor, screeding or ply boarding may be required. Screeding involves a layer of latex usually 3-5mm thick being levelled over the uneven sub-floor to provide a smooth surface in which to fit the vinyl on. We use 4mm or in some extreme cases 6mm ply wood for all uneven wooden floors. Flotex, which is a cross between to Vinyl and Carpet, can also be another type of floor covering suitable for the kitchen. Flotex is waterproof, warm, and due to its special design, stain resistant. This product also carries a life time gurantee.
Hall, Stairs and Landing:
Carpet is suitable for all these areas. Laminate and Vinyl are a suitable choice for the Hall and landing. Due to the high traffic wear on the hall, stairs and landing we would always advise a heavy domestic carpet. 100% wool loop pile carpets are unsuitable for the stairs as “pilling” occurs. Pilling is the name given to the effect of fibres breaking on the loops and therefore coming loose from the carpet. Pilling makes all the stairs look "hairy". However Victoria carpets do offer a few ranges which are tested vigourosly for this and perform well, however caution is still needed when purchasing wool loop carpets for stairs. These loose fibres then become bobbly and can be hazardous. Flat weave Berber carpets are also unsuitable for the stairs as these similarly become slippery. Carpets can be fitted a variety of ways on these areas. Carpets can either be fully fitted along the stair or custom made to your stairs as a runner. This involves the carpet being cut and whipped. “Whipping” of a carpet is the method of binding the whole lengths of the carpet to avoid fraying. The carpet is then fitted on underlay and gripper as required. We also offer Stairods and accessories to complete the look. Although this method can be applied to most carpets, special ranges have been designed for this type of fitting which allows you to then pick out specific patterns or colours from the runner for the landing or hall.
Bedroom:
All types of flooring including Laminate, |Vinyl and Carpet are suitable for the bedroom area. Some prefer special thick pile bedroom carpets due to the soft feeling they provide. These are known as Saxony's. These man-made carpets provide a warm and comfortable feeling to the bedroom. Carpets fitted in the bedroom can be fitted on Cloud 9 Cumulus underlay or P.U foam underlay to provide a luxurious feel under foot.
Bathroom:
As with the kitchen, laminate is unsuitable for the bathroom area due to moisture. Carpet and Carpet tiles can be fitted to the bathroom. Carpet can be fitted onto underlay and gripper in some circumstances. However this too may be unsuitable in homes where alot of water may be allowed to soak into the backing of the carpet. Special “waffle backed” bathroom carpets, fitted directly to the sub-floor, can be used in these situations. The special backing, similar to a gel backing, keep the water on the surface of the carpet stopping it being absorbed and allowing it to dry naturally. Both Vinyl and Flotex can be used in the bathroom due to their slip resistant and waterproof properties. As with the kitchen they are fitted direct to the sub-floor with ply boarding or screeding preparation where needed.
Conservatory:
Carpet is suitable for the conservatory but carefull consideration is needed when choosing carpets for this area. Due to the extreme temperatures in conservertories the carpet can become “baked” by strong sunlight and therefore rapidly disintegrates. Fading is a big problem in conservatories , wool carpets are more prone to fading due to the dying process, whereas polypropylene or other acrylic fibres are naturally fade resistant. However there is nothing to stop fading in strong sunlit areas. Flotex and vinyl are suitable choices in these areas. Again due to the conditions often found in this area most floor coverings have to be fully adhered to the sub - floor to eliminate stretching and shrinking of all soft materials. Carpet tiles are excellent for this area and would be one of the top products we would reccomend.
