floors and flooring of all the furnishings in a room, the floor receives the most abuse. numerous...

Floors and Flooring

• Of all the furnishings in a room, the floor receives the most abuse. Numerous materials are used for flooring including wood, carpet, ceramic tile, concrete, stone, and brick. The flooring sets the mood of the room.

• When selecting background materials for residential and nonresidential interior settings, it is important to start with the floor and work up.

• When selecting flooring, remember the following three things:

AppearanceDurability

MaintenanceCopyright © Notice: The materials are copyrighted © and trademarked ™ as the property of The Curriculum Center for Family and Consumer Sciences, Texas Tech University.

Most are available with a factory applied protective finish and can be installed over concrete or wood.

Wood Flooring - Common Designs

Strip FlooringRandom Plank

Parquet

Copyright © Notice: The materials are copyrighted © and trademarked ™ as the property of The Curriculum Center for Family and Consumer Sciences, Texas Tech University.

Stone Flooring - Marble

• Recrystalization of limestone• most common• usually white, but may have

streaks of clouding

• Onyx• may have layers of different

colors or banding

• Verdigris• applies to marbles that

have a prevailing green color


Stone Flooring - Terrazzo

•Even though marble is strong, there is a 50% + breakage at the quarry.

• Broken pieces are used to make Terrazzo.

• Terrazzo tile is used quite often in Italian Renaissance.


Stone Flooring - Travertine

• Travertine is porous limestone that can be used on floors or walls.

• The limestone comes from mineral springs which cause limestone to be porous.

• The resulting holes are caused by escaping gas.

• When used on floors, holes are filled with a resin that may or may not be the same color.


Tile Flooring - Ceramic

•Example: Delft•Blue and white designs•Originated in Holland in

the town of Delft

• Made of baked clay

• Originated in Egypt about 4700

B.C.

• Often named after the city or

areas from which they originate


Tile Flooring

• Ceramic Mosaic• Individual tiles mounted together on a

sheet to help keep them together and make installation easier

• Mexican• Made from clay taken directly from the

ground• Shaped by hand, which results in

uneven thickness• Dried in the sun and often have prints

of leaves, animals, etc. that fall into or step into the drying tile


Tile Flooring•Quarry Tile•Warm brown to warm beige

color

•Vinyl Tile•Available in 9, 12, 14, 16, or

18-inch squares•Vinyl also comes in sheet

vinyl

• Linoleum• Was the original sheet flooring material, first patented in 1863.

• Is now only manufactured in Europe and imported into the U.S.

• Is primarily available in roll form, approximately 6’6” wide in lengths up to 98 feet long.


Concrete Flooring

• Extremely durable

• Can be stained, painted, stenciled, and textured

• If maintained properly, should last a lifetime

• Comparable in price to wood and ceramic or quarry tile flooring

• Healthy alternative for people with allergies

• Popular in restaurants and commercial facilities but used in homes as well


Sheet Vinyl

• Comes in 6, 9, and 12-foot widths

• Rotogravure (printing and photography)• Photographic image printed on the material• Protected by a clear vinyl coating (wear layer)• Can be subject to tearing

• Inlaid• Uses color granules arranged in a pattern• Layers are fused together with heat and

pressure• Design goes to the backing• Is the most durable vinyl flooring


Carpeting

• William Sprague started the first woven carpet mill in Philadelphia in 1791. Other mills opened in the early 1800s in New England.

• Today, there are over two hundred carpet corporations and over three hundred manufacturing plants.

• Learn more about the history of carpet and rugs from The Carpet and Rug Institute at http://www.carpet-rug.org/


http://www.carpet-rug.org/

Carpeting Factors That Are Important to Consumers

• Density – the amount of the face yarn

• can be determined by bending the carpet sample and noting how close the tufts are together

• the denser the better

• Heat setting – the setting of the twisted yarns by heat or steam

• Twist – the rotating or spiraling of the yarn around itself

• Depth – how “tall” the fibers are


Carpeting - Types of Fibers

Wool

Nylon

Olefin

Polyester

Acrylic


Carpeting - Tufted Carpet

More than 90% of all soft floor coverings produced today are made by the

tufting process. In tufted carpets, pile yarns are sewn into a primary

backing. A secondary backing can be used for additional body and quality.

Uncut tufts

Primary backing

Basic Tufted Weave

Carpeting - Categories of Tufted Carpet

• Low-level Loop is used primarily for commercial areas, residential kitchens, and indoor-outdoor carpeting.

• Sculptured carpeting has cut loops and low-level uncut loops. It is used primarily in residential areas.

• Plush/Saxony refers to a high-level cut loop. It is also used primarily in residential settings.

• Frieze refers to medium density cut loops that are usually made of small diameter yarns that have a hard or tight twist.

Original tufting machines could only produce solid color, one-level carpet.

With advances in dyeing and machine designs, it is now possible to

produce multicolored carpets as well as various designs. New styles are

developed rapidly. Some of the more popular styles include the following:


Carpet Padding

Carpet padding, often called underlay or cushion, is

necessary unless a carpet or rug is manufactured with

padding already attached. A good padding reduces

surface wear and extends the life of a rug or carpet.

Felted Padding

Padding can be made of many materials. The

following three categories are most typical:

Rubber Padding

Urethane or Plastic FoamCopyright © Notice: The materials are copyrighted © and trademarked ™ as the property of The Curriculum Center for Family and Consumer Sciences, Texas Tech University.

Rugs

A rug is distinguished froma carpet in that it is finished on all sides and is not attached to the flooring below.


Consumer Labeling

The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act of 1960 requires that the carpet label must list:

Manufacturer’s register number Pattern and color names of the carpet Generic fiber name of all surface

fibers, in percentages listed according to weight predominance

Weight Yarn quality


Consumer Labeling

Labels may also contain additional information like special treatments; anti-soil, anti-static, and anti-stain finishes; type of traffic for which the carpet is intended; and whether the yarn is heat set.

In addition, some better quality manufacturers have their own quality control programs. If you are aware of this, the fiber producer’s trademark indicates that the carpet manufacturer has met its quality standards – for example, pile density, yarn quality, and sometimes backing quality and construction method.


floors and flooring of all the furnishings in a room, the floor receives the most abuse. numerous...

Documents

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