What you are describing I just think fits a true berber(looped) carpet. Place it over 1/4 inch commercial pad for something that you will never wear out and go ahead wreak the havoc. They should stretch it in using masonry tack strips. Parade of champions by Shaw and Endless Chic by Mohawk will be excellent choices and can be installed for 2.50 a sq ft or so. You will never wear these out. They are a nylon olefin blend. There is not a cut Pile (Fuzzy carpet) in the world that will outlast these and they are perfect for a family room. If you want a plush feel use a , smart strand frieze. Again it will be higher priced and not wear as well over all..but will be a little cozier. The berber over cushion will fit the bill the best. Good Luck

Floortech,

I have looked at Parade of Champions and Endless Chic for my basement. I had installed a similar loop carpet 13 years ago. It showed some wear on the stairs, but in general it did well. Unfortunately my basement flooded because of Hurricane Irene and we needed to do a major renovation.

It looks like we are going with Endless Chic because of the better selection of colors. What is your recommendation for a cushion? In the past you have stated no higher then 1/4 inch for a berber. Should I upgrade to an 8 pound cushion?

If 1/4 inch, yes it should be 8# cushion. Both are excellent products I might add.

Are you familiar with Shaw's St. Bryant? It is also an olefin/nylon mix loop. The face weight is 33oz which is higher than the Endless Chic, but the loops are bigger which always worries me in the high traffic area. Any opinion on this one?

Finally why is it there is very little selection in 100% nylon level loop carpets? In the resesidential category most of the carpets are either 100% olefin or a 85% olefin/15% nylon mix. It seems you have to go to a commercial carpet to get 100% nylon, but unfortunately then the color selection is small. Are the buyers of this carpet only interested in price and not so worried about long term wear?

It is of my opinion that a well constructed olefin loop will wear somewhat similar to a nylon loop. A tightly pulled down olefin will wear extremely well. not so in a cut pile. There are many nylon Loops. Shaw Anso has a lot of them. many are precision cut products. Tuftex has dozens of them (Again Anso). I always felt (and I take this business as serious as anyone)that a good quality olefin loop will always please and meet performance expectations. The nylon fleck (15%) is there for color only as nylon is much more vibrant. Check out Anso loops if you need a nylon. St Bryant has also been a big winner for Shaw. It is in many builder lineups across the USA. I also agree that a bigger looser loop will not perform as a tight pulled down loop! Good Luck.