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jaxo_gw

Carpet than handles high traffic areas?

jaxo
13 years ago

It's annoying that hallway and other traffic area's carpeting wears out faster than the rest of the home's carpet.

I'm thinking of using commercial carpeting next time. More comfortable than hard floors and it's easier to vacuum carpet than dealing with brooms and mop buckets through an entire house.

Can you put a cushy pad under commercial carpet so it feels soft and luxuriously well-padded under your foot, but you still have much longer wear than standard residential carpets in high traffic hallways etc.?

Comments (8)

  • rbfranklin
    13 years ago

    Jaxo - Your point about commercial carpet in high traffic areas is sort of good except most home owners don't want commercial carpet in their homes.

    What is annoying is that you expect carpet that gets walked on frequently to look like the carpet that seldom gets walked on.

    Hallways and stairs are the highest traffic areas in many homes. A good choice for hallways is a stylish loop pile residential carpet - close to commercial in construction, but a little thicker so that it does not look like commercial carpet. For stairs, I recommend the same thing, but consider purchasing extra carpet and store it in your basement, etc., so that when this area starts to show wear faster than other areas (it definately will do this), you can simply replace the stairs and move on.

    Better yet for stairs, use hardwood on the treads and put a rug runner down the middle.

  • jaxo
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    There is nowhere I said that I *EXPECTED* the carpet I had to wear the same in high traffic areas as low traffic areas. I'm not sure why you added that comment to the answer.
    The fast wear was annoying and expensive to fix by replacement, so I'm looking for carpet that will handle wear much better in the future and last years longer without looking worn out.

  • mike_home
    13 years ago

    Carpets made out of nylon are can handle high traffic areas. You need high twist and density counts in order to get long life.

    What is the fiber of your current carpet?

    You could do a commerial carpet with a good pad. The thickest pad you should use is 7/16 of an inch. A good 8 or 10 pound rebond pad is not going to feel cushy. You should try it in the store see if you like it.

  • llcp93
    13 years ago

    I had the same problem. 4 years ago, we put in a shaw frieze carpet in 3 bedrooms/closets and master closet. After 4 years, it looked like 20 year old carpet in the high traffic areas.
    We replaced it 8 months ago with Shaw Tuxtex carpet. I love it. It shows no wear so far in the 3 bed rooms (now all teens). The only thing I would recommend is it is very hard to hide a seam which is in our master closet. It only comes 12' width, so that may be an issue for some rooms. Our seam is ok, but it is noticable.

  • steve_o
    13 years ago

    Coming a little late to this thread, but...

    - some commercial carpeting comes with a pad. It's not great or cushy, but it is there.

    - if you're willing to consider commercial carpeting, consider carpet tile. That way when the high-traffic areas get really worn, you can replace them (though you'll need to consider the effect of color lot differences and some fading/abrupt transitions between tiles you replaced and those you didn't). I've replaced 5-year-old tiles and you can't tell.

    I have installed carpet tile ("modular carpet" is the industry term) in two houses so far; in one because I wanted a long-lasting recyclable carpet and in a home I rent because the residents wanted a softer floor covering but also had to move a wheelchair (kinda tough on cushy carpet). Put in a pattern (there are dozens) and away you go. Granted, I don't see that much traffic in my house, but you cannot tell the high-wear areas from the areas untouched by feet since installation. That's good enough for me. I figure by the time this house is sold, the new owners will want to put in their own floors anyway.

  • jmendez_vnetpublishing_com
    13 years ago

    If you also choose to renovate your floor. we have the right answer for your flooring problem. Super-fast curing with no disruption to operations, the exact degree of slip resistance required, processing even at very low temperatures, a large selection of color design options and much, much more.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Commercial flooring

  • Floortech
    13 years ago

    Mike Home..using a 7/16 inch cushion with a looped product is a no no. manufacturers actually would prefer a felt if you had a discussion with a tech expert. In the real world though consumers should use a no thicker than 3/8 with a 1/4 inch pad prefered. The firmer the better, as the loops in most conventional commercial carpets do not react well to a larger drop due to the thickness. The thicker pad on a commercial makes for greater seam peeks and voids delamination claim warranties with commercial carpets. Also creates re stretching on larger rooms when commercial over a thick pad is used. I can also discuss some hypocrisy with this theory as triple touch is permitted under shaw berber,,but the price on the cushion is so jacked, I believe they have some claims built in to that price. Just my opinion though. an 8 LB 1/4 inch rebond works beautifully under an action back carpet in a residential area. If it is a cut pile commercial carpet, than the thicker cushion is fine. Not to be argumentative..just a manufacturers angle on the subject. Good Luck All.