Flooring & Carpets

Floorcoverings Overview

The range of floorcoverings now available has grown enormously over the years. Each product has its own features and benefits so it is important that you understand these to make your own informed choices about floorcoverings as it is a big-ticket item and has a major impact on your interior design.

When building or renovating your home – don’t feel confined to the tried and traditional – check out commercial fitouts, showhomes and design shows to gather your ideas and information.  The web is also a fabulous source of product options and possibilities.  Be sure to mention your builder or specifier details to your floorcoverings retailer, as you may also be able to obtain special pricing or additional services. If using an interior designer or specialist, be sure to provide the features and benefits that are important to you and give feedback on any queries you may have but remember they can also see the big picture of all your elements together and on a bigger scale.

Let your floorcoverings be the perfect palette for the rest of your home, space or fitout and invest in the best you possibly can – you will enjoy the many years of service in return.

1.    Carpet

• Carpet is still traditionally one of the most economical forms of floorcovering on a square metre basis because it's a product that primarily is installed directly over underlay and the sub-floor surface, where most other forms of floorcoverings have labour and product requirements to prepare the sub-floor.
• Carpets are a classic example of getting what you pay for – as a guide domestic carpets are graded heavy duty (5-7 year product) and extra heavy duty (10-12 years plus product) and generally weighted with the amount of yarn within the product – the higher the weight, the more yarn is incorporated into your product (and the better). A cheaper carpet may look just the same as a more expensive option from the samples but after a few years of wear there is definitely a difference in appearance.
• Carpet is produced either as a cut-pile where the top of the carpet fibre is cut to create a look of luxuriousness and softness.  As a cut pile relaxes and blooms the fibres also soften and so if you have a big area with a join this assists with the join becoming less obvious over time.  The other construction method is a loop or textured loop-pile style where the fibre “loop” is not cut – giving you a stronger yarn and better appearance retention in the years ahead. Again the popularity of both styles varies in the marketplace and depends on the other elements of your home you are bringing together.

New Zealanders have historically been drawn to wool carpets but the array of other options is fast changing, with new synthetic products from around the world now available here.

There is no right or wrong option, as a good quality wool carpet and an equally graded synthetic one both provide great comfort underfoot, but there are some differences:

•     The selection of colours is about the same, although wools have more loop-pile options.
•     Pricing is about the same for comparable products but some of the features and benefits are where they start to stand apart.
•     The two main strengths of a good synthetic – a solution dyed nylon or equal – are its fade resistant properties and serviceability (being stain-proof and easy maintenance). Some can be cleaned with a bleach mix.
•     Most of the new synthetics also have a man-made backing – an attractive anti-rot feature for homes where concrete subfloors may have moisture issues.
•     Wool, on the other hand, can absorb and release up to a third of its weight in airborne moisture without becoming wet to touch – making your home a drier and healthier place. It is fire resist and naturally hypoallergenic and, being a natural product, has the ability to age gracefully.

• If you are concerned about the environment check product claims. For example an overseas product may have environmental advantages but will also have accrued carbon miles getting to NZ.
• New Zealand wool carpets are supporting our own economy and wool farmers and can also be returned to the earth for weed matting, worm farms or compost.
• Most manufacturers have a range of wools and synthetics products and, again, the importance of putting your trust in a reputable company and carpet manufacturer is recommended.
• A good underlay and installation using correct methods are important aspects to this too – just because you can’t see the underlay don’t overlook this important part of your carpeting – bonded foam is currently the most common underlay used and again like carpet the weight of its bulk density dictates its quality – the lower the weight, the lower the quality.. There are other specialist underlays for installations with glue for commercial or wheelchair needs and premium underlays such as urethane for those wanting the very best.
• When looking at the price of carpets, these are usually detailed as a lineal metre price. A lineal metre is 3.66m wide (12 ft old school) or some of the newer nylons are produced on a 4.0m wide loom. You should only use these prices as a guide only - what is the most important is the "on the floor" cost including a good underlay and installation. Your carpet specialist should go over your layout and plan with you indicating where joins are placed throughout your home.
  Choosing your Carpet
• When it comes to furnishing your new home or extension, the floor covering should be considered early in the decorating scheme as it is the foundation from which you build up a decorating plan.
• Berber and Wooltweed relate to the colouring of the carpet and can refer to either cut or loop piles.  Berbers are carpets of naturally earthy tonings such as cream, beige, brown and gold.  Wooltweed carpets combine small flecks of many colours on a single base colour.
• Light colours tend to show dirt more readily.  Blues and green create cool, calm surrounding while colours such as pinks lemons and apricots emphasise warmth and welcome.
• Check samples under your own night lighting conditions - perceived colours vary according to lighting.  Remember, the colour you choose for a room can enhance the feeling you’ve created throughout the house.
• Weight refers to the amount of wool used to manufacture of the carpet (i.e. grams per sq metre).  It is a manufacturing term and not an easy reference for the consumer to use.  A carpet with a weight heavier than another is likely to be more expensive but not necessarily a better wearing product.  You’ll find a label on the back of carpet samples specifying their recommended usage.  This will help you gauge the performance you can expect from the carpet.
• A good underlay is essential.  Good carpet works in combination with underlay, extending the life of the carpet.  Underlay reduces the wear on the backing, adds to the carpets insulating qualities, and gives a softer; more luxurious feel.  A quality carpet retailer will advise you on the best underlay for your situation… but remember cheap is not necessarily best.

2.    Vinyls, Vinyl Woodplanks and Tiles

• Modern sheet vinyls from Europe are finished today with slip resistant and easy clean properties.
• They replicate many looks and styles from woodplanks through to leathers, slates and more.
• Two-metre wide sheet vinyl is still the most common in New Zealand but vinyls also range in availability through to 3-metre and some 4-metre wide products, often helping avoid joins.
• Sheet Vinyls usually have what they called a Cushionback giving you softness and comfort underfoot.
• Pricing on sheet vinyls installed to your home is generally more than carpet but less than a vinyl woodplank or tile option, or engineered timbers or corks on a like for like quality.
• Vinyl Woodplanks and Tiles are just as they sound – a plank and tile format installed as individual pieces looking like a real timber or ceramic tile but giving you the easy maintenance and cost saving feature.  These products come in domestic and commercial grades and a variety of sizes.  The price point for this option is generally above carpet and vinyl on a like for like basis.

3.    Cork

• Cork is now prefinished and even coloured and available in four modern sizes.
• It is resilient yet extremely durable, natural, warm, soft, absorbs noise, keeps you cool in summer and warm in winter. It will give you many years of use and is able to be resurfaced. Cork is not one of your cheaper options for floorcoverings but its features and benefits definitely provide worthy consideration for their lifetime value, investment and return.

4.    Timbers

There are a large scope and range of products and options

• Engineered Prefinished Timber has a real timber surface but a manmade backing. They usually click or lock together and can be installed over special underlay or direct stuck to your sub-floor.
• Products on the market start at an 8mm thick option and move through to a 14mm and 21mm option.  The finishes are either a Plank style or a 2-Strip or 3-Strip style – the Plank option within the same species family is more expensive because when they manufacture 2-Strip and 3-Strip products they are able to use more of the timber.
• Solid Tongue & Groove timbers are available in a variety of thickness and widths – 19mm solid T&G is commonly used in New Zealand and often if you don’t want a 19mm you may pay for it to be milled down anyway.
• Native species are more expensive.
• Finishes include stains and lime washing along with traditional polyurethane or the newer more environmental friendly water based polyurethanes but be aware that these newer options have a quicker need for maintenance and resurfacing.
• Remember that with any timber, a species colour is a good guide but every tree is different so it is a natural characteristic to have colour variance, texture and grains throughout even the same box of product.
• If considering a timber option, you will need to remember to leave skirting boards until after the install (or consider this for renovations) and leave the kitchen toespaces off until install is finished.
• On new concrete subfloors the relative humidity must be at a certain level before installation can take place – timber is a natural product and if your subfloor is too wet it will absorb this moisture and then release leaving you with a multitude of problems.  There are moisture barrier systems available that can be installed prior to timber if you do not wish to wait for your subfloor to reach the percentage required.
• A timber floor is likely to be one of the most expensive options you can consider.

5.    Other Options:

• GARAGE CARPET - usually a polypropylene needlepunch product is used that won't rot and is extremely hard wearing. Garage Carpet gives you an extra play or work space in your home, reduces the amount of travelling dust and surprisingly keeps the rest of your home warmer with internal access not to mention that added value of garage carpeting when selling or reselling a home.
• DESIGN AND CUSTOM OPTIONS - New Zealand has carpet producers who are able to replicate your every wish for carpet colour, design and style – you do of course pay for this privilege but it is available.
• Natural Fibre products such as Sisals and Jutes look beautiful in a full wall to wall installation as well as the popular option of having a fabric or leather bound custom made mat.
• Wallcoverings are a product originally from the educational and commercial sector that is also taking hold in the domestic market for home offices, theatre rooms and child friendly spaces and bedrooms.  Bright colourful options in a 12mm thick product means there is no noise transference between rooms and provides a surface for pinning and attaching to.

Editorial kindly supplied by Gerrand Floorings in Mt Maunganui www.gerrand.co.nz