Glossary of Flooring Terms
Axminster carpet: A machine-woven carpet where an enormous variety of
colors are used to produce colorful patterns.
Berber carpet: The term Berber is applied to carpet that has the off-white,
leathered look of cloaks used by the Berber tribes of North Africa. Berber carpets use
flecked yarns most often in loop styles. The size of the loops vary from large nubby ones
to smaller, faux sisal styles. Patterned Berbers are multilevel-loop as well as cut and
loop styles. Berber styles are also available in pastels and dark tones as well as
naturals.
Binding: A strip sewn over a carpet edge for protection against
unraveling. Carpet is bound to form rugs.
Broadloom: A term originally used to denote carpet produced in widths
wider than six feet. Today carpet comes in 6foot, 12-foot and 15-foot widths.
Carpet: The general designation for the textiles used as floor coverings.
Carpet backing: Fabrics or yarns forming the back of the carpet
as opposed to the carpet pile or face. In tufted carpets, there are two backings:
a primary backing into which the pile yarn is inserted. Secondary backing is
a fabric that is laminated to the back of the carpet for reinforcement and dimensional
stability.
Carpet cushion: A variety of materials placed under carpet
to provide softness and longer wear when it is walked on. In some cases, the
carpet cushion is attached to the carpet when it is manufactured. Terms also
used: lining, padding, or underlay.
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Carpet pile: Fibers that form the upper surface
of carpet.
Carpet tile: Most often used for commercial buildings, the tiles are
typically 18" x 18", but are also made in 24", and 36" squares. Although more
expensive because of the vinyl backing, they are extremely durable and with
proper maintenance should last ten years or more in a heavy commercial facility.
Ceramic tile: Made from clay or a mixture of organic materials,
ceramic tile is finished by kiln firing. The common types are mosaic and quarry.
Cork flooring: One of the earliest of modern resilient floor
coverings, the flooring is made from the bark of cork oak trees, a replenishable
material. Cork flooring is available in tiles and sheet goods in natural unfinished
cork, waxed cork, resin-reinforced waxed and vinyl impregnated cork in many
colors including natural shades.
Cut and loop carpet: A multilevel loop carpet, where the taller
loops are sheared. The resulting uncut loops and sheared top loops create a
sculptured pattern. The texture and often subtle, variegated colorings help
hide soil and traffic wear.
Cut pile: The face of a carpet where the surface is composed
of cut ends of yam.
Dhurrie: Dhurrie rugs and carpets are flat woven items traditional to India, made
of cotton or silk. They are noted for soft colorations and varied patterns.
Frieze: ( "free-zay.") A tightly twisted yarn is
used to give a rough, nubby appearance to carpet pile. Frieze carpets may be
loop or cut styles. It is also carpet made from frieze yams. Because the yarn
is so tightly twisted as to curl in on itself, it provides superior texture
retention for a longer period of time - which means that your carpet will look
newer, longer.
Glazed tile: Clay shaped into tiles, fire-hardened, then covered with a matte or
glossy glaze or sealant to make the tiles more resistant to moisture.
High low: Multilevel carpets with high and low loop pile areas or high cut-pile
and low loop areas. The latter is also called a cut and loop carpet.
Hooked rug: Rugs made by pulling yarns or fabric strips through a mesh
backing. Many are designed in various colors to create a scene or design.
Indoor/Outdoor carpet: Carpet designed to be used outdoors.
Kilim or Kelim: A flat woven rug-- usually reversible.
Laminate flooring: Relatively new to North America, laminates have a
dense fiberboard core with a paper pattern layer sealed under high pressure both top and
bottom with a plastic-like substance. Sold as planks and panels in wood, stone, tile and
other looks.
Level loop carpet: A carpet style-- woven or tufted-- with a same height
loop surface.
Linoleum: One of the first resilient floors, it was introduced in the
1800s. Made of linseed oil, gums, cork or wood dust and pigments, linoleum is no longer
manufactured in the U.S. Often the term is used incorrectly to describe resilient floors
made of vinyl.
Loop pile carpet: Carpet style having a surface made up of uncut loops.
Marble: Limestone flooring known for its elegant appearance created by polishing
its very hard surface. Now available in tiles.
Mosaic tile: Small ceramic tile-- hard porcelain or glass, glazed or
unglazed-- mounted on a backing for ease of installation. Often mosaic tiles are used to
create designs for walls and floors.
Oriental rug: Handwoven or hand knotted rugs native to the Middle or Far
East available in many patterns and known for their colorations. Many machine-made rugs,
made using Oriental rug designs, are also referred to as Oriental rugs.
Outdoor carpet: Carpet designed to be used outdoors on patios, walks and
decks. Usually made of polypropylene to withstand the weather and ultra-violet rays of the
sun, most outdoor carpet is designed for glue-down installation.
Parquet floors: Flooring made up of wood that is laid or inlaid to create
patterns, most often geometric ones.
Pickled floors: The result of rubbing white paint into previously stained
finished wood flooring for an informal or more casual look.
Pile: The visible wear surface of carpet, consisting of yarn tufts in
loop and/or cut configuration. Sometimes called the face or nap of the carpet.
Plank flooring: Wood flooring made of long boards more than 3 inches
wide.
Plush carpet: A smooth, dense, cut pile carpet in which individual tufts
are only minimally visible, and the overall visual effect is a single level of fiber ends.
Printed carpet: Carpet with pattern applied by methods similar to
printing flat textiles and paper.
Quarry tile: Glazed or unglazed ceramic tile made using an extrusion
process. An example is the terra-cotta squares used in the Southwest.
Rag rug: A sturdy, colorful rug handwoven from cotton scraps.
Random sheared carpet: Created by lightly shearing either level loop or
high-low loop carpet so that only the higher loops are cut. Sheared areas are less
reflective than uncut loops, which appear brighter and lighter in color. Random shearing
high-low loop carpet produces a cut and loop style texture.
Remnant: A short piece of carpet from a roll of carpet that usually
measures less than nine feet long.
Resilient floor: Smooth surfaced flooring (tiles, strips, or sheet goods)
manufactured by combining a plastic material with filler and pigments, then processed into
sheets of different thicknesses. If a backing material is used, the plastic sheet is
joined to the backing. Types include solid vinyl, backed or cushioned vinyl, rubber, cork
and linoleum.
Rubber flooring: Today rubber flooring-tiles and sheet goods-is made from
synthetic rubber. It comes in ribbed, coin or other raised patterns.
Rug: Carpet made or cut and bound into room dimensions and loose laid.
Saxony carpet: Cut-pile carpet in relatively dense construction, with
well-defined individual tuft tips. Smoother finished saxonies are called
"plushes."
Sculptured carpet: Any carpet pattern formed from high and low pile
areas, such as high-low loop or cut-and-loop.
Sisal flooring: Rugs, mats and matting made from sisal, a natural plant
material. Available woven and dyed in various colors, as well as machine and handpainted.
Similar flooring is made of jute, coconut and seagrass.
Slate: A naturally laminated rock that is often used in regular and
irregular shapes embedded in cement or mortar to create a hard-surface, patterned floor.
Soil retardant: A chemical finish applied to carpet and fabric surfaces
which inhibits attachment of soil to fiber. It is usually a topical treatment but may also
be inherent in the fiber.
Solid vinyl flooring: This smooth-surfaced plastic floor is a mixture of
vinyl resins, plasticizer, fillers and stabilizers with color added throughout the
product. Produced in either square tiles or sheet goods.
Stain resistant: A chemical finish applied to or inherent in carpet
fibers which inhibits specific stains from adhering to or dyeing (staining) carpet and
fabrics.
Stretch: A carpet installation term for the give in carpet when it is
pulled over pad onto tackless strips.
Strip flooring: The most popular wood flooring, it is made of long,
narrow-about 3-inches wide-tongue-and-groove boards that are end-matched. Strip flooring
wider than inches is called plank flooring.
Tackless installation: Where carpet is laid over pad and stretched to fit
over tack strips, which are specially made strips of wood with implanted tacks to hold the
carpet snugly to the wall. Also called wall-to-wall installation.
Terrazzo: A smooth multicolored floor made of marble or stone chips
embedded in a cement binder, then highly polished. Traditionally terrazzo floors are
poured and set on site, but manufactured terrazzo tiles are also available.
Tufted carpet: Carpet manufactured by tufting machines, which insert pile
tufts with needles which penetrate a primary backing fabric, thus forming tufts. About 90%
of all North American carpet is tufted.
Vinyl composition tile: These floor tiles are made from vinyl resins and
filler materials to create resilient flooring in assorted colors and patterns.
Wilton carpet: Woven carpet made in a variety of patterns and textures
but with a limited number of colors per pattern.
Wood flooring: Most wood flooring is made of hardwoods, such as oak,
maple, pecan, beech and birch. There is solid wood flooring and laminated, which combines
wood layered in different directions for strength and to inhibit warping. Most wood
flooring today is prefinished at the factory for ease of installation and uniformity of
finish.
Woven carpet: Looms interlace warp (lengthwise) and filling (widthwise)
yarns to create a sturdy textile for the floor. Much woven carpet is produced in
intricate, colorful patterns. Types of woven carpet include Axminster and Wilton.
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