Poor ol' carpet padding. The Rodney Dangerfield of Flooring...?It never gets the respect that it deserves.
When new carpet is being purchased, everyone is thinking first about color. Then comes the texture then quality and so forth. Eventually someone states that you will probably need some pad under that new carpet. It?s at this time that the consumer response usually is ?Oh, that pad will do I guess?. Let?s start with the basics concerning the fundamental choices in padding.
Waffle Type Pad:?This style of padding was very popular at one time. The content in the past was of a high quality rubber and it did hold up quite well. In recent years however there is more filler (binders) being used and it tends to break down and dry out over time causing it to lose its resiliency.
Foam Pad:?This type of pad is usually made from urethane foam and is available in different densities and thickness. This pad is usually not recommended in areas of heavy traffic because all that air in the foam starts to compress and doesn?t recover.
Felt/Fiber Pad:?This pad is excellent in areas of heavy use such as commercial installations. It significantly limits the carpets ability for vertical movement. This is not a luxurious feeling pad underfoot as it is usually very dense. Possible uses would be under area rugs on stairways or even under berber carpet in a game room.
Rebond Pad:?This pad has become the most popular type in use today. It is primarily made up of recycled high density foam used by various industries such as furniture.?It also comes in varying qualities, thicknesses and benefits. Some have finer chips and are of a singular color. Some have large chips and are multicolored. Higher qualities have a moisture barrier on the surface to help ?resist? moisture penetration due to spills. ?Rebond pad when properly specified to a particular need will easily last the lifetime of the carpet it is used under.
As you can see, padding is something that deserves more respect and thought than it gets.?Properly used in the correct manner, it can increase the life of a carpet,?increase the feeling of luxury under a less expensive carpet and will increase the insulation value ultimately making the space warmer (especially used in lower levels on concrete) which is so common in our area.?The sound deadening ability is significantly improved as well. This will be most noticeable in the noise from the kid?s bedrooms or in the lower level when there is traffic upstairs. We compare padding to the shock absorbers on your car. We certainly understand the importance of the job that they do and the negative results when they wear out.?
So as you can see, this is not a product to take for granted and deserves a lot more attention and questions when talking to your local flooring professional.
When new carpet is being purchased, everyone is thinking first about color. Then comes the texture then quality and so forth. Eventually someone states that you will probably need some pad under that new carpet. It?s at this time that the consumer response usually is ?Oh, that pad will do I guess?. Let?s start with the basics concerning the fundamental choices in padding.
Waffle Type Pad:?This style of padding was very popular at one time. The content in the past was of a high quality rubber and it did hold up quite well. In recent years however there is more filler (binders) being used and it tends to break down and dry out over time causing it to lose its resiliency.
Foam Pad:?This type of pad is usually made from urethane foam and is available in different densities and thickness. This pad is usually not recommended in areas of heavy traffic because all that air in the foam starts to compress and doesn?t recover.
Felt/Fiber Pad:?This pad is excellent in areas of heavy use such as commercial installations. It significantly limits the carpets ability for vertical movement. This is not a luxurious feeling pad underfoot as it is usually very dense. Possible uses would be under area rugs on stairways or even under berber carpet in a game room.
Rebond Pad:?This pad has become the most popular type in use today. It is primarily made up of recycled high density foam used by various industries such as furniture.?It also comes in varying qualities, thicknesses and benefits. Some have finer chips and are of a singular color. Some have large chips and are multicolored. Higher qualities have a moisture barrier on the surface to help ?resist? moisture penetration due to spills. ?Rebond pad when properly specified to a particular need will easily last the lifetime of the carpet it is used under.
As you can see, padding is something that deserves more respect and thought than it gets.?Properly used in the correct manner, it can increase the life of a carpet,?increase the feeling of luxury under a less expensive carpet and will increase the insulation value ultimately making the space warmer (especially used in lower levels on concrete) which is so common in our area.?The sound deadening ability is significantly improved as well. This will be most noticeable in the noise from the kid?s bedrooms or in the lower level when there is traffic upstairs. We compare padding to the shock absorbers on your car. We certainly understand the importance of the job that they do and the negative results when they wear out.?
So as you can see, this is not a product to take for granted and deserves a lot more attention and questions when talking to your local flooring professional.
