Buyer's Guide - Broadloom Carpet

Broadloom Carpet Buying Guide

Still unsure about broadloom carpet? Let me give you the lowdown on everything broadloom and get you on the right path for your favorite flooring: carpet.

The other day I was building these six-foot long wall shelves in my apartment. As I was kneeling on my tile floor drilling into the wood I was also metaphorically shaking my fist at the sky, lamenting the fact that I did not have carpet. Why? Because the tile hurt.

No matter how much we may love our hard flooring, the truth is, carpet is so much more comfortable. When I moved into my new place, we didn’t have a couch. We had two hard chairs on tile. I longed for the plushness of a couch or at least to do a fun movie night on the floor. But I couldn’t do that with tile unless I put down every blanket we owned.

What I’m trying to say is carpet is the best. It is the definition of home and comfort.

What Is Broadloom Carpet?

First, let me start by telling you what broadloom carpet is. It’s called broadloom for a reason. That’s because broadloom carpet was originally woven on a very wide loom.

Today, broadloom carpet is manufactured and sold in large carpet rolls that come in a standard size. Broadloom is the traditional wall-to-wall carpet.

All that said, broadloom also comes in a variety of style types such as loop, pattern, texture and frieze. If you aren’t familiar with all of the carpet lingo, be sure to check out our comprehensive guide on carpet.

So what do all these styles mean? Well, let me break it down for you.

Loop

Loop carpet is also known as berber carpet. This means the fibers are short loops woven into the back of the carpet. The fibers remain uncut.

Loop carpet is great for high traffic or commercial environments because it’s very durable, easy to clean and hides dirt well.

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Pattern

Pattern carpet is typically a cut and loop style carpet. That means that some of the fibers remain uncut, and some of the fibers are tufted. This creates distinct patterns on the broadloom carpet that leads to designs. Keep in mind that during installation you will need to match up carpet patterns while seaming any pieces together.

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Texture

You can also choose broadloom carpet by texture. Each pile type has a distinct texture. Berber style carpets are often short and have less softness to them. While saxony style carpets are known as having a smooth texture with lots of softness to the touch.

Typically, a cut style carpet will have the softest and most smooth texture over a loop style carpet. However, texture relates to cleaning as well. A smooth, plush carpet will be more difficult to clean than a loop-style carpet. That’s because the shorter fibers hold onto dirt less.

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Frieze

Frieze carpets feature twisted fibers. If you’ve read our carpet buying guide, you’ll remember that the higher the TPI (twists per inch) number is, the more durable a carpet might be. Since Frieze is a twisted style, it typically has a higher TPI and is more durable than other carpets. Frieze carpet is also incredibly soft.

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Pros of Broadloom Carpet

You might be wondering what benefits broadloom has over other flooring options, or even over other carpets, like carpet tile. I’ve got the deets on broadloom carpet that are sure to give you a boost of confidence when buying your new carpet.

Broadloom carpet has a seamless appearance. With carpet tile you’re likely to have a tiled look.
Broadloom carpet makes your room look larger. Because it doesn’t have any seems and often the carpet is a uniform color or texture, broadloom carpet seems to stretch on forever in a room, making it appear larger and more spacious.
It’s super soft! Broadloom carpet is the plushest carpet available. You can roll around on it all you want.
It’s also less expensive than carpet tiles per foot, so you save money!

Cons of Broadloom Carpet

Okay, so what’s the catch? Well, there is no catch! Broadloom carpet is wonderful. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some disadvantages of choosing broadloom over another flooring. Let’s break it down.

The installation is very difficult. Unfortunately, you probably should hire a professional to install broadloom carpet.
Installation adds cost to broadloom carpet. If you do decide to install broadloom carpet yourself, you’ll need a number of fancy machines and materials to make sure the installation is done correctly. You’ll also need to install it over an underlayment. This adds some extra costs to your flooring.
If it ever is damaged, you have to replace the whole thing. With carpet tile you can just replace a single tile. However, with broadloom carpet, you really have to replace the whole thing.
Installation also tends to leave behind excess materials. That means you’re buying more than you need. Patterned carpets leave behind the most excess.

Installing Broadloom Carpet

I’ve been singing the praises of broadloom carpet, but this is where you might hit a hiccup: installation. The truth is, broadloom carpet is really difficult to install on your own. You’ll probably have to hire a professional. However, if you do decide to tackle the challenge, you’ll need a few extra tools.

You can install carpet two different ways: stretch-in and with adhesive. Both methods require a stretcher (which can be rented), knee kickers and melt tape for seaming. I’ll outline how the two methods work, and then you can decide if you want to hire a professional.

Stretch-In

With this installation, seams of carpet are adhered together using melt tape or another adhesive. The carpet is then stretched in place using a power stretcher or a knee kicker. The carpet is attached to wall tracks that secure the stretched carpet. Stretched carpet is less likely to sag or have air bubbles when installation is complete.

Adhesive

With this installation, the carpet is glued to the floor. It sounds easy but is actually extremely tricky. You must also have a knee kicker or a stretcher in order to ensure a smooth carpet, free from air bubbles. To prevent air bubbles, carpet should be laid from the center and worked outwards from both directions. You may also roll the carpet with a 75 lb. roller in both directions if it’s directed by the manufacturer.

Broadloom Carpet Uses

There are a few places you might not have considered carpet before. First, there is such a thing as indoor-outdoor carpeting. These carpets are made for the harsh conditions of outside, as well as the harsh kid conditions indoors. There’s also broadloom carpet for home theater use. You can soak up the surround sound and have an epic movie night.

Indoor-Outdoor Carpet

I personally did not know this was a thing until recently, but there is carpet you can use both indoors and out! Basically, this carpet is fade, weather, people and pet resistant. It's crazy durable.

You can install this carpet on patios, garages, basement floors or balconies. Almost anywhere that has a hard surface. No more sitting on hard concrete. You have softness outside too!

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Home Theater Carpet

You’ve got popcorn, butter, sodas and your favorite candy. The last thing that’s missing is a durable carpet that can handle the sticky hands and absorb all that surround sound.

If you’re looking for home theater carpet, we’ve got it for you. Our home theater carpet is all commercially graded, so it can stand up to anything. Not only that, carpet is the best flooring for a home theater. You really can’t choose anything else.

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Why Choose Broadloom Carpet?

At this point, maybe you’ve read everything there is on carpet, area rugs and every flooring under the sun. Why should you choose broadloom? Well, let me summarize its best qualities for you.

Broadloom carpet is the softest flooring you can own. No other flooring will ever be as soft as broadloom carpet. It’s a comfort you won’t want to miss.

Broadloom also makes your room look larger. Because there are no seams to break up your line of sight, carpet is the easiest way to make a small room look large. Basically everyone’s dream.

Conclusion

I’m happy to say you now know a lot about broadloom carpet. Carpet buying is a difficult decision, but hopefully, with this information in mind, we can make your decision a little easier.

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