Carpet covers more than 70 percent of the floors in homes and workplaces, with market estimates to be over 1.6 billion square yards yearly in the United States. With this popularity has come a myriad of carpet choices, here a few items to help you sort the choices out.

Location, location, location – the real estate battle cry is also a key concern when specifying carpet. To maximize performance, building owners and facility managers must first decide where the carpet will go to determine what type of carpet is most appropriate.

Where should carpet be used in preference to hard surfaces? Carpet is the norm in healthcare, education, offices, hotels, and retail locations. Carpet is being used in all common public areas of facilities -- corridors (for sound absorption and slip and fall safety), waiting rooms, lobbies, and offices (for beauty and versatility). It is also being used more and more in patient rooms and nurseries in healthcare facilities (for the warmth and comfort), and almost exclusively in elementary and pre-school classrooms in educational facilities.

Construction specifications deal with appearance or the look that is desired. Construction specifications inform the carpet mill or manufacturer, in exact terms, how the carpet must be made. The specifications will determine the floor covering’s look, size, weight, construction type, and coloring method.

A dense, low pile height, loop-pile carpet is most often used in heavy-traffic areas. In offices and other areas with lighter foot traffic, cut-pile can be a good choice. Either cut-pile, loop-pile, or cut and loop is appropriate for use in areas that receive a moderate amount of traffic.

The right cushion can extend the life of a carpet. It also provides additional resilience, additional acoustical and thermal insulation properties, and walking and standing comfort. Cushions should be selected according to the traffic patterns of the application area and the manufacturer’s requirements for thickness and density. An improper choice can result in accelerated loss of appearance, wrinkling, buckling and separation of the carpet backing or seam.