Berber Carpet Wholesale at Cornerstone Wholesale Carpets

Cornerstone Wholesale Flooring Carpet

Cornerstone Wholesale Flooring carries Shaw Carpets which offers more than 25,000 carpet styles and colors. That
means your ultimate carpet choices will always reflect your own, UNIQUE vision.

But with so many options, how do you know where to start? Exploring this site is a step in the right direction.

Are you looking for a traditional plush carpet? A contemporary loop? Maybe the visual impact of a pattern or print?

Regardless of your experience shopping for floors, this online catalog will help you know your options and determine
your favorites.

Carpet Fibers Explained

A carpet's fiber gives you valuable information for selecting and caring for your carpet.

Fiber is carpet's basic ingredient.
The four basic fibers used in carpets today all have their individual strengths. Even more importantly, they all make
excellent carpets. Your ultimate choice will be determined by the characteristics that are most important to you.

Although some carpets are made of blends, most are made entirely of one of the following four fibers:

Nylon is the most widely used carpet fiber. Though it has many strengths, the greatest is its...strength. Nylon is
incredibly durable and resilient. Because of its resistance to matting and wear, you will never see a visibly worn carpet
path in even the busiest spots of your home. Nylon carpet fiber is soft yet strong, shows color brilliantly, and cleans
well. Though not inherently stain resistant, most nylons are treated with a stain-resist carpet treatment for protection
against household spills and stains.

Polypropylene (also called Olefin)
The use of polypropylene in carpet has grown dramatically over the past ten years due to the popularity of Berber style
loop carpets. Polypropylene is extremely resistant to stains, fading, and moisture. Polypropylene, a value-oriented fiber,
is also notably colorfast because it is solution dyed, which means the color is added during production and not dyed
later. The color is such an inherent part of the fiber that you can even clean polypropylene with bleach.

Polyester
The appreciation for polyester's versatility as a carpet fiber continues to grow. Polyester offers exceptional softness,
making it ideal for thick, cut pile styles. Polyester is also naturally and permanently stain resistant and fade resistant. It
has excellent color clarity, color retention, strength, and abrasion resistance. Carpets made from this fiber are easily
cleaned and they resist water soluble stains.

Wool
The preeminent natural fiber, wool yields a soft, warm, comfortable feel. Although wool does not possess natural
resistance to moisture or abrasion, it ages well and is easy to clean. Because it is the most expensive carpet fiber,
wool is generally used only in luxury carpets and area rugs.

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Installing your own wall to wall carpet isn't a job everybody wants to take on. It can be hard on both your knees and your
back, and if you don't get it right, everybody can see where you messed up. However, installing carpet isn't "rocket
science," and by using some specialized tools (available at most tool rental outlets) and being prepared to take your
time, installing carpet is a job you can do yourself.

What You'll Need:

Tackless strips
Stapler
Hammer
Utility knife
Chalk line
Measuring tape
Rolling pin (or rental seam roller)
Work gloves
Safety glasses
Knee pads

Getting Ready

Your first step is to get rid of the old carpet. Start by removing the moldings around the floor and take the door off the
entrance, so you can get the old carpet out and the new carpet in easier. Give the old carpet a good vacuuming so you
won't be breathing in dust, and then use a utility knife to cut the carpet into strips about 18 to 24 inches wide.

Start at one end and pull the carpet off the tackless strips and roll it up in sections. Some people feel that you can reuse
the existing underlay, but in most cases it will be worn out just like the carpet, so you're better off getting rid of it as well.

Remove the existing tackless strips and make sure the floor is clean and dry. This is a good time to check your subfloor
and securely fasten any floorboards that may be loose so they won't squeak under the new carpet (use 1 1/2" screws
into the underlying floor joists).

Install new tackless strips around the perimeter of the room, but not in front of doorways. Leave a space of about 1/2"
between the strips and the wall, and be sure the pins or tacks face towards the wall. (They're called tackless strips even
though they have two or three rows or very sharp tacks, because using these "tackless strips" means you don't need to
"tack" carpet down.) At corners, make sure the tackless strips are butted tightly against each other.

Laying the Underpad

Put the underpad down in strips that overlap the tackless strips. Butt the strips against each other - don't overlap them -
then staple the underlay down along the inside edge of the tackless strip. Trim the excess underlay along the inside of
the tackless strip and use duct tape to seal the seams.

Laying the Carpet

To install carpet properly, you need to start with a piece that overlaps the edge of the floor by 4 to 6 inches. The overlay
can then be trimmed so the carpet fits properly. To cut your first section, measure the room at its longest point and add 6
inches to that measurement. Mark the back of your carpet on both edges with that measurement and join the two marks
with a chalk line. Fold the carpet over on itself, and using a straight edge and a sharp utility knife, cut through the
backside of your carpet. Be sure to place a piece of scrap board underneath your cut line to protect the underlying carpet.

Seams

If your room is wide enough that you're going to need another piece of carpet, follow the same process with the second
piece - measure, mark and trim. Be sure the carpet pile is running the same way in both pieces, and that the carpet
piece is large enough to overlap the wall by 4 to 6 inches, as well as overlapping the first piece of carpet by 4 to 6
inches. (Try to layout your carpet pieces so the seams won't be in noticeable areas, but obviously sometimes that just
isn't possible.)

Where the carpet pieces will join, overlap the two pieces, and then using a utility knife or a rented seam cutter, cut
through both pieces of carpet, ensuring the edges will match exactly. After cutting the carpet, center a piece of seaming
tape on the floor underneath where they join, adhesive side up. Use the seaming iron to activate the adhesive (the iron
goes on the tape, not on top of the carpet), and then butt the edges together and seal the seam with a rolling pin or a
carpet roller.

Attaching the Carpet

Use a knee kicker to attach the carpet along one edge. A knee kicker is a solid metal tool about 18" long with "teeth" that
will grip the carpet on one end, and a heavily padded "butt" on the other. Place the toothed end of the kicker about 3"
from the wall and drive your knee forcefully into the padded end of the tool. This will stretch the carpet over the tackless
strip where the tacks will grab it and hold it firmly in place.

A carpet stretcher will finish attaching the carpet. A carpet stretcher is similar to knee kicker, but much longer. Put one
end of the carpet stretcher against the wall where the carpet is already attached and place the other end about 6 inches
from the far wall. The carpet stretcher also has teeth to grip the carpet, and when you push on the activation lever, it will
stretch the carpet over the tackless strip near the far wall.

Work your way around the room stretching the carpet over the tackless strips, and trim the carper near the wall with a
utility knife or a wall trimmer.

Finishing Up

Using a stair tool, tuck the carpet down into the gap between the tackless strips and the wall. At the doorway, trim the
carpet so the edge is centered under the closed door and install a door edge strip. Finally, cut any vent openings and
install the molding on the baseboards.

That's it. Stretch your back, check to see if your knees still work, and then take some time to admire what all your hard
work has accomplished.

Murray Anderson is an experienced freelance writer with articles published in both the United States and Canada. He
has written on a wide range of topics, but specializes in home maintenance and how to's.
© 2007 Doityourself.com

Rental Tools:

Knee kicker
Power stretcher
Seam cutter
Seaming iron
Seam tape
Wall trimmer
Strip cutter
Seam roller

How To Install Your Own Carpet