Carpet Pad Weight
Carpet pad choice is not just about comfort. The carpet pad weight has a great impact upon how well your carpet that is laid on top of the pad will hold up to the wear and tear of life. By choosing the right carpet pad weight for your use, you will give your carpet a longer life and you will enjoy the comfort for a long time as well. What do you need to know about carpet pad weight when you are choosing?
Buying new carpet? Make sure the carpet pad weights you consider work for the carpet you are buying. Installation is also an important aspect of the total purchase.
Carpet pads come in many different varieties. Even though your carpet installer may only offer one type of carpet padding, many different weights and materials are available. The reason that they may just offer one is that they most likely received a discount for buying it in bulk, which is good for them, but it may not be the right choice for you. If your carpet installer does not have the carpet padding that you decide upon, then ask if they can order it.
Carpet pads can be too thick or too soft. Our first inclination when choosing a carpet pad is to choose the one that is very thick and soft. We want our carpeted floors to be comfortable and, of course, the first thing that we think of is a soft carpet pad underneath our carpet to do this. A carpet pad that is too thick or too soft can, however, cause the carpeting to wear out much quicker, simply because it does not absorb the impact like a firmer carpet pad would. The reason for this is that the padding bottoms out each and every time that you step on it, which causes stress to the carpet.
Carpet pad weight varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Each manufacturer may give you a density or weight that is computed slightly differently from the other. This can make choosing a carpet pad very confusing. For example, one manufacturer may give you the weight per square inch, while another may measure weight per cubic yard. Knowing what the weight means will allow you to make a more informed decision.
You want to determine how many pounds per footfall area will cause the carpet padding to bottom out, because that is the dictator to how well your carpet will hold up to use. For foam carpet pads, you want to look for a weight of at least 5-pounds per cubic foot for areas that have light traffic and at least 6.5-pounds per cubic foot for areas that have heavier traffic. Other materials may have different recommendations, so check with your local carpet installer or carpet manufacturer to see what they recommend.
The carpet pad weight is not all about comfort. Of course, we all want our floors to be comfortable, but above that, we want our furnishings, including our carpet, to last a long time. Carpet is a huge investment and you want to do everything possible to keep it looking beautiful for a long time to come. The carpet pad weight will have a huge impact upon that aspect of your home.
