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About John Michaels
Expertise
All questions pertaining to all indoor floor coverings regarding best products to choose, proper installation techniques, and proper maintenance techniques.
Experience
We are a nationwide floor covering inspection service. We inspect all types of indoor floor coverings in every city and town in all 50 States and in all the Provinces of Canada. We see where errors in choice of product, improper installation, and improper maintenance lead to complaints being registered and we are then called upon to inspect those products and issue certified reports indicating from where those complaint issues eminate. We have done this type of work for over 40 years.
Publications
Floor Covering Weekly & Floor Covering News
Education/Credentials
Carpet, vinyl, and hardwood manufacturing, installation, and maintenance, prior to just inspecting, and a division of our Company specifies proper floor covering choices for residential and commercial uses.
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You are here: Experts > Style > Interior Decorating > Flooring and Carpeting > Carpeting tiled floor
Expert: John Michaels - 11/10/2009
Question
QUESTION: We have an entire lower level that is floored with 4 x 4 ceramic tiles. Can wall to wall carpeting be installed on top of this? If so, what are the characteristics to consider when choosing carpeting and padding? Thank you.
ANSWER: Hi Beth;Carpet and pad can be installed over the ceramic. I would be happy to suggest generic specifications for both carpet and pad. You could take those specifications when you shop so you could be shown products by the stores in which you choose to look. Please do NOT shop for any floor covering at one of those large home supply stores or over the internet. Shop at a local, reputable floor covering dealer who can show you proper product, provide proper installation, warranty both of those things, and can supply you with references that you should check out to protect your investment.
If you will let me know for what the lower level is used (rec. room, bedrooms, family room, etc.), the population of your home including pets, the type of footwear mainly used in your home, (shoes, sneakers, bare feet, stocking feet, etc.), the soil conditions outside your home, (gravel, concrete, asphalt, dirt, sand, outdoor decking, etc.), and the part of the world in which you reside, I will be happy to give you some generic specifications for carpet, pad, installation, and maintenance information, you can use for shopping and consideration.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Cordially,
John Michaels
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Dear John, Thank you for your speedy response. I appreciate your assistance as I haven't had carpet installed before and would prefer not to be held captive by the business I purchase it from for information.
Our lower level is used as recreation/guest space (as well as my art studio but I won't be carpeting that area). We live in New Jersey, in a swampy area where dirt and mud can easily be tracked into the house on the shoes/sneakers that we wear in and out of the house. We have a 65 lb. labradoodle that sheds but is housetrained. One door from the downstairs leads to the garage, another to a concrete and gravel area. There are windows in each room but not a tremendous amount of direct sunlight. Overall, while there is not a tremendous amount of daily traffic through the downstairs, whatever traffic there is will probably be pretty rough on the carpet.
One other concern I have is avoiding as much as possible any toxicity from both the carpet and installation products. Can you provide me with information about this?
Many thanks, Beth
Answer
Hi, again, Beth;First, one of the healthiest floor coverings one can have is carpet. It has a pile that traps, filters, and holds harmful track-in soils, air polutants, allergents, etc., until they are properly vacuumed away, and, on occassion, properly professionally cleaned away. Hard surfaced flooring is non-absorbent, so those harmful soils remain on the surface of hard surfaced flooring and become airborne with normal foot traffic and normal home air currents allowing the human lung to become the trap and filter. Of all floor covering manufacturers, the carpet industry and the floor covering sundry manufacturers (adhesives, cleaning agents, etc.), are the far out leaders in producing truly 'green' products. Visit the website of The Carpet & Rug Institute, <carpet-rug.org>, to obtain true health information, obtain their lists of vacuums, spot cleaning agents, and professional cleaning systems they have tested and certified as being truly 'green', how the carpet industry is leading the way for producing non-toxic materials, and how today's carpet is totally recyclable.
Other than the dog, you didn't indicate the human population of your home, however, in a lower level recreation and guest area, I would suggest that you choose a carpet containing 100% solution dyed nylon pile (not a combination of other fibers such as olefin (polypropylene), polyester, etc.), but 100% solution dyed nylon pile. Solution dyeing is where the dyes are added to the nylon while the nylon is still in its liquid state. When solidified into a solid carpet yarn, the dyes and yarn become one, allowing for harsh cleaning agents to be used without affecting the color of the carpet. Nylon is about the strongest wearing carpet fiber. I would suggest that you use carpet containing that yarn system with a 1/10th or 1/12th gauge (every 1/10th or 1/12th of an inch across the width of the carpet is a full length row of tufts), and a stitch rate of 10 to 12 stitches per inch (in every full length row of tufts, the tufts are stitched together at a rate of 10 to 12 tufts per lineal inch). That type of construction is available in a miriad of colors, patterns, textures (all loop pile, cut & loop pile, and all cut pile). With a dog, you should consider using all cut pile, so the dog's claws don't snag loops in an all loop pile or cut & loop pile construction. When you shop, go into a store that does at least 30% to 40% of their work in commercial installations, so you can be shown both residential and commercial carpets. I suggest that you visit the websites of <krauscarpets.com>, <mohawkind.com>, and <northwestcarpets.net>. Look through their products and constructions. Then there are areas on the Kraus and Mohawk sites where you can find a dealer in your area. If you see things you like on the Northwest site, call 1-800-367-2508 and ask for Paul Johnson to find out the nearest agent carrying their product line. I suggest that you do NOT purchase any floor coverings made by Shaw Industries. The dealers may show you other products from other manufacturers meeting those suggested specifications, so if you see something from another manufacturer, please feel free to get back to me for my opinion. The padding should be a rebond type, (made of recycled material), no thicker than 7/16 inch with a minimum density of 8-9 lbs. That type of padding is available with a top 'skin' that resists topical spills from penetrating into and below the pad.
Since floor covering is meant to be installed, proper installation is a major factor to protect your investment. The tackless stip used for your type of installation can be contact glued to the surface of the ceramic type tile, however go over with the chosen dealer how the installation would be best handled over your existing tile. However, make certain your sales contract contains the statement (even if the dealer has to hand write it on the contract that both the dealer and you sign, that the carpet is to be installed in accordance with The Carpet & Rug Institute's installation manual, CRI-105, which is the minimum acceptable standards for any residential carpet installation. That manual mandates, among other important things, that the carpet MUST be properly stretched in with a powerstretcher, NOT a knee kicker, and if there are any seams to be made, in addition to carpet seaming tape, seam sealer MUST be properly applied to all cut edges of the carpet, regardless of the type of installation. You can obtain that manual, for a fee, from the website of The Carpet & Rug Institute indicated above, however if that statement is on your sales slip, you have a great chance of the dealer's best installer doing your job, and for the dealer to obtain that installation manual. If the installer arrives and indicates you don't need a powerstretcher or you don't need seam sealer, get another installer.
Keep your dog's claws trimmed on a regular basis, and once you have chosen a carpet, get the name of the manufacturer of the exact carpet you choose, visit the website of that manufacturer, and download the free installation specifications and maintenance manual which will detail lots of important information. Read those manuals thoroughly, BEFORE you finalize the purchase, all to protect your investment.
Based upon your environment, proper maintenance is a very key issue in protecting your investment. You should use absorbent walk-off mats at all entries to your home and keep those mats constantly maintained. I would suggest that you visit the website of <consoldiatedplastics.com>, and look at their 100% Nylon walk-off mats designed for outdoor use. Not the Olefin or Polypropylene mats, but the 100% Nylon mats. You can order directly from them and use a size that will allow at least 3-4 steps before walking on interior floor coverings.
So you have carpet, pad, installation, and maintenance specifications that I would suggest for your use and environment. From the <carpet-rug.org> website, you can also obtain a spot cleaning chart that details proper spot cleaning agents and proper techniques for spot cleaning. From that site you can also obtain information as to how to properly vacuum carpet.
Carpet costs less as a product, less to install, and less to maintain over its useful life than hard surfaced flooring. Become as knowledgeable as you can BEFORE you shop, which will allow the dealer to know that you have basic good knowledge about your intended purchase. Don't shop for price. Shop for product and installation. Don't forget to get references from the dealer and check a few of them out.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to get back to me.
Cordially,
John Michaels
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