allowing the flooring products to pre-adjust to the environmental conditions in which they are being installed
adhesive
material used as a bonding agent
area rug
carpet not fastened to the floor and usually not covering the entire floor
artificial turf
manufactured like carpet but made of vinyl used to mimic natural grass
ashlar
term used to describe the layout of floor tiles or plywood panels in relation to every other row such as half-staggered or brick pattern design
asphalt emulsion
fast setting water-based adhesive, containing solutions of asphalt and latex (rubber)
backing
material that forms the back of the carpet, regardless of type of construction:
primary back- in tufted carpets, the material to which surface yarns are attached; made of jute, Kraft cord, cotton, woven or non-woven synthetics
secondary back- also called double backing; any material (jute, polypropylene, woven or non-woven synthetic scrim, foam or cushion) laminated to the primary back
base
flat or shaped, extruded or moulded, vinyl, rubber or combination material attached to the bottom of vertical surfaces such as walls, counter bases, etc.
batch
to select flooring material from multiple boxes to prevent shading and uneven colouring
below-grade sub-floor
sub-floor that is partially or completely below the surrounding ground level in direct contact either with the ground or with fill that is in direct contact with the ground
binding
strip (usually cloth) sewn over the edge of a piece of carpet for protection from wear and unravelling
buckles
humps in carpet due to improper stretching, lack of adhesive and delamination
burling
removing and replacing damaged tufts using a curved needle in a woven carpet
capping
material used when flash coving tile and/or sheet goods as an edge finish
carpet
general term for a fabric or soft floorcovering fastened to the entire floor from wall to wall
conductive floorcovering
electrical conductive resilient floorcovering materials specially formulated to prevent the build-up of static charges
construction
term applies to the method by which a floorcovering is manufactured
contaminant
substance that inhibits the bond between the substrate and the floorcovering material and/or discolours the floorcovering material
conventional method
stretch in installation of carpet over cushion and tackless strip
cork tile
cork granules of different sizes and densities thoroughly and uniformly bonded with resin binders; made in sheet and tile form
coving
also referred to as flash coving or pre-fabricated coving; floorcovering materials installed over a cove backing-up the wall to a specific height
cross seams
the joining together of the ends of two pieces of floorcovering into a continuous length of floorcovering
cushion
separate material placed under a carpet to provide resiliency support and noise absorption (also carpet lining, padding and underlay)
cut pile
carpet pile that has cut ends as the face
density
amount of pile in a given area of carpet reflective of the closeness of the pile yarns and expressed as kilotex per cm2 which reflects the percent of the surface covered with fibres
double cut
also called full-lapped; a method making a seam in which both sheets are cut through at the same time
dye lot
amount of floorcovering material that is produced from a single batch of dye; each batch of dye has a control number attached to it to assist in sequencing
edging (reducers, butt strips)
finished protective edge material used as a stop for resilient floorcovering
feature strips
contrasting strips or shapes of flooring material used as borders or to delineate pattern for decorative or functional purpose (as in gymnasium or multi-purpose game situations)
field
area of floorcovering that is contained within the limits of the borders or walls
fillet strips/cove strips
structural backing for flash coving
flocked
method of manufacturing carpet using electrostatic charge and adhesive
gauge
specified thickness and density of a floorcovering product
grade
relationship of a sub-floor to exterior ground levels
heterogeneous
a sheet vinyl flooring constructed of multiple layers serving different purposes
homogeneous
a sheet vinyl flooring constructed of a single layer
hot melt seaming
carpet seaming method
induction heating iron
electric magnetic iron that seams carpet from the top using specialty tapes
inset (also insert)
custom or standard shape in contrasting colour or pattern, set into the field of resilient floorcovering for special purposes or effects
kerf
cut or incision made by a saw in a piece of wood
lap/tube material
folding material back along the width (lap) or along the length (tube)
linoleum
thoroughly blended composition of linseed oil, natural and synthetic resins, granulated cork, wood flour, mineral and chemical pigments calendered to a backing of jute canvas or polypropylene
loop pile carpet
manufactured carpet with continuous filament loops creating a pebbly, homespun appearance made from wools and synthetics
mitre
method where two pieces of floorcovering are joined together at an angle (usually 45 degrees)
needle-punched carpet
method of constructing a carpet without backing
nosing
finished protective metal, vinyl or rubber, formed edge material used for stair tread covering
on-grade sub-floor
sub-floor that is in direct contact with the ground or with less than 450 mm (18 in.) of air space under it, or a suspended sub-floor in contact at some point with fill
open time
the amount of time recommended for the applied adhesive to set before it is covered with the flooring; open time is affected by temperature, humidity, and porosity of the substrate
pattern matching
procedure for ensuring correct alignment of patterned materials
pattern repeat
distance from a point in a pattern figure to the same point where it occurs again
pile
upright ends of yarn, whether cut or looped, that form the wearing surface of carpets or rugs
pile direction (pile lay)
primary and secondary sweep or direction of the carpet (see shading)
pole buckle/stove bar/hanger mark (linoleum)
deformation created by hanging linoleum during its manufacture
polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
a homogeneous or heterogeneous resilient good; comes in roll form and sometimes cut into tiles; also may be a backing for carpets
porous/porosity
a substrate, normally wood or concrete that is able to absorb a liquid. Nonporous is incapable of absorbing a liquid
pyramid method
process of laying tile to maintain a square installation
rack
laying out flooring materials prior to installation to ensure variations in colour, lengths and proper end joint spacing
reducers (see edging)
materials used to transition floorcovering to a different level
rubber
a homogeneous or heterogeneous resilient good; comes in roll form and sometimes cut into tiles in varying thicknesses
runner
continuous material used as a surface covering in traffic lanes and stairs leaving a margin on each side
seam sealing
procedure for sealing seams using a special applicator and sealants
seam welding
process of fusing or filling seams in certain types of flooring
secondary backing
woven or non-woven fabric attached to the back of carpets
serging
also known as over sewing, this is a method of finishing the cut edges of some carpets; it is customary to serge the side and bind the end
shading
an apparent change of colour in carpet pile caused as light is reflected in different ways when pile fibres are bent; not a defect, but a characteristic
variance in colours between two or more panels of resilient flooring cut from the roll
slip tongue
in hardwood flooring, is a small piece of hardwood that is inserted into the groove portion when reversing direction of the tongue and groove system
static dissipative tile (SDT)
flooring installation system that allows for controlled dissipation of static electric charges; used for computer and data rooms
stringer/skirting material
continuous strip material used on the wall sides of the stairs
sub-floor
for structural purposes and is the substrate or supporting layer for the underlayment
substrate
smooth surface prepared to accept the floorcovering such as concrete, underlayment and existing floorcovering
tackless strip
used under carpet along walls with pins angled towards the wall; carpet is stretched onto the pins to provide a smooth tight finish
trace cutting
procedure for cutting seams where a trimmed side overlaps an untrimmed side and the trace of the trimmed side is followed
tread material
floorcovering materials used for covering stair treads
trim
material used to finish and protect edge and to provide transition between different floorcovering materials
tufted carpet
type of carpet construction
tufting
removing and replacing damaged tufts in a tufted carpet
tufts
cut or uncut loops forming the face of tufted or woven carpet
underlayment
approved composition board or plywood of at least 6 mm (1/4 in.) thick, properly secured over wood-based sub-floors to create a substrate
approved trowel-applied material used to level, smooth, skim-coat or fill sub-floor irregularities to create a substrate
upholster
applying carpet material to three-dimensionally shaped objects and structures (excluding stairs)
vinyl composite tile (VCT)
thoroughly blended composition of vinyl resins, plasticizer, inert fillers and pigments formed under pressure and heated into sheet form, then cut into tile size
wear layer
the top portion of a floorcovering
working time
the amount of time allowable from laying the material into the adhesive and all cutting and fitting must be completed before adhesive loses its bond strength
woven carpet
type of carpet construction using a loom method with a wool yarn being interlaced through backing material and then locking tuffs in place using a layer of latex