The Commercial Flooring Report is a publication made available by LGM and Associates Technical Flooring Services: Floor Covering experts on Carpet, Laminate and Vinyl, Ceramic and Hardwood. Monthly newsletters designed to help you and your team understand challenges typical to the flooring industry and provide prevention and resolution.
Volume: 59 | Issue: 1 | Download
This is an issue that requires some clarification, explanation and information. The tufted weight of any carpet is the weight of the material at the tufting machine or prior to any shearing being done on the pile surface, if a cut pile product. There are tolerances for face weight and other characteristics of commercial carpet which have to be met that allow a variance of 5% + or – according to GSA guidelines. All carpet has a published tufted weight though this issue is particularly critical in the commercial segment of the market. To explain further, the tufted weight is the weight of the carpet as it is set up to be produced on the tufting or weaving machine. In other words, if a carpet is supposed to be 30 ounces a calculation is made by the manufacturer as to how much yarn has to be used to achieve this weight.
Volume: 58 | Issue: 1 | Download
What causes planar instability? Planar instability, that which prevents a modular flooring material, hard or soft surface from lying flat, is caused by internal forces generated by materials or layers in the flooring material, that exert forces or stress across or within the material, which create lifting or curling edges. This can occur on all four sides or two sides and is often in the "machine" direction or length, of the material. If, for example, a product is quarter turned the lifted edges will alternate — North South to East West and vice versa with every other tile. Planar stability is influenced by the forces within the flooring material and by changes in heat or humidity. There are tests to detect or prove the condition exists such as the cycled humidity test for carpet tile.
Volume: 57 | Issue: 1 | Download
The last flooring we had didn't do this. We expected it to last longer than this. We didn't expect the colors to run. We didn't expect the carpet to come off the floor. We didn't expect to have to replace it so soon. We expected it to look a lot better than this. We didn't expect it to get dirty so fast. We didn't expect it to fade. We didn't expect it to wear out under the chairs. We didn't expect it to scratch and dent like it has. We didn't expect the edges to curl. We didn't expect it to mat and crush the way it has. We didn't expect it to change colors. We didn't expect it to change in front of the sliding glass doors. We didn't expect…….? You fill in the blanks here because this is what is heard across the country daily from flooring end users who didn't expect you to disappoint them.
Volume: 56 | Issue: 1 | Download
This article is by Steve Tolli an LGM Associate based in New York, and for eight years served as the technical director for North America for the world's largest cork flooring manufacturer.
Volume: 55 | Issue: 1 | Download
Many cleaning companies offer hard surface care to their customers but are you sure they are maximizing efficiencies to keep your hard surface flooring in as good a shape as is possible? Looking at service plans will keep maintenance techniques as efficient as possible in commercial buildings.
Volume: 54 | Issue: 1 | Download
Continuing on with Part III, the conclusion of What to Include in a Flooring Specification with the next item where we left off – Project Meetings.
Volume: 53 | Issue: 1 | Download
Continuing on to Part II from our last issue of The Commercial Flooring Report on What to Include in a Flooring Specification with the next item, Product Testing. No product should ever be specified for any project without first undergoing a series of tests. The testing should mirror the tests the manufacturer states the product complies with on their samples and in their specifications. Additional tests should also be conducted to determine the performance levels of the products, the structural integrity and the ability of the product to realistically perform as expected for the application and the use it is going to be subjected to.
Volume: 52 | Issue: 1 | Download
We've looked at hundreds of flooring specifications over the years and have found that the information contained in them is very often outdated, poorly researched, and irrelevant to many of the concerns that should be addressed. Not enough thought is given to the downside risks of the project or to the guidelines and pertinent information that should be contained. With the changes that have occurred in the flooring industry over the last few years, which continue at an increasing rate, it is imperative the spec writer be informed and up to date.
Volume: 51 | Issue: 1 | Download
Vinyl flooring is being used and specified more and more. Schools, Hospitals and Health Care facilities are the biggest users of vinyl flooring products but it is also being used extensively in businesses, restaurants, and increasingly in mid-tier hotels and even multi-family housing. Vinyl flooring products have become more beautiful, lend themselves to elaborate design elements and, when properly specified, can perform like a Mack truck. Luxury vinyl tile is likely the hottest flooring material on the market right now. Some of the reasons for vinyl's increasing popularity should be obvious. It is extremely durable, when properly specified and cared for. It won't ugly out like carpet due to matting, crushing, soiling, or any of the other inherent performance factors carpet often experiences.
Volume: 50 | Issue: 1 | Download
This has been a concern for as long as there has been floor covering.
Old materials consisted of dull and lifeless looking hard surface tiles or sheet goods. The old Battleship linoleums, mostly gray in color or hard surface tiles that were brown, reddish brown, black, gray or various shades of non-brilliant looking, unexciting and definitely not fashion forward flooring. Nothing mattered but the performance of the product and the products were so dull that nothing really affected them except for soil and that was hidden, for the most part, by how bland the product was.
