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Padding Materials And Techniques

The material that serves as a foundation in carpet installations is variously known as "padding," "lining," "underlay," or "pads." For the sake of uniformity and convenience we refer to it as "padding" in this chapter and elsewhere throughout the book.

Padding is used in the vast majority of carpet installations, whether rug or wall-to-wall.

FUNCTION OF PADDING

Padding serves the following functions in carpet installation:

It cushions the shock of walking.
It prolongs the life of the carpet by absorbing the grinding and crushing of the pile caused by everyday use.
It adds to the enjoyment and comfort we get from fine carpeting by making the carpet feel softer and more luxurious—whether the carpet is "expensive" or "economical."
It helps to fill in any unevenness in the floor.
It increases the effectiveness of vaccum cleaning by creating pockets of air which the machine can draw through the fabric.
It provides insulation against extremes of cold or heat.
It increases the sound-absorbing qualities of carpet.
It helps retain the texture of the carpet.

With so many benefits to be derived from padding, few customers ever object to the "extra" price of padding, but some day you may occasionally be required to outline the foregoing functions to a skeptical housewife or office manager.

WHAT PADDING IS MADE OF

There is no real difference between "rug cushion" and "carpet padding" except the difference indicated by the words "rug" and "carpet"—i.e., when used underneath a rug it is called "rug cushion," but when used underneath wall-to-wall it is called "carpet padding" or "carpet cushion."

Often one side of this padding is "waffled," which means it has indentations on it similar to those on edible waffles—that is, a raised "tread" consisting of ridges in a square or diagonal pattern about half an inch wide. The other side of the padding is relatively smooth.

Material Used to Make Padding. Padding may be one of a number of types of materials, depending on the quality and service for which it is intended. "All hair" padding is made entirely of felted cattle hair. "Combination" padding is made of cattle hair and jute, which combines the springiness and resilience of animal hair with the strength and durability of jute, a plant fiber (see page 27). Foam rubber may be added as an outer layer to felted cattle hair and jute to provide extra springiness.