Arlington, Va.—The Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam (AFPF) has just published Installation Guidelines for Commercial Carpet and Commercial Bonded Polyurethane Carpet Cushion, outlining step-by-step procedures for installing commercial broadloom with commercial bonded polyurethane carpet cushion using the double-glue method of installation. “While the double glue process is the preferred method of installing carpet and cushion in the contract market today,” said Neeva-Gayle Candelori, a spokeswoman for AFPF, “until now, no printed guidelines were available describing how to accomplish this type of installation for optimal performance.”

Heralded by flooring industry insiders as a much needed and valuable resource, the guidelines were developed by AFPF and reviewed by the Carpet Cushion Council (CCC), the International Certified Floorcovering Installers Association (CFI), the Floor Covering Installation Board (FCIB), the Floor Covering Installation Contractors Association (FCICA), the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) and the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA). The double-glue installation method involves adhering the cushion to the floor, followed by adhering the carpet to the installed cushion. “In developing AFPF’s new

Installation Guidelines, there was a tremendous sharing of product and field experience by the technical advisors and leadership of many floor covering organizations,” said Candelori. “We are confident all will benefit from this effort.” The guidelines, which are illustrated with color photographs taken during a double-glue installation, are based on the use of a typical commercial-grade bonded polyurethane carpet cushion with a maximum thickness of .025-in. and a minimum density of 10 lbs. per cubic foot with woven or non-woven scrim on both sides. Included in the newly published guidelines, she noted, are sections addressing cushion choice, pre-installation considerations, site conditions, floor preparation, cushion layout, carpet layout, gluing cushion to floor, gluing carpet to cushion, installation with a spray adhesive system, double-glue procedures for stairs and installing patterned carpet.

“Commercial bonded polyurethane cushion helps extend the lifespan of workplace carpet while improving comfort, appearance retention and sound absorption.” The Benefits Some features and benefits of using a bonded polyurethane carpet cushion include: • Improves carpet appearance retention which reduces lifecycle cost; • Improves workplace acoustics—less noise distraction means improved worker productivity; • Better ergonomics and more comfort—this reduces fatigue and raises worker satisfaction; • Provides thermal insulation—environmental comfort, reduced cost; • Easier to clean—carpet looks better, longer, and • Recycled content by definition & recyclable in many locations—consistent with industry recycling goals.

“Polyurethane cushion under commercial carpet has many benefits over direct-glue,” said Candelori. “Cushion increases the life expectancy of broadloom by up to 50%. Properly cushioned carpet subjected to walk tests, the Hexapod Drum Test, and Phillips Roller Chair test, showed outstanding bottom line results: markedly better appearance retention, in addition to greater comfort.” She noted, a recent study by Intertek testing Services in Cortland, N.Y., proved that polyurethane carpet cushion helps absorb sound by as much as 50%—making the workplace quieter and more productive (FCNews, Dec. 23/30, 2002). Another study by Professional Testing of Dalton found polyurethane cushion makes maintenance easier by improving soil removal by up to 40% or greater while vacuuming (FCNews, Aug. 4/11). “Polyurethane cushion is installer friendly,” she concluded. “It’s clean, lightweight and easy to cut-to-size.” Details of these studies are available at AFPF’s Web site, www.afpf.com. For more information on AFPF, call 800/696-2373.