Can I Cut a Rubber Back Rug to a Smaller Size
THE RIGHT PADDING FOR AN AREA RUG
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November 21, 1985
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PUTTING an area rug on a floor without underlayment or padding can result in damage to the rug as well as danger to those who walk on it, because of slippage. Underlayments vary, and selecting the right one is important.
Rug specialists say that waffle-type foam or rubber padding - the kind used under wall-to-wall broadloom carpeting - should never be put under area rugs. This is because such padding does not lie flat and may cause the area rug to wear unevenly.
Generally, the thicker padding used beneath area rugs is made of hair, jute, felt, thick synthetic foam or rubber. Very thin padding, usually made of rubber or nonskid vinyls, can also be used. Most of the appropriate paddings are available in carpet stores that sell area rugs. For correct sizing, they should be bought at the same time as the rug.
Hair, jute and felt paddings are more dense than those of foam or rubber. All come in various thicknesses. Prices vary, but are usually under $10 a square foot. Nonskid synthetic pads tend to be the thinnest and usually cost about $5 a square foot.
When selecting padding, the placement of the area rug is the most important factor.
''With large area rugs, such as room-size Orientals, the padding should protect the rug from wear,'' said Larry Feldman, owner of the Rug Warehouse at 2222 Broadway, near 79th Street. ''Because furniture usually anchors the rug, skidding is not an issue and denser pads are better.''
''On smaller or thinner rugs such as kilims and dhurries, padding is used to reduce slippage,'' Mr. Feldman added. ''So I usually recommend a thinner pad.''
According to Helen Fioratti, an interior designer, thick padding should not be used under thin rugs.
Theodore Einstein, a partner of Einstein Moomjy, the carpeting and rug chain, agreed. ''On a thin Oriental or Chinese rug,'' he said, ''the thick pad will grip the floor well. But if it is too thick, doors may be too tight or high-heeled shoes might pierce it and you could ruin the rug.''
Mr. Einstein said he had found that the thinner pads, which often come prepackaged to standard area-rug sizes, are better for thinner rugs. ''They don't give protection from wear, but they do keep the rug in place,'' he said.
Experts say that the rule of thumb for selecting padding is that the area rug should be no more than one-eighth to one-quarter inch from the floor.
''Keeping an area rug flat is important for how it will wear,'' said Gilbert Cavaliero, rug buyer for Bloomingdale's. ''That's why waffle padding is not recommended. It does not keep an area rug evenly flat. That type of padding is not always recommended for broadloom carpeting either, for the same reason.''
According to Mason Purcell, past president of the Oriental Rug Retailers of America, keeping an area rug flat is especially important when the floor is not.
''If you have a rug over a brick floor, you'll want to select a padding that is dense enough for the rug to lie evenly,'' she said.
Placing an area rug over broadloom carpeting is particularly tricky because the surface under the area rug is pile, which can shift, and already has padding beneath it. Some decorators, however, have other ways to lay area rugs over carpeting.
''Unless it is a small area rug, laying rugs on top of carpeting is almost always chancy,'' Mrs. Fioratti said. ''The rug will walk with you and ripple unless it is anchored by sofas.''
If possible, she said, she prefers to choose an area rug that is compatible in weave and thickness with the carpeting; she sets it into the carpeting by cutting a space in the broadloom.
Kimberly Winter, an interior decorator, uses a piece of thin buckram under small area rugs placed over carpeting. She adds small hooks at the edges of the buckram to anchor the rug. Buckram is available through designers at about $9 a yard.
Mr. Einstein offered this additional advice: ''Whenever an area rug is used on carpeting, you have to keep in mind that if the wall-to-wall carpet is installed to be used alone, there is a padding underneath that is probably more bouncy than you'll need with an area rug on top. In my house the only thing that works in this case is a felt cushion that is fairly stiff. It keeps the rug from bunching up and doesn't harm the carpet underneath.''
Can I Cut a Rubber Back Rug to a Smaller Size
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/21/garden/the-right-padding-for-an-area-rug.html
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