Tufted carpet uses several different types of construction to create different looks and performance characteristics.
Cut Pile: To make a cut pile carpet as the carpet is tufted a blade is used to cut the bundle. Therefore, instead of the tuft being a loop it is an individual bundle. This is the most common type of residential carpet. Different color combinations are used to create different looks. In commercial carpet cut pile carpet, the bundles tend to lean one way or another. When the carpet starts pointing in different directions the carpet can look splotchy or soils and clean. This is call watermarking, pooling or shading which you can read about in another post.
Cut and Loop: Cut and loop is when some of the tufts are cut and some of the tufts are left as loops. This creates design and performance characteristics. Depending on the amount of cut and loop, you can expect the carpet to show less wear than an all cut pile carpet
Tip Shear: Tip shear is mainly used in commercial carpets. The idea behind a tip shear is slightly shear the tips of an all loop to achieve the performance of an all loop carpet but add the design elements of a cut and loop. This is a good idea but when exposed to heavy traffic it is common for the pattern to walk out. Tip shear performs better than cut pile but not as well as all loop carpet.
All Loop: All loops are where the tufts are not cut but left as a loop. You can adjust the levels of the loops some tufted low and some tufted taller to create very nice designs. By using different colors, you can accent the designs even more. All loop carpet outperform other types of carpet but you cannot always get the designs you are looking for
See our posts on selecting a carpet to help better determine what type of carpet construction will meet your individual needs.
Cary the Carpet Guy 