Philadelphia Commercial – Neyland II Carpet Question

Q: I am thinking about buying Philadelphia Commercial – Neyland II carpet for my basement.
I am planning on purchasing the 26 oz with Unitary backing. It will be glued down on my basement floor, and on stairs with padding (recommended?). I am told the Unitary backing helps prevents running of carpet. I was wondering what your thoughts are on this type of backing, versus other types and what do you think of this type of carpet for basements.
Thank you so much
Janet
A: Unitary backs are dandy and work well for glue down type installations. As far as your stairs go I would use a 40 oz. felt pad as it is perfect for stairs and is the pad of choice for most commercial specs.
Your carpet choice will work great in the basement or just about anywhere that you would like a carpeting that cleans easily and does not show traffic lanes. Gene D., our commercial contract specialist, mentioned his own experience to me with a similar carpet:

I have a 28 oz piece that is a textured loop in my upstairs bedrooms and stairs. 9 years later it still looks new and shows no sign of traffic.

Most commercial carpets are made of a solution dyed yarn stock that is almost always a sole fiber. Meaning, that the carpet is much less likely to stain or lose color from sunshine and because it is made from just one type of fiber it has better twist retention which will allow the piece to look better longer. Basically put, the construction and dye methods used for most commercial carpet not only retain color, but resist wear and tear much better than residential carpets.