Carpet pile is measured in ounces per square yard. As we moved to metric some carpet manufacturers started to use the modern equivalent of grams per square meter, but quickly discovered that 40oz is a lot easier to remember than 1360g! ​The more ounces of pile the denser the carpet is and therefore the harder wearing it is, however, this isn’t the whole story.

Sadly a lot of people will still point to the ounce weight as a way of telling the quality of a carpet.  Whilst it is a good indicator it should be used in conjunction with other factors such as material, pile depth, construction method, etc.

If you were looking at a carpet with pile 1cm high that was 40oz or one that was 2cm high at 60oz then the shorter-pile carpet will be the more hard wearing option (at least assuming all other criteria was the same), even though it has less pile weight per square yard, because the density would be nearly 33% higher.

If you have chosen a carpet, and now need to choose between a 30oz, 40oz or 50oz then the comparison is more straightforward: the heavier the pile weight the better the quality, because all the other factors are the same.
At Grimley Flooring we will work with you and guide you through these considerations to find the best solution for you and your home. Call us for your free, no-obligation consultation.