Parts of a Carpet – Pile, Backing, Pad and Tack Strip

All 11 parts on the diagram

Show the list

At the wall 5

Pile (face yarn) The yarn that stands up from the backing. It is the surface underfoot.
Pad (cushion) A soft layer under the carpet. It is also called cushion, padding or underlay.
Tack strip A thin strip of wood studded with sharp tacks. It grips the edge of the carpet and keeps it taut.
Subfloor The floor the pad and carpet lie on. It is often plywood or planks.
Seam The join between two widths of carpet. Seam tape under it holds them together.

Up close 6

Tuft One U-shaped piece of yarn in a cut pile carpet.
Cut pile Pile whose loops have been cut. Each end of yarn stands up separately.
Loop pile Pile whose loops are left uncut. Berber carpet is loop pile.
Primary backing The open-weave fabric the pile yarn is stitched through.
Latex A coat of latex between the primary and secondary backings.
Secondary backing A second fabric bonded to the back. It makes the carpet more stable.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01, a name kept only where two independent sources use it: Wikipedia, Carpet, Tufting and Tack strip, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tufting and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tack_strip (pile, cut pile and loop pile, tufted carpet, primary backing, secondary backing, underlay or pad, tack strip or tackless strip, seam and seam tape); a consumer guide to carpets read through archive.org's full-text search, https://archive.org/details/allaboutcarpetsc00reve (face yarns, primary backing, latex, secondary backing, loop pile, cut pile); two home repair books on floors read the same way, https://archive.org/details/bwb_T1-BND-834 (pile yarn stitched into a backing and coated with latex, secondary backing, loop pile, tackless strip, padding, seams) and https://archive.org/details/orthosallaboutfl0000mill (carpet and pad, tackless strip, plywood subfloor); and a carpet layer's handbook, https://archive.org/details/carpetlayingesti0000djdu (padding, also known as underlay, cushion or pads; pile tufts). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a carpet of the wall-to-wall, tufted kind. The first drawing cuts through the floor where the carpet meets a wall. The second shows the carpet itself, drawn much larger.

Read the full guide

The floor first, then the carpet

At the wall, the carpet lies on a pad, and the pad lies on the subfloor. A tack strip beside the wall grips the carpet's edge, and a seam joins two widths. Up close, the pile is yarn stitched through the primary backing. Where its loops are left whole it is loop pile; where they are cut it is cut pile, and each U-shaped piece is a tuft. A coat of latex and a secondary backing finish the back.

Pad, cushion, padding and underlay are four names for the same layer.
A tack strip is also called a tackless strip or a gripper.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a carpet called?

The pile is the yarn on top. In a tufted carpet it is stitched through a primary backing, coated with latex and backed with a secondary backing. Under the carpet lie the pad and the subfloor, and tack strips hold the edges.

What is the difference between cut pile and loop pile?

In loop pile the yarn is left in uncut loops. In cut pile the loops are cut, so each end of yarn stands up separately. Plush carpet is cut pile; Berber carpet is loop pile.

What is the backing of a carpet?

A tufted carpet has two. The yarn is stitched through the primary backing. A secondary backing is bonded to the back of that to make the carpet more stable.

What is under a carpet?

Usually a pad, also called cushion or underlay, and under that the subfloor. Round the edges of the room, tack strips studded with sharp tacks grip the carpet.