A dimensionally stable floor covering comprises a tufted textile substrate and a reinforcement layer attached to the textile substrate. The reinforcement layer includes an adhesive backing compound and reinforcement fibers surrounded by the adhesive backing. The fibers may form a continuous layer on the back side of the floor covering or may be dispersed within the adhesive backing compound. The adhesive backing compound may be hot water-soluble to facilitate recycling of the floor covering. The floor covering may optionally include additional backing layers (including cushions) and may be used as a broadloom carpet, a carpet tile, or other modular floor covering products. Methods of manufacturing, installing, and recycling the present floor coverings are also provided.

A low-weight carpet or carpet tile and process for making the same, wherein the carpet or carpet tile comprises a facecloth having a plurality of face yarns tufted through a primary backing, a low-viscosity polyolefin coating layer applied to the primary backing, a reinforcing scrim layer, and an extruded polyolefin sheet. The top surface and bottom surface of the carpet tile are defined by the facecloth and either the extruded polyolefin sheet or the reinforcing scrim layer, respectively. The entire multi-layer web is then passed through a nip to compress the layers together, and the entire web is chilled before optionally being cut into tiles.

Disclosed herein is tufted article including a backing having a vertical axis. The backing includes an open structure material having a first surface and an opposed second surface. The open structure material includes a plurality of fibers. The plurality of fibers define void spaces through the open structure material from the first surface to the second surface in part based on variability of fibers along the vertical axis. The void spaces are configured to permit passage of liquid or vapor from the first surface to the second surface of the open structure material. A scrim layer is coupled to the opposed second surface of the open structure material. The scrim layer has an open mesh structure. A second plurality of fibers are tufted through the backing and extend upwardly from the first surface of the open structure material.