Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 1,486,815	$ 1,409,035
Cost of sales	1,109,749	1,049,609
Gross profit	377,066	359,426
Selling, general and administrative expenses	290,224	287,450
Operating income	86,842	71,976
Interest expense	19,156	22,498
Other expense (income)	6,387	(1,825)
Earnings before income taxes	61,299	51,303
Income tax expense	10,732	10,291
Net earnings	50,567	41,012
Less: Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest	72	635
Net earnings attributable to Mohawk Industries, Inc.	$ 50,495	$ 40,377
Basic earnings per share attributable to Mohawk Industries, Inc. (in usd per share)	$ 0.73	$ 0.59
Weighted-average common shares outstanding-basic (in shares)	69,375	68,862
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Mohawk Industries, Inc. (in usd per share)	$ 0.72	$ 0.58
Weighted-average common shares outstanding-diluted (in shares)	69,897	69,141