Segment reporting (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) segment	Oct. 01, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of reportable segments | segment			3
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 2,448,510	$ 2,294,139	$ 7,122,193	$ 6,776,521
Operating income (loss)	380,098	378,307	1,010,707	974,671
Assets	11,822,813		11,822,813		$ 10,230,596
Operating segments | Global Ceramic segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	893,399	822,040	2,581,038	2,425,560
Operating income (loss)	143,368	135,985	411,961	376,368
Assets	4,826,619		4,826,619		4,024,859
Operating segments | Flooring NA segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	1,031,773	1,008,553	3,011,568	2,895,610
Operating income (loss)	163,494	170,507	383,118	364,804
Assets	3,699,633		3,699,633		3,410,856
Operating segments | Flooring ROW segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	523,338	463,546	1,529,587	1,455,351
Operating income (loss)	83,042	81,757	245,189	262,356
Assets	3,128,213		3,128,213		2,689,592
Intersegment sales
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	0	0	0	0
Corporate and intersegment eliminations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Operating income (loss)	(9,806)	$ (9,942)	(29,561)	$ (28,857)
Assets	$ 168,348		$ 168,348		$ 105,289