What are carpet tiles?
Carpet tiles are a great alternative to your standard carpet rolls. As their name suggests they are a carpet that comes in a tile format. They are manufactured in squares and work well in a commercial settings, in schools and colleges. They can be laid in a variety of ways to create stunning interior designs which are durable, easy to clean and bring a host of benefits including acoustics.
Carpet tiles are relatively easy to install and whilst easier to work with than your standard carpets, it does not mean that a professional should not carry out the job. It would be a disaster if fitting was to be carried out by someone with no experience or eye for patterns. The last thing you want is for the tiles not to be laid down straight and in the correct pattern as intended. The hardest part of installing carpet tiles is cutting them in around the edges or awkward shapes and corners. As with all aspects of flooring, it is really important to make sure that the flooring preparation has been carried out properly. Many subfloors have big cracks, service voids and pipework underneath. It is important that experienced fitters prepare the floors properly. This can include scraping off the residue of the previous floor covering, repairing concrete or timber cracks and laying a levelling compound. It is also important that the fitter has had asbestos awareness training as many flooring subfloors can have asbestos issues that only an experienced fitter would know about.
What are the benefits?
- Carpet tiles are particularly good for large buildings. They are easy to transport to areas where it wouldn’t be possible to carry large carpets to. They are easy to transport, fast to install, look great and can fit any size room.
- Their modular nature means there is less waste. This saves money and is more environmentally friendly.
- Carpet tiles have excellent acoustic properties. Carpet tiles absorb sound and remove echo, this makes them a great choice for education environments.
- Carpet tiles are extremely durable and a good quality carpet tile will last for a long time. Many are guaranteed for up to ten years and they can last much longer than this.
- Many of the carpet tiles we supply are sourced from recycled products and can be recycled at the end of their life time.
- Design flexibility. Carpet tiles offer great design flexibility than standard carpets. Due to the dye technologies used during the manufacturing process, you can achieve a perfect design pattern across all edges of the tile. Due to the modular nature of the tiles, patterns can be re-arranged so your environment can be tailored to your exacting interior design specifications.
- Carpet tiles tend to be Anti-static which is perfect to use in computer rooms, protecting your expensive IT equipment and preventing static shocks for room users.
- Damaged tiles can be replaced with a new one. This is not possible with a traditional carpet.
- They are suitable for corridors, offices, stairs, reception areas, retail and hospitality environments.
What are the down sides?
Like everything in life, nothing is perfect and in some environments other flooring options such as broadloom carpets, sheet vinyl or luxury vinyl tile flooring may be a better solution.
- Traditional carpets tend to be softer as carpet tiles are not as thick as broadloom carpets.
- Carpet tiles are not suitable for wet areas such as washrooms, wet play areas or canteens.
- Carpet tiles may not last as long as vinyl flooring.
E&M Services supply and install carpet tiles from all major manufacturers and always provide very competitive prices. Our decades of experience in design, installation and subfloor preparation means that we can assist our clients to choose the right products for the job. As we are one of Coventry’s longest established flooring contractors you can rest assured we will be there for you during the lifetime of your product’s warranty.