This month we’ve collated questions answered by industry specialists regarding everything to do with carpet tiles. Read on to get some useful advice on this issue…

What are carpet tiles?
Carpet tiles are specially designed squares of carpeting that are made to lockdown in a similar way to standard carpet flooring. Some of the tiles adhere to the floors using glues, while others are nailed or stapled down. This carpet flooring option is designed to go down easily, and it’s often used with different colours blended together in checker or mosaic patterns to create more unique looks. While not everyone likes the look of carpet tiles, it’s a strong type of carpet flooring that’s coming back in style today. – Express Flooring

What is an advantage of carpet tiles?
If you’re looking for a quick and easy to install type of carpet flooring, tiles are the perfect way to go. When it comes to carpet installation, tiles are one of the best products on the market. They go down very quickly and easily and are designed for simplicity. Since carpet flooring tiles are designed to be small in size, they are easy to carry and to position wherever they are needed. This is much simpler than carrying around large rolls of roll-out carpet varieties. Carpet tiles go down faster during carpet installation than other carpet flooring types as well, and it doesn’t take as much skill to ensure that the floor looks smooth and even. – Express Flooring

Do carpet tiles need to be glued down?
Carpet tiles don’t NEED to be secured using glue. However, our advice is that if the area to be covered is large, then they should be secured using an adhesive. If you’re going to looselay the tiles, then you can use double-sided tape to keep them in place instead. – Paragon Carpets

Why have carpet tiles become increasingly popular in recent years?
They’re an increasingly popular alternative owing to modular nature – especially within high-traffic spaces, such as offices and classrooms. However, to know if carpet tiles are the best fit for your project, it’s important to have a deeper understanding before making your purchase, including the pros and cons of carpet tiles.
– Birch Carpets

Why and when to choose carpet tiles over other types of carpets
Carpet tiles are unmatched in regards to cost and installation time so if cost and installation time are important to your project, then you should probably choose carpet tiles vs other types of carpets. Carpet tiles also have significant advantages in maintenance and modularity. For most projects which don’t require a fully customised design, carpet tiles should at the very least be considered, as they’re often the superior choice in both practicality and design for these less complicated projects.
– ege Carpets

How long can carpet tiles last?
A flexible and affordable option with many advantages, carpet tiles are used by homeowners and enterprises alike as a sought-after flooring solution. Whether you opt for wall-to-wall carpeting or more modular options like tiles, purchasing floor coverings for the rooms you use represents a significant investment. With this in mind, it’s little wonder that many property owners are interested in exactly how long the solution they choose will endure.
– HomeStyle Carpets

When considering carpet construction, what type of carpet tiles can be chosen from?
Tufted, woven or needle punched carpets. While the overwhelming majority of carpets tiles are tufted, it’s useful to get a feel for all the options available, in order to make a more informed decision. Below, we’ll explain what carpet tiles are made of.

Tufted carpets: 95% of all commercial carpet tiles on the market are tufted. That’s because tufted carpets have a fast production time, are priced lower and have a variety of different designs available with them. While tufted carpets work for most projects, when high quality and endurance are your main concerns, they might not be the ideal option.

Woven carpets: Woven carpets, or carpets produced on a loom, were the only option up until the 1950s. Even though advancements in production machinery and synthetic materials have allowed for other possibilities, woven carpets are still on the market and widely selected today because of their superior quality and durability, particularly with natural materials. Woven carpets are a good choice for higher-end projects.

Needle-punched carpets: Needle-punched carpets are colourfast, dry quickly and are resistant to sunlight and fading. While practical, they lack versatility in look and feel. Needle-punched carpets are great for things such as entry mats, but not recommended for general use.
– ege Carpets

What causes carpet tiles to curl?
One common issue we see customers having with carpet tiles, is curling at the edges. This usually happens because there is too much tension in the carpet fibres, resulting in the carpet tiles not lining up as they should. The causes of this happening can be down to several reasons. For example, there could be an error in the manufacturing process, too much moisture in the concrete, or the application of the adhesive could be incorrect. If this happens upon application of your Paragon Carpet Tiles, please get in touch with us immediately.
– Paragon Carpets

What can underlay do for carpet tiles?
Adding carpet underlay can make a huge difference to the experience of walking on carpet tiles. Rather than your foot striking a hard, unforgiving surface, floor underlayment provides cushioning. It gives it a much more luxurious feel to walk on. It also has acoustic benefits.

Sound bounces off all hard surfaces and can be very unpleasant. This is especially true in closed environments like hallways and communal working spaces. Laying carpet tiles is a great choice for deadening sound. Even without extra underlay, they will absorb both impact and atmospheric sound better than a hard floor surface. Soundproof carpet underlay takes this effect to the next level. It helps deaden the sound of walking on carpet tiles. It not only lessens the sound in the room itself but also for people working below. Underlay also doubles up as an effective insulator. There are many techniques for insulating floors. Underlay for carpet tiles adds another layer of insulation, helping keep heat in the room where you want it.
– Buy Flooring Online

What can I do with old carpet tiles?
Carpet tiles with a durable nylon pile can often be refurbished and reused. There are a growing number of carpet tile reuse and resale schemes, often run by community organisations which give training placements to marginalised people and provide low-cost flooring to households and charities.
– Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK)

What is the backing of carpet tiles?
The carpet tile is produced by coating a thick backing layer of a rubber-modified bitumen coating composition onto a secondary backing sheet material and separately coating a first precoat layer comprising a hot melt petroleum resin or bitumen and a second layer comprising a hot melt bitumen composition containing a flexible vinyl adhesive resin, like ethylene vinyl acetate, onto a fibrous back surface of a carpet material having a primary backing sheet containing a fibrous face wear surface and laminating the surface of the second layer to the surface of the backing layer to provide a carpet tile having dimensional stability, good lay flat characteristics and capable of production by an in-line production method. – RAHA Bitumen Co

What post-installation care should be applied to carpet tiles?
Ambient site conditions must be between 65-85 F (18-29.5deg C) and relative humidity between 40-60%. These conditions must be maintained at least 48 hours before, during, and 72 hours after the installation completion. DO NOT cover the area with plastic or anything that would trap moisture and/or prevent air circulation. This could lead to installation failure. DO NOT drag furniture or other objects over the new flooring. Use furniture dollies to safely move items or lay plywood over carpet tiles when moving heavy objects.
– Sisal Carpets