Modular carpet tiles are attractive, versatile and easy to install and maintain. That’s why this type of flooring is increasing in popularity between both homeowners and renters. The best is that you can install carpet tiles as a DIY project without having to pay for a professional installer. Follow these 7 easy steps to learn how to accomplish this mission:
Tools & Materials
• measuring tape
• T square
• Chalk line
• Utility knife
• Carpet adhesive (If the tiles don’t come with Adhesive Tape or Dots and Tabs)
• U-notch trowel for applying adhesive
1. Choose A Pattern And Order Tiles
One of the advantages of modular carpets is that you have control over the carpet pattern and the flooring layout. With practically unlimited options, the hardest part could be deciding on the design that fits your room as well as the existing decoration. For example, each square could have the same color or you can mix and match different colors to get an eye-catching pattern. In the case that you don’t have time to create a customized pattern, you could choose one of these popular carpet patterns:
• Monolithic: Point all tiles in the same direction
• Quarter Turn/ Checker Board: The pattern looks like a checkerboard. To create, turn tiles 90 degrees from one other
• Ashlar: Point all tiles in the same direction, offset each row by half a length
• Brick: Similar to a Brick wall, offset each row by half a width
Since brands have different square sizes, you should decide on the brand first. It’s recommended that you draw a layout of your room to check how the carpet tiles fit into the floor. You can also lay a few carpet tiles in different arrangements to test how they‘ll look in the space.
To order the tiles you should determine the square footage of your room. For that, multiply length and width of the floor to be covered and add 10 extra percent for the waste (Simply multiply the square footage by 1.1).
2. Clear The Space
Unlike rolled carpet installation, carpet installation doesn’t require removing all furniture from the room. Just move items as needed and clear space for the carpet tile installation.
3. Assess And Clean The Existing Flooring
No matter whether you are going to install carpet tiles on the existing floor made from hardwood, concert, ceramic or plywood, you need to assess and prepare the subfloor prior to installation. Make sure that the subfloor is even, clean and dry. It’s important to get rid of any irregularities and debris in the subfloor; level up and repair damaged areas and then use a vacuum cleaner or sweep to completely remove dust and grit from the floor.
Avoid installation on wet or dirty subfloors. Any moisture or debris could shorten the life-span of the carpet or promote the growth of mold and mildew underneath the tiles.
4. Mark The Centre Of Your Room
You should install the carpet tiles from the center of the room outward. So, you need to find the center of your room. To determine this point accurately, find and mark the center of all walls. For that, you can use your measuring tape. Then, snap the chalk lines between the mid-point of opposing walls. Do this both for two other walls and make sure that the chalk lines are square with one other. This will make a perfect plus sign in your room indicating the geometric center of the room.
5. Lay The Tiles Starting From The Center Of Your Room
To install the squares, begin from the center of the room you marked in the previous step and work outward. Install the tiles row by row and make sure that each square line up with chalk lines. Before installing each square double-check arrows on the back that indicate the installing direction of each tile. Use arrows and sequence numbers as a guide for the right direction and order of installation. Continue the installation in this manner until you reach close to walls or corners. in this stage don’t glue down the tiles and simply lay them on the floor so you can make adjustments as needed.
6. Cut The Tile Around Doorjambs And Corners
Cutting the carpet tiles to fit around corners, doorjambs or archway walls is probably the most challenging part of the job. Put the square against the wall and highlight the cutting line with a marker. Make sure that the cut piece is at least half-length of the original squares.
Use your utility knife to slice squares from the back. Do not cut from the carpet side. It’s better to slightly undercut the marks, then fine-tune edges as needed for a tight fit.
7. Stick Down The Carpet Tiles
Before fixing the tiles to the subfloor, carefully inspect each tile and turn any square than don’t follow the pattern. Then, use chalk lines to align squares for the last time. Now, You can begin sticking down your tiles to the floor.
If your carpet tiles are shipped with adhesive tapes or Tabs your job is easier. All you have to do is peel the protective coating on the back to reveal the adhesive part and press the carpet to the floor. When it comes to the traditional method of installing carpet tiles, you need a specialized carpet adhesive and a u-notch trowel. With the help of the trowel, apply an even coating of adhesive on the surface where your tiles will go and glue down the tiles. You may want to swipe a heavy roller on the tiles to make sure that the tiles have properly adhered to the floor. In this method, having an even subfloor is critical and you should wait until the glue dries.
As you can see, installing modular carpet tiles following these steps is easier than you could imagine and gives you the freedom in terms of design, offering a huge number of patterns for your room.
