Install Carpet Tiles In A Basement

Looking to renovate that basement and throw down a new floor? You should check out carpet tiles as a definite option to go over that plain old concrete. Carpet tiles are reasonably priced and can be a great DIY basement project for any homeowner.

So, just what are carpet tiles? Well, they are pretty much what their name says. Carpet tiles are squares (for the most part) of carpeting that come in a multitude of different styles and colors and textures and have a backing on them that make them adequate pieces of flooring to install in a basement. They can vary in size based on brand but most are either 18x18 inches or 20x20 inches square.

Installing carpet tile in your basement is not very complicated and just as easy as installing them in any other room in your house. They are a great alternative to wall-to-wall carpet and boast a lot of advantages. You'll find that not only are they easy to install, but that they are easy to transport and easy to replace if ever necessary.

• You should really only install carpet tiles over a hard surface (concrete, wood or ceramic tiles will do fine).
• Just like other flooring that is pieced together, you need to unpack the tiles in the room where they are to be installed so they can acclimate to the environment for at least 24 hours prior to actual installation.This helps the tiles in adjusting to the humidity and temperature of the room.
• The floor has to be dry and clean before you start installing them or you won't get the desired results you are looking for.
• Follow the arrows on the back for proper installation.
  

A step by step guide on installing carpet tiles in 6 easy steps:

1. Remove the old flooring. If you have old carpet or any other type of loose flooring currently installed in your basement, get rid of it. Take your time and make sure the floor is clean and dry. You might even want to take this time and add some additional waterproofing to the basement using a good water-based waterproofing sealer before you lay down the new carpet tiles. You'll need to allow for adequate curing time before you start installing the tiles so before you start waterproofing, make sure you have step 2 done first.
   
2. Once the room is all ready for the new flooring, you need to calculate how many square feet of carpet tiles you'll need. Do this by measuring the length and the width of the basement floor and just multiply the two numbers together to get the total square footage. Now that you know how big the area is, you'll know how much square foot of tiles you'll need. Depending on the size you buy, you'll just pick up that many boxes of carpet tiles (hint: each box usually has the amount of square foot it will cover)
3. Acclimate the carpet tiles by unboxing them in the basement and letting them sit for about 24 hours before installation.
4. To start the actual installation, you'll need to find the center of the basement floor as this is where you'll start. It's actually not that hard if you have a chalk line and a friend. Stretch the chalk line from diagonal corners and snap it to make your first mark. Then do the same from the opposite diagonal corners. Find the centers of each wall and again snap a chalk line from opposite sides. This will make a huge grid on the floor and where they all cross is the center of the floor and where you'll start. Don't worry if your room is not perfectly square, but you'll be close.
5. Start on the center line in the middle using full carpet tiles and work your way out from there to opposite walls. There should be no spaces between the tiles and they should be fitted snug together. Don't forget about the arrows on the backside of the tiles to make sure they are all pointing the same direction. If you are trying to make a pattern, make sure that you follow the pattern of the arrows throughout installation.
6. When you get to the sides where the walls are, it's quite possible that a full tile won't fit. This is where you'll need the straight edge and the utility knife to cut the carpet tile to fit. Here's the trick, turn the tile upside down and put it under the last whole tile making sure that the tile being cut is flush to the wall (that tile touching the wall should have the backing face-up now). Using the sharpie, trace the edge of the other tile onto the one that's upside down. Use your straight-edge if you need to to make the line a little better. Cut the tile on the line using the utility knife. It may be a little hard to cut so just take your time and go over the cut a few times until it's in two pieces. Turn the cut tile back over and install it just like the others.

Tip: If you have fibers that get "caught" in the seams, just use a credit card or something with a slim dull edge and run it over the seams releasing the trapped fibers. This is a good idea to do with all the edges even if you can't visibly see trapped fibers, just not hard that the tiles pull apart from one another.

1. They are simple to replace if one gets damaged. It doesn't matter if one tile starts to look worn or gets stained with some spilled juice or something, all you have to do is remove that one tile and replace it with a new one.
2. They are easy to install. No professionals needed here, great DIY project.
3. Quicker to install than wall-to-wall carpet in that every piece of furniture doesn't have to be removed to lay it down.
4. Generally, the padding and backing are pre-installed on the carpet tiles themselves. One-stop installation and repair.
5. They come in boxes rather than huge rolls so you can easily pick them up from the store and take them home without the need of trailers and huge vans.
6. Just as durable as most other pieces of flooring.
7. You can install these in just about any room in the house. Perfect for high traffic areas that get worn a lot quicker than other places and very suitable for a basement surrounding or game room.
8. They can be used to cover worn wood floors or laminate. Use them fitted together as a rug.
9. They aid in reducing noise in a room by absorbing it through their backing and padding like other carpets will.
10. Also available in outdoor styles to use outside on patio's and decks.