Carpeting has always been a should-have piece of furniture in your home. It adds up the look and enhances your decorations as an elegant touch. However, it is quite time-consuming to install carpet tiles manually, especially for the inexperienced. During your first time, issues, including wet adhesives, can easily occur. But you can help prevent similar problems if you follow the process mentioned in the article. We believe it will help you save some time and money.
1. Are Carpet Tiles Essential?
Carpet tile is one of the most asked questions we have received in this section. To answer the question raised, it is dependent on individuals. Do you think that your carpet tiles will perform well? If you desire easy-to-maintain and cost-effective items, carpet tiles are for you. In another case, your budget is limited, then carpet tiles are a suitable option. We would not say carpet tiles are essential. It is more optional.
What is a carpet tile?
For those who haven't understood what carpet tiles mean, they are simply tiles of carpeting, which can be slotted together to create a roguelike shape or other shapes that fit your space. There are different sizes and plies to decide. They usually come in a square shape of 19 inches on each side. Besides, the materials used to manufacture these product types vary. The finer and thicker tiles will cost you higher.
Advantages of Having Carpet Tiles
- Low maintenance efforts: Carpet tiles are one of the easiest items to maintain in terms of furniture. You barely have to wash it or spend on annual maintenance costs. That's why it suits the busy collars.
- Cheap to purchase: Carpet tiles will be much more affordable than rugs. The price tags for carpet tiles vary from 3 to 5 dollars for a piece. Meanwhile, a whole carpet would cost you approximately 120 dollars per item.
- Made for sustainable and reusable purposes: What makes carpet tiles more practical is that they are sustainable and reusable. There is no doubt that this feature highlights their cheap price tags. Also, the term "reusable" attracts more shoppers, especially those who care about environmental protection.
Disadvantages of Having Carpet Tiles
- The sense of luxury: if you purchase carpet tiles for usage, a sense of luxury should be out of your expectation list. In this situation, the look seems to come along with the higher costs.
- Incompatibility: Another thing to expect from carpet tiles is that they will barely be compatible with one another in look, which can be annoying to several consumers.
2. Impacts of Wet Adhesives
Adhesives, or as we usually call glue, can be exposed to water during the installation process. When it gets wet, it can create some of the issues below:
- Health risks: In adhesives, there is a compound of different chemical substances, including carbon dioxide, carbon acid, and several others. During the installation usage period, this compound, if exposed to water, would gradually release its natural product, which is known as VOC, existing in the form of gas. The VOC can create some severe health issues such as cancer and neurological damage.
- Prolonged installation time: If you accidentally expose your adhesive to water in the installation process, it is likely to prolong the process, holding you waiting for longer. One more note is that when installing with wet adhesive, you must follow a timeline more strictly. If not, your whole installation effort may fail in the end. Wet adhesive can also damage your floor.
3. Steps To Install Carpet Tiles With Glue
In this part, we will guide you on how to glue down your new carpet tiles to the floor. The process is easier than expected, but it will need patience and caution. We divide the whole process into two minor stages, which we call preparation and application.
Preparation Stage
- Measurement: the very first factor you need to prepare is measuring the exact figures of your space, then calculating the tiles. As mentioned, tiles will come in a square shape with certain sizes, based on your purchase. From the calculation made, you will decide how many tiles would fit your floor. In case you purchase one massive piece, you will have to cut it into pieces for easier installation.
- Prepare the tiles: the best temperature for tiles before applying is about 65 to 95 Fahrenheit degrees. Hence, remember to set up your room temperature between the two milestones. Details are crucial to gain the best results in all tasks.
- Cleaning and testing: In the preparation stage, you need to clean your space first. Any substance or dust must be removed, especially water. Wet adhesives are a health hazard and trigger the installation process. If you are more cautious, pH testing is advisable. The pH level should be 9 for direct installation
- Marking: The last task in the preparation stage is to mark the center of your floor. It is the simplest way to add up consistency throughout your installation process. It is optional, but if possible, why not make a quick mark in the center?
- Things you need to prepare: chalk for drawing lines, adhesive for gluing down the tiles, pH tester, and measuring devices.
Application Stage
The application stage is as vital as the preparation we have mentioned in the previous lines. It is the deciding stage whether your installation succeeds or not. The two most crucial notes on this session are not letting your adhesive get wet and applying exactly as the measurement calculated.
- Step 1: Since you got everything set up, it is time to decide the specific location of each tile. The chalk prepared will come into the scene at this step. Draw the straight lines according to your tiles figures. Divide the floor into compatible lines before applying the tiles.
- Step 2: With the line drawn, now first apply your adhesives into one tile to another carefully. Patience and thoroughness should be your expectations. Remember not to get the adhesive wet. Carefully apply the adhesive, then apply directly your tiles to the floor.
- Step 3: After applying all the tiles, we are reaching the end of the process. Since you have done the gluing, now you have to do the waiting. A period of 24 hours will be enough for this step. When the waiting time is over, you are free to move in your other pieces of furniture. If you want, one last cleaning is going to be your finishing touch.
It is important to wait because if you move your furniture in immediately, your installed tiles face a greater risk of popping up. To avoid the problem of popping up, you need to consider the quality of the carpet tiles and the adhesives used throughout the process. Some high-quality tiles are eco-friendly, sustainable, and hard-wearing. The price does not fluctuate significantly among ranges. In our viewpoint, carpet tiles are worth a small investment. After all, they are more practical and monetarily valuable than many other options. Therefore, the preparation and purchase stages must be thoroughly calculated.
Conclusion
Here comes our final words. Summing up our pieces of information, you must memorize a few things while installing carpet tiles. Firstly, the preparation stage will need careful measurement and calculation, along with chalk, adhesives, pH tester, and measure devices. Next to the application, you must not let your adhesives get wet, and apply the tiles precisely as measured. Those are all the two notes you must remember in the process.