How to install carpet tile
Here at The Last Inventory, we love carpet tiles!
So, today we are going to explain to you how to install them. We are excited to share this with you because we know this will save you a lot of money, time, and frustration. Many of you have asked,
“Is carpet tile installation easy?”
“Can anybody do it?”
Our answer is yes, absolutely! So let’s get started.
Don’t have any carpet tiles yet? Click here.
Measure & Pop a Chalkline
First things first, you’ll need a chalk line. Before we drop a chalk line to get a straight line, let’s get some important measurements. You want to measure a few points the same distance from the wall and then line your chalk up along those points.
You want to measure off the wall about one inch more than the width of the tile. This should account for any areas of concern where your carpet tiles may be short you would have to make more cuts but doing it this way would help prevent you from running short. For example, if you are using a 24-inch wide carpet tile, you would measure 25 inches off the wall and drop your chalk line there. This is going to make sure your carpet tiles do not start to get off-line as you make your way farther into the room.
Glue the Area
It is important to use the correct glue for carpet tiles. That glue is called pressure-sensitive modular tile glue. This glue is pressurized, so when you put the carpet tile down it will not move under pressure; however, if you decide to take the floor up, it is very easy. Even if you decide to replace a stained or damaged tile, you do not have to reapply the glue. It will always remain tacky. What makes this glue special is that you do not have to work incredibly fast to get all the tiles down before the glue no longer will stick to the tiles. You can apply the glue and lay one tile a day if you so choose (not that you would, but you could)! In addition to the glue, you will need a 1/16th-inch notched trowel or flat-side trowel to apply the glue to the floor.
Now that you have the glue and trowel, pour a small portion of the glue and use the trial to spread the glue in what we call the “half-moon spread.” You want to control the glue by spreading it towards your left to right in an arc-shaped motion. You will want to start at the furthest corner of the room from the exit and glue yourself out of the room. DON’T TRAP YOURSELF IN THE ROOM!
Pick a pattern and start laying the carpet tile
Now it’s time to pick your design! There are a few to choose from, so we suggest before you even glue anything down, lay out a couple of designs or a couple of patterns that best fit your area.
You will know your glue is ready for application whenever it is translucent. You can see through the glue to the floor, and you can see the chalk line that you initially put down. On the back of each carpet tile, there should be a pile direction. Look for the arrow. It will point you in the right direction. Pile direction is important because all carpet essentially has a natural flow. If you happen to run all your carpet forward, and there is one that happens to run backward, against that flow, that one carpet tile will either look lighter or darker compared to the rest. Consistency is the key. Start with the chalk line and work your way through the room maintaining your pattern throughout. When you get to a wall you can either leave all the cuts for the end or make the cuts as they come up.
Cutting your carpet tile
Okay, so it’s now time to make your carpet tiles fit into those edges by making your cuts! A couple of tools you will need: a tucker and a carpet knife (don’t use a utility knife!) So whether it’s the wall, the bottom of a staircase, or a stage, the concept is virtually the same. To make a cut, lay your carpet tile as though it already fits where you intend to lay it. Now, you want to use your tucker to create a crease in the tile along the wall to define where you will make your cut! Now you will take your carpet knife and cut along the crease you made. However, you are going to make this cut TOWARDS YOU. It sounds backward from everything you have learned but controls the blade. When you cut away from yourself, the cut will come out crooked and will waste your tiles. When you run the blade towards yourself, it results in a much straighter, cleaner cut.
5 Backsplash Patterns that may work for your area
Backsplash more than ever is being used as a way for homeowners to show their personality and design chops in their kitchens and bathrooms. However, you may not know that there are many different patterns that mesh-mounted mosaic backsplash tiles can have. These different styles can be used to add to the design and aesthetic of the space just as much as color. Let’s talk about five of the best tile designs for backsplashes
- Brick Pattern
- Herringbone
- Arabesque
- Marquise
- Pebble
Mosaics and Backsplash are ideal solutions for making your dream kitchen and bathroom come to life.
In contrast to kitchen and bathroom projects that require technical expertise, a backsplash can truly be called a do-it-yourself project.
In the kitchen, the backsplash covers other parts of the countertop beside the sink area. Mosaics also help protect the wall against grease splatter when cooking and or doing meal prep.
Arabesque
Brick
Herringbone
Marquise
Pebble
The arabesque style backsplash isn’t incredibly common; however, it is a very bold choice that can pay off big time if executed well. Originating from the middle-east, the arabesque pattern has expanded to accentuate incredible kitchens and bathrooms with its unique pattern.
Let’s start off simply. The brick pattern is a classic, timeless offset stacked style. It is traditionally run horizontally; however, modern homes have used the brick style vertically. Outside of stylistic preference, the vertical brick style can be used to make ceilings appear higher. To see an example of a brick pattern backsplash click here.
Herringbone has emerged as a popular style. As you can see pictured above, it is a chevron-shaped pattern that aligns the end of one rectangular tile to the end of another. It can be used with backsplash to make a monochromatic backsplash tile “pop.” To see an example of a herringbone pattern backsplash click here.
Marquise style is a pattern that resembles the arabesque pattern; however, it is more subtle in design. This style is another example of a bold choice that has a high payoff. It can be found in a variety of styles: travertine, marble, and glass, or if you would like to see a metal example click here.
The pebble pattern of the backsplash can come in a few different forms. It can be only the pattern like the one pictured above, or it can actually be stones or pebbles. Either way, these styles are commonly used on shower floors because they work well to contour the slope of the floor for drainage. The pebble pattern backsplash tiles can also be used as accent strips between larger tile patterns. To see an example of a pebble backsplash click here.
Which style did you like?
These five styles were our choices for some of the best tile designs for backsplashes. What was your favorite one? Let us know today! If you need help with selecting a backsplash or have any design questions feel free to shoot us an email at info@thelastinventory.com
3 Reasons WPC or SPC Vinyl Floors May Be For You
Ingrained in the idea of the American dream home is the desire to have wood floors! However, over time, people have learned about some ways that wood floors are not always practical.
- They Scratch Easily
- They Don’t Hold Up to Water
- They Can Be Incredibly Expensive
- Required Maintenance
“WPC and SPC Vinyl Floors are 100% Waterproof”
This is usually the main reason that our customers decide to go with WPC or SPC floors. The way these floors are designed, it is not the glue, padding, or anything else that keeps moisture from touching your subfloor. It is the click-and-lock mechanism that is designed to stand up not just to your day-to-day water but even to tragic events like pipe bursts and flooding. Guaranteed to never bubble or buckle, this floor stands up to water better than any wood floor you can buy. Therefore, WPC or SPC floors can be used in the home’s wettest areas: the kitchen, laundry room, and even bathroom. Whether it’s a mop, a pet accident, or a spill, WPC and SPC floors are able to stand against your typical moisture.
“WPC and SPC Vinyl Floors are Scratch Resistant”
A lot of times we hear complaints about how hardwoods scratch easily.
Whether it’s pet nails or moving furniture, over time wood floors can show scratches in the right lighting. However, when you have an SPC or WPC floor, this is not the case. All vinyl flooring has a “wear layer.” This is the small layer of protection on the very surface of the floor. The thicker the wear layer, the more resistant to scratching the floor will be. Wear layers ranging from 4 mils to 40 mils. In order for a floor to pass the minimum requirements of a commercial floor, it must have a 20 mil wear layer or higher. At The Last Inventory, a majority of the WPC and SPC that we carry a 20 mil wear layer. This means that when you buy a WPC or SPC floor from The Last Inventory the scratch resistance will be suitable for any level of traffic your residential property may experience.
Enter Wood Polymer Composite (WPC) and Stone Polymer Composite (SPC) floors, solving the issues of wood floors while offering the same appealing look as hardwood floors.
When people come into The Last Inventory, a lot of times they are unaware of one of these durable, long-lasting, visually appealing floors.
“WPC and SPC Vinyl Floors have a Realistic Look”
For many people, vinyl floors are usually out of the question. There is a belief that vinyl floors are
unrealistic in look, not really giving the authentic wood look that is desired. With SPC and WPC floors, however, it is near impossible to look alone to tell the difference between these floors and wood floors. The graining and ridges in the floor mimic real wood floors so well that even professional installers will have to touch it themselves to tell whether it is wood or not. The stone and wood look that comes out of some of The Last Inventory’s most popular selections of SPC and WPC are some of the most realistic styles available on the market.
WPC and SPC Vinyl Floors
So if you are in the market for floors, even if you were staying away from vinyl options, we suggest you take a serious look at WPC and SPC options. They are some of the most durable, realistic, value-packed floors available today. Offering 100% protection against water, incredible scratch resistance, and realistic style, these floors are a great option for those wanting the look of hardwood floors with the resilience of a tile.
To recap, SPC & WPC floors
- Are 100% Waterproof
- Often Times Will have Pad Attached
- Click and Lock the Installation
- Do Not Scratch Easily and Generally Maintenance Free
High-Quality Flooring. Cheap Prices. Simple.
Cheap Flooring. Period.
When you shop for flooring, it can be a daunting task, and it is not always cheap. Ever thought to yourself:
- Where do you even begin?
- Getting Flooring quotes can be a hassle
- Is this price a good deal?
- How cheap is too cheap?
- Does that price include the flooring materials?
- If not, do you have to buy them or does the contractor?
- Who’s going to pick up the flooring?
“How is your flooring so cheap?”
Great question. Glad you asked! The Last Inventory is able to buy overstock, discontinued items, and surplus flooring from large jobs in very large quantities. As a result, our flooring products are cheap. Simple. Whether it is tile, wood, or vinyl flooring, we pride ourselves on undercutting the market to ensure that everyone can get a high-quality floor on any budget. See for yourself here.
It’s a lot. However, it doesn’t have to be.
At The Last Inventory, we sell high-quality products at exceptional prices with the goal of helping people. When you shop at The Last Inventory, you can be sure that you are getting an incredible deal. The flooring may be cheap, but the quality is exceptional.
Many of our products can be found on shelves at Floor & Decor, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and other major stores. However, the prices of our flooring are cheaper than the competition almost every time.
“Okay, Now prove it”
Gladly. At The Last Inventory, we carry three main types of flooring:
- Tile (Ceramic & Porcelain)
- Engineered Wood
- Vinyl
But Wait, there’s more!
We also offer:
- SPC & WPC
- Laminate
- Carpet
Now, we do not want to come across as negative toward any competitor’s brand or image. Therefore, we will simply list what the average prices are at other stores versus The Last Inventory; however, we encourage you to verify these claims yourself to ensure our claims are accurate.
The type of tile that is most popular amongst our customers is 12 in. x 24 in. Porcelain Tile. When you shop at a major flooring or home improvement store, you are going to pay around $2.00 or more per square foot (SQFT). However, at The Last Inventory, we charge $0.85 for our 12×24 Porcelain Tiles.
Wood flooring is hardly ever cheap. Engineered wood floors at a large store usually run between $2.69 and upwards of $5.00 per SQFT. This, however, is not the case at The Last Inventory. The engineered hardwood flooring that we keep in stock does not exceed $2.00 per SQFT and can go for as low as $1.25 per SQFT.
Vinyl? Not a problem. Instead of paying between $1.00 and $2.00 per SQFT, come to The Last Inventory where we charge $0.60 per SQFT. Even our nicest selections of vinyl do not exceed $0.90 per SQFT.
At The Last Inventory, we want to make sure anyone on any budget can have an incredible floor without breaking the bank. Does it seem too good to be true? Most deals that do usually are, but these prices are what we pride ourselves on. And the way we intend to keep it for as long as our doors are open. See for yourself.
How to shop for new floors
So, you are ready for new floors! Congratulations! You must be excited, and so are we. It is easy to get overwhelmed when going to the flooring store. Unless you’re in construction, you probably don’t buy floors very often.
How to Shop for New Floors (so you can sound like a pro in the store)!
So how do you sound knowledgeable in the store so you don’t get taken advantage of when buying your new floors? Today, we are going to give you the information you need to walk into the flooring store with confidence by following these three simple steps.
- Get Your Measurements
- Pick Which Type of Flooring is Best for You
- Purchase Your New Dream Flooring
Step One: Get your measurements –
For this step, all you will need is a good tape measure! The old “measuring one foot in front of the other” method is great for guessing, but if you are going to spend your hard-earned money on new floors, it’s best to have accurate measurements. You will take the room and measure the length of the room and width of the room. If the room is not rectangular or square, break the room up into smaller sections and measure the sections. Once you have the measurements, multiply the length times the width to get the square footage. If you broke the room up into sections, add all of the sections together. Do this for all the areas you need.
Example:
Jim has two rooms he needs new flooring in. One room is 13′ x 12′. The second is 11′ x 10′. The first room is 156 SQFT (13 times 12). The second room is 110 SQFT (11 times 10). So in total, the TRUE MEASUREMENT is 266 SQFT (156 plus 110).
Now that you have measured your rooms, it’s time for a very important step: overage. When floors are installed, there are cuts, waste, mistakes, etc. that need to be accounted for when buying material. It is common for people to think, “I’ll just buy a couple of extra boxes.” Sometimes that’s not enough, depending on the size of the job! An industry-standard way of adding overage is to add 10% on top of your true measurement.
So in our example with Jim, his true measurement is 266 SQFT. So by adding 10% on top of that, we get about 293 SQFT. Simply multiply your true measurement by “1.1” to get the amount plus overage. Now, when Jim goes to the store, he can confidently let the salesmen know how much flooring he needs.
Step Two: Pick Which Type of Flooring is Beast For You –
So, you have the measurements! Now it’s time to go pick out your floors. But maybe you have never bough floors, so you have no idea what the different types of floors are. Or maybe it has just been a while and you could use a refresher. No worries, check out this chart below to pick a floor that works best for you!
Step Three: Purchase –
Now this fun part: go out and buy some new floors! Once you have found your proper measurements and what type of floor you want for your space, you can go into any store sounding like a pro! Our friend Jim, for example, could walk into his favorite flooring store (ahem, The Last Inventory) and say
“Hello! I would like 296 square feet of WPC Flooring, please. And that already includes my 10% overage.”
That statement alone will let your salesman know that you know what you’re talking about. Happy Shopping!