How to Install Carpet Tiles

Carpet tiles are great if you have kids or pets and expect spills or stains. One affected tile can be removed and cleaned easily in the sink. Or, if the stain won't come out, just one tile can be replaced instead of an entire room. Carpet tiles also come in a variety of colors and designs to fit your style.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Carpet tiles (enough to cover your area)
• Carpet knife
• 24-inch carpenter's square
• Tape measure
• Chalk line
• Carpet tape (or brand-specific adhesive)
• Knee pads (optional)

1. Allow carpet tiles to acclimate to the room overnight.

2. Install carpet tiles on a clean, flat surface. Most carpet tiles can be installed on top of subfloors or hard flooring, but not on top of other carpet.

3. Locate the center of the floor. This can be done with chalk lines. Pull the chalk line from one corner of the room to the corner diagonal from it. Snap the line. Repeat with the other two corners. You will have a giant "X" running over the floor. Find the center of two opposite walls, and run a chalk line between them. Repeat with the remaining two walls. You now have four lines on the floor and a clearly marked center.

4. Apply carpet tape around the perimeter of the room and over the chalk lines you created earlier. You might want to set the tape slightly askew from the lines to make sure you can still see your center point. Do not remove the paper backing until you place the tiles on the floor and are sure you like where they wind up.

5. Place carpet tiles along the chalk lines running from center wall to center wall. You will actually lay the tiles next to the lines, not on top of them. Make sure the tiles fit snugly together.

6. Make sure the nap or pattern of the tiles is all going in the same direction. Some brands of tiles may have arrows on the back to assist you. If yours do, and you are using a solid color, or a repeating pattern, make sure all of the arrows face the same way. If you do not have these arrows, you might want to add them yourself to assist you when you lay the tiles.

7. Cut the tiles to fit at the edges. Place a tile face down under the last whole tile in the row and lay it snugly against the wall. Mark the back of the tile where the previous tile ends on it. Lay the new tile on a piece of cardboard and cut it with a carpet knife. Run the knife next to the carpenter's square to ensure a straight edge. Cut the carpet with several swipes of the knife, rather than trying to cut through it all at once. Place the cut tile on the floor Repeat with the other three points of the lines.

8. Make sure you like where the tiles are. If you like the tile placement, remove the paper backing from the carpet tape under the tiles and stick them in place.

9. Begin filling in the quadrants created by the carpet tiles you have already laid. Work from the center of the room to the corners. Use the same process as in Step 7 to cut tiles for the edges.

Tips & Warnings

• Some carpet tiles come with wavy edges to reduce any seam visibility.
• These instructions are for a basic wall-to-wall installation without any patterns. If you plan to work a pattern into your flooring, you will need to map it out.
• Some carpet tiles come with their own adhesive "dots." If you have these, you won't need carpet tape on the floor. To use these dots, check the instructions that come with the tiles.
• Carpet tiles can be laid on most hard flooring, but check any instructions with your tiles to be sure it is safe for your specific hard flooring.