The concept of flooring tile goes back thousands of years when hard surfaces of various rock forms, baked clay, and ceramic were being used. The early users of these initial tile flooring types needed something to cover their dirt floors that were of a size that could be easily carried to where the floor was located. These hard surface types of flooring preceded woven grasses and fabrics that were used to cover the ground such as mats and rugs. As civilization progressed, wood tiles and certain forms of metal, glass and rubber tiles were used. Also, finely finished rock such as limestone and granite were being improved for the, now, classic look of stone tiles.

Flash forward to the mid-nineteenth century and you find the first carpet tiles being used. It was then that a small Dutch company outside of Amsterdam, Holland made the first “true” carpet tile. The name of this company was Heuga and their initial business was making bicycle seat covers with animal hides. They purchased a needle punch machine which enabled them to use the horse and hog hair yarn to manufacture wider width fabric ideal for carpet tiles. Heuga strived, at this relatively early date, to make sure that they were using a waste by-product from local slaughter houses. Not only did they continue to cut their bicycle seats from this new fabric but they began to sell rugs and broadloom carpet. However they were still concerned with using as much of the product as they could to eliminate waste. They began experimenting with putting an Asphalt (Bitumen) backing on their fabric to give it stiffness and further durability plus dimensional stability and they cut it into 10 inch squares so the homes and commercial buildings using their product didn’t create the waste they did when cutting in a wall-to-wall carpet installation.

Heuga was a very frugal Dutch company and it pleased them and their customers that they were using by-products for the face and backing to manufacture their new carpet tile flooring product. Asphalt came from the earth and when heated flowed on nicely to the back of their face fabric and cut nicely once it cooled into portable tiles that didn’t have transporting problems as 12 ft. broadloom carpet did. Instead they had created a square 10″ carpet that fit nicely in a box. This new product spread with popularity over Europe where the majority of the population lived in smaller homes and apartments. What better way to cover their floors than by transporting a few boxes of carpet tile to their place for an easy install. Carpet tiles popularity grew for use in commercial buildings as heavy traffic didn’t create severe wear. Soon, Heuga expanded into needle punching synthetic yarns into their products as well. A limited supply of animal hair no longer restricted the growth of their popular product.

Meanwhile, 10-12 years later in the United States the first textile company to move into carpet tile manufacturing was Collins & Aikman with their “Tex-Tiles” brand. It was a logical move for them because they were already making a six foot wide carpet with a durable cushion vinyl backing they called “Powerbond”. Also, in the 1960’s Milliken, the most powerful textile company in the USA bought a Lagrange, Georgia based carpet manufacturer called Callaway. This move put Milliken in the carpet business. Not only was carpet a hot product in this country, it was making noise all over Europe. Milliken took one of their young bright employees, a Georgia Tech graduate, Ray Anderson and sent him to Europe to explore their technology and further expansion into carpet. With the advice of Anderson, Milliken purchased the U.S. rights to a fusion bonding manufacturing process for making carpet tile. This particular method of making carpet tile was invented and patented by a company called Debron, a division of The Carpet Manufacturing Company of England.

It wasn’t a year later that Ray Anderson left Milliken and with a group of investors, he formed a carpet tile company initially called Carpets International of Georgia. Within nine years, in 1979 the company had grown to $80 million in annual sales of fusion bonded carpet tile. They changed the name to Interface and today that company has carpet tile sales in excess of $350 million.

Throughout the 70’s and 80’s USA based carpet tile manufacturing lead by Interface, Milliken and Collins & Aikman successfully introduced carpet tile into the growing mainstream commercial market. Milliken and Interface who initially pioneered fusion bonded carpet tile in this country moved over to strictly tufted carpet tile surfaces. Collins & Aikman had always just been tufted. Tufting is faster than fusion bonding. US based manufacturers have lead the technology worldwide in the development of highly innovative tufting machines.

In 1988 Heuga, the original manufacturer of carpet tile was looking for someone to buy them and Interface made the purchase. Heuga had begun to sell their carpet tiles into the USA under the brand name of FLOR. Keep that brand name in mind as we continue to spin the history of carpet tile.

The decades of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s for our country had phenomenal growth in commercial office space. Much of this growth was high rise or skyscraper office buildings. There were several reasons buildings of this type drove the popularity of carpet tile. Originally this sort of construction had multiple columns to not only support the building but to house heating, air conditioning and electrical wiring. Newer building techniques with lighter but stronger steel had done away with the need for the majority of these columns and the space between the floors housed these wires and vents. To facilitate frequent access to these electrical and heating and air functions, raised floor panels were developed. These panels are approximately 2ft. square and have adequate space beneath them and the ceiling of the floor below to house these functions. Rather than having a hard surface cover them, it was desirable to have a functional carpet tile that could easily be lifted to access these panels for maintenance. Also, carpet tile could be easily transported and stored within these buildings while 12ft. wide carpet could not. As work stations could be reconfigured in this work environment carpet tile could be easily rearranged as well. Working on one small area of the office didn’t have to disrupt the other workers.

Because of this fantastic growth of carpet tiles due to their ease of installation etc., it wasn’t long before all the major carpet manufacturers included them in their line of floor covering.

Remember the brand name that Heuga first entered the USA market with, FLOR? Well, Heuga was absorbed by Interface shortly after they were purchased but a keen interest remained in moving carpet tile into the USA residential market. In 2003 Interface re-introduced the FLOR.com brand as their Internet driven effort to reach today’s design savvy consumer’s and capture their desires with the functionality and style of carpet tiles. With a hard charging advertising campaign including not only their website but beautiful mail-order catalogues.

Today, Focus Floors leads the way in making carpet tiles available to residential and commercial consumers via their website: http://www.focusfloors.com

1. Measure your room wall to wall. Remove any moldings if required. Measure in standard feet, the length times the width of your room will give you the square footage that will be required to cover your area. Make sure that you add nooks and closets to your measurement. Additionally add at least 10% to your measurement to allow for trimming and waste. (our room calculator)
2. Pull the old flooring up and dispose of it. If you have adhesive residue from the old flooring you will want to remove it with a scraper or mild solvent. Light sanding may be required in corners. It is important that the surface is as clean as possible to ensure your new vinyl plank flooring sticks well to the floor.
3. Once you have cleaned and scraped the floor (if required), you are ready to smooth the surface and fill any cracks. Use a patching or putty compound (formulated for your subfloor type i.e. wood) and a putty knife to fill any cracks and holes. Once you have applied the compound, level and smooth the surface to ensure a flat surface. Once the putty has dried and the floor is clean, it is recommended that a primer be used to create a moisture barrier.
4. Now, you are ready to install your new vinyl plank flooring. Typically, you will want to install the vinyl planks parallel to the longest wall or the wall that is the focal point of the room.  After insuring that the floor is clean of dust and debris, begin spreading the adhesive with a trowel. Please note, different planks from different manufactures may require a specific adhesive. Use the manufacturer recommended adhesive. The adhesive should be applied in a manner where there are no peaks and valleys and the application is smooth. You can apply the adhesive in sections depending on how large the room is to ensure that the adhesive doesn’t “setup” before completion.
5. Starting in one corner, begin laying the vinyl planks ensuring that you press the first line squarely against your wall and firmly into the adhesive for a strong bond. Once, you get to the end of the first row, you will have to cut the final plank to size. Place an unused plank against the end point wall and mark with a pencil. Use a straight edge or carpenter’s square to ensure that your cut is straight and true. Press the cut plank into adhesive.
6. Once your first row is installed, you want to make sure that your joints are staggered by at least 6 inches. To achieve this, you may have to cut a plank with a utility knife. Use the same cutting technique mentioned above. Follow this procedure until your vinyl plank flooring is complete.
7. The final step is to use a floor roller to press your new flooring into the adhesive for a strong bond that will last for years to come.

We believe that this procedure will produce good results for most vinyl plank flooring. However, we recommend that you refer to specific instructions from the manufacturer of your flooring for specific guidance that may differ from this DIY How-To article. This document is only intended as a generic guide.

Floor scrubbers:

An automatic floor scrubber, also called auto scrubber, is a type of cleaning machine that is used to get rid of dust, light debris, grease, floor marks or oil on the floor. These machines have cylindrical or rotary scrubbing heads and a provision for spitting put cleaning solution and then vacuuming it. Hence, in just one pass, the floor scrubbing experts can dispense stripping or cleaning agent, scrub it onto the floor and then vacuum it with a scrubber attached at the back of the equipment. These scrubbers also have a separate collection tank and dispensing tank to keep the clean water from dirty water.

Floor Buffer:

A floor buffer is essentially an electrical appliance that is used to maintain and clean surfaces. It is also called a burnisher or a floor polisher.

Similar to a large vacuum cleaner that operates on handlebar controls and requires two-handed steering, a floor buffer or floor machine uses variable-speed rotary brushes to remove dirt and grime from the surfaces. They comprise of a round, large scrubbing pad that spins in circle in a single direction that is powered by a small motor, normally right above the center of the pad.

Bigger floor buffers are utilized to sweep hospitals, schools, offices and buildings. They have wheels and have the power to easily clean and move items stuck on floors. These types can also be found for home-use and are normally sold as hard floor cleaners.

Operating floor scrubbers, buffers or other such heavy machinery is not child’s play, hence its best to leave this job to the experts. Hiring a professional floor cleaning company ensures that the surfaces are cleaned properly without any damage. One of the prominent names is the cleaning industry is that of T.C.S. Floor Care Inc. The company offers all sorts of services pertaining to industrial floor care and maintenance.

Give it purpose: One way to design a living room is doing so around a particular theme. For instance, if you and your family travel often, you might want to give it a Paris or European-like theme, which includes pictures of notable attractions, collectibles and other memorabilia. Or you could choose to model your living room around family and hang pictures of cherished family members and friends. Check out themes other homeowners have created for their living room on social and hobby sites like Pinterest. Choosing a theme, while not essential to a living room, can be a great starting point to giving it that makeover you so desire.

Furniture: One thing that can make or break a living room is furniture. If the furniture doesn’t fit in with the carpeting or the paint job of your living room, the ambiance and warmth of your room can take a major hit. You want your living room to be a warm and inviting place, so dark-colored furniture usually looks out of place in such a room. When you’re redesigning your living room, make sure your furniture compliments your flooring and paint job. Also take note of where you want your furniture laid out.

Lighting: You want your living room to be inviting, which is why lighting – both natural and artificial – is so important. Consider installing a large window that allows you to let in a lot of natural light during the day. If you already have a window that accomplishes this, make sure that your blinds permit it to do so. Your living room shouldn’t be a dark and scary place, but a place that welcomes people, both guests and household members alike. Be sure to keep table lamps in your living room for after dark as well. This can create a calm, relaxing feeling as you’re winding down for the night.

Flooring: The right type of flooring can give a living room a sense of beauty and warmth. While many prefer carpeting in this area, one trend that is gaining notoriety is that of wood flooring. It’s easy to clean, easy to maintain and looks very sharp, especially when complimented with the right paint job and furniture layout.

Paint: Perhaps the most inexpensive means of designing a great living room is making sure it has a good, appropriate paint job. Make sure the paint compliments the carpeting and the flooring, so no aspect looks out of place. And one way to brighten up your living room is to put a fresh coat of paint on the ceiling. Yes, you don’t want to forget about the ceiling – especially if it is painted white – as a fresh coat every now and then can do wonders for a room’s image.

Amy Nelson is a mother, avid home decorator and author. Mrs. Nelson has written several informative publications on family life, interior decorating, and simple home improvement tips.

Carpet tile squares are a popular flooring product without question. The interesting thing is that almost everyone has a different purpose or installation type with carpet tiles in mind.

Some buy carpet tiles because of the color selection and decor options that standard carpet can’t approach. Some install carpet tiles in specific rooms such as kids rooms, basements, etc. because of durability and decor options. Some install carpet tiles because they are easy to replace and maintain, such as rental property. Some even install carpet tiles because of their physical properties as a sound deadening flooring option in home theaters and studios.

By and large, the biggest reason people install carpet tiles is the savings. It’s no secret that if you don’t have to bring in a professional installer you save money. It’s also no big secret that carpet tile tends to be less expensive by the square foot than other types of flooring such a roll goods carpet and hard surfaces like wood.

Whatever your reason for buying and installing carpet tile squares, we thought it would be an interesting exercise in entertainment to share with you some of the most popular searches on FocusFloors.com.

(Just click the link to see the actual search result.)

carpet tiles for rental property
carpet tiles for kids
kitchen carpet tiles
carpet tiles for kids rooms
basement carpet tiles
carpet tiles for basement

Of course it’s always fun to see the colors people are looking for. Popular colors can change with the season and the fashion trend, but black is always popular.

black carpet tiles
green carpet tiles
orange carpet tiles
pink carpet tiles
purple carpet tiles

People are always looking for name brand carpet tiles based on what they see in their local flooring store or big box store. Focus Floors has a wide selection of these top brands.

Shaw Carpet Tiles
Mohawk Carpet Tiles
Milliken Carpet Tiles
Flor/Interface Carpet tiles

More and more I receive calls from customers that own rental property that are looking for away to lower cost to fix up units to rent for the first time or in between tenants. Here is the question I get a lot. Do you think carpet tiles would be a good solution for me? It is not just a good solution, but it is a wonderful no-nonsense solution. The best part about carpet tile is it can be a cheaper cost than Broadloom (wall to wall carpet). It is a DIY job so you do not have to hire an installer and pay out a lot of cash for labor and materials. We know that contractors and installers most of the time mark up the material they use. With carpet tiles that money can stay in your pocket and that is a good feeling.

How easy are carpet tiles to replace? Well, say your tenants move out and as you inspect the place you notice that in the living area that there is a big grape juice stain on the floor (everyone’s worst nightmare). All you have to do is pull it up and put another one down in its place. That simple, thanks to the releasable adhesive. No need to replace the whole thing or stretch it again like with wall to wall carpet. That keeps money in your wallet for a longer period of time and that is what we all need. Carpet tiles are very durable and long lasting and have moisture and vapor barrier as well. This keeps your rental property safer from damage to the subfloor due to spilled liquids penetrating down to it. Less money you have to spend on floor repairs.

Over all carpet tile is perfect in most situations, like in the rental property business. They are cheap in price, easy to install, durable, long lasting, and a great DIY money saving project for most everybody including home owners, and small business owners. So if you are one of those people who like to save money and do it yourself then carpet tile is for you. Good luck and we will see you on the job.

I know you’re thinking what carpet tile could have to do with your home theater system. Just imagine having your system set up inside a cathedral: a large open room with surfaces that don’t absorb a single sound wave. Can you imagine what the quality of the sound might be? Think of the amount of reverb that would be coming back at you. You wouldn’t even be able to understand the dialogue in a movie. Now think about what materials are in a cathedral: stone, wood, glass, brick, etc. Look around your living room and what do you see? More than likely you are seeing the same types of building materials. Unfortunately, most homes aren’t constructed with the home theater system in mind.

Now you are wondering how you can use carpet tiles to your benefit. Carpet tiles are the perfect thing to provide acoustic flooring in your home theater. The sounds coming from your theater system will be absorbed, and this will diminish any potential reverb or echo that bounces from the floor to your ears. This is especially beneficial for front speakers

Residential carpet tiles are very affordable and easy to install. If you have an unfinished basement, they are a cheap and easy way to provide a floor with the best acoustic properties. Your basement may be the best option for a home theater. Imagine a room in the house perfectly tuned for your theater system, and carpet tiles are the perfect sound insulation. You could crank up Lord of the Rings or AC/DC as loud as you want. You could even completely soundproof a room by tiling the walls. This may be especially helpful if you have neighbors close by, or if you keep different hours than the other people in your house.

Additionally, If you are a musician, carpet tiles would be the perfect sound insulation for a practice space or studio. Recording equipment, especially top of the line microphones, are very sensitive to natural reverb. Carpet tiles are the perfect solution to provide a better acoustic environment. And they will keep sound from escaping into adjacent rooms. You could play the drums and not wake the baby.

So whether you are a home theater buff, a musician, or just someone looking to maximize the acoustic efficiency of their personal space, carpet tiles are the answer. Search the Focus Floors website for different styles and colors of carpet tiles and see what you can come up with. They just might be the perfect answer for your flooring and acoustic needs.

• The first thing you need to do is determine your pattern. You need to first decide what tile will be in the middle of the room. Once you have determined which tile will be the focal point the real work begins.
• Measure the length of each wall and take half of this number to determine the middle of wall. Pencil in a mark in the center of each wall.
• Next, measure one side of the tile and divide that in half to find the center of the tile. Line the center of the tile up with the center of the wall, and mark the wall on each end of the tile. Repeat this process on all of the walls.
• After you have completed all of your marks, line up a chalk line from one tile marker to the one directly across the room. Snap a chalk line for each. This will create a crosshair in which to place your center tile.
• From here all you need to do is line up tiles from the center toward the outside edges of the room. Do not remove the adhesive backing just yet. You can experiment with different color patterns at this point for as long as it takes to find the one that best fits the room. Once you have determined the pattern, installing carpet tiles is as easy as removing the adhesive backing and smoothing out the tiles. All that is left is to trim the squares against the wall.
• For this last step in carpet tile installation you need a razor and a straight edge (a ruler or carpenter’s square if handy). Turn the carpet tile over and line up the edge with the wall. Make a mark on the back of the tile where it overlaps the next to last row of tiles. Use the straight edge and razor to cut the tile at this line. Check the fit of the tile in the space, and determine if it fits. Once you get a good fit, remove the adhesive strip and smooth out the remaining tile.
• There you have it, the least difficult and least time consuming carpet installation ever.

If you are looking for a cost effective flooring system, there isn’t anything that will beat carpet tiles. You don’t have to spend exorbitant amounts of money on the tiles and you definitely don’t have to spend the money on professional installation. It’s an easy and efficient means to floor any room in your house, and takes less than half a day to do. So if time and money are important to you, but you have a room that needs a floor, just install your own carpet tiles. Have a look at some examples of how carpet tiles can be installed in our Carpet Tile Installation Gallery.

Buying flooring for a room can be a costly endeavor no matter what the material. Not only do you have to buy the floor covering, but then comes the cost of labor, installation materials, and the more difficult the installation, the more you may end up paying. There are many surfaces to choose from for your specific room or project: wall to wall carpet, carpet tile, tile (hard surface), linoleum, the list goes on. But if you want to get the most bang for your buck, carpet tiles are probably the way to go. Carpet tiles are available, but not only will you pay less for the material, but the ease of installation and transportation will be helpful to your budget.

Whether you are someone who needs to floor a large facility or a single room, carpet tiles will be your most cost efficient solution. Carpet tiles can be purchased at deep discounts or even at wholesale, which can be beneficial for someone needing to floor a gym facility, an office, or a lobby. If you are looking for flooring for residential use don’t think you have to be confined to paying full price for the floor you want. Short lots are available at deep discounts and can be the best option for someone looking to carpet a living room, den, a bedroom, etc.

Large quantities of carpet tile can be very easily transported as opposed to large rolls of carpet. This lowers the cost of your floor even more. Enough carpet tiles could be transported in a single truck load to floor an entire house. The same cannot be said for full length rolls. Combine the ease of transportation with a set of cheap carpet tiles, your costs will fit within any budget, and that’s with the cost of installation.

What is the cost of carpet tiles? It is not uncommon to find carpet tiles for as little as sixty, fifty, even thirty cents a square foot. Compared with the average cost of standard carpeting you are saving twenty to fifty cents per square foot, plus your installation costs will be less. Just imagine the already low cost of carpet tile, and then what you could save on a liquidated lot. You could end up with the floor of your dreams at a fraction of the cost you would pay for standard carpet or other flooring products.

If you are looking for an affordable floor system, Focus Floor’s lines of discount carpet tilesare a great place to start. They are easy to transport and easy to install. Don’t think because you have a small budget you can’t buy a beautiful and practical floor. Take a look and see what carpet tiles offer for your flooring needs.

Now through the end of October, we are running  a sale from $.39 – $.59/square foot on selected carpet tile.

All month Focus Floors have been very busy cutting prices on our wonderful carpet tile. Our tiles will work well in home or in commercial offices, school and church class rooms, basements and home dens. The best thing is that they are designed for a DIY person. The time is right, the price is right , now is the time to get those holiday projects done so the entire  family can come by and enjoy the comfort and look of your new carpet tile.

Browse all on sale tiles here.

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