Laying carpet tiles

jinkx

I'm very new to DIY, but there's so much in my house that I want doing that it will cost a fortune to pay someone to do it all for me! I'm trying to find the things I can have a stab at myself, to save my money for the bits where I really do need a professional.

I want to lay carpet tiles in my utility, which is currently floored with some kind of heavy, fake-stone tile. The tile is peeling up at the edges so I think it will be fairly easy to pull up. Beneath the tile is just the original concrete floor. I plan to pull up all the tiles and lay down some interlocking underlay panels, then top those with carpet tile (using spray adhesive to fix the tiles downs).

If anyone has experience of laying carpet tile I'd be grateful to hear from you. Both in terms of whether or not this is a reasonably easy first DIY job, and any tips people have on making sure all goes well!

JIL

I learned a lot from YouTube videos. Is there anything on there?

jinkx

There is. I've watched youtube videos and read guides, and think I have the basics down. But I'm conscious how to videos can often make things look at lot easier than they are in reality, so was looking for anyone with real-life DIY experience of doing it!

daveyjp

It is easy and I did my first job before youtube existed.

Generally start in the middle and work out to even the cut tiles between edges, lay them all the same way (unless you want a pattern) - there is an arrow on the reverse of each one.

Ensure floor is clean. Lay full ones first. Use a Stanley knife and steel edge to cut, change the blade regularly.

FreeBear

daveyjp wrote: »

Generally start in the middle and work out to even the cut tiles between edges

Use a bit of string to mark out the diagonals of the area - This will give you the center point of the room. Then decide which is the dominant wall and draw a line parallel to this at the center of the room. Walls are rarely square, and with some patterned flooring, the "out of square" will stick out like a sore thumb.

EssexExile

I don't glue them down, make them a tight fit & they won't move. If you must stick them down then just use double sided tape, then when the washing machine empties its contents all over the floor you can lift them up & put out in the sun to dry.

Owain_Moneysaver

I don't know if you can use underlay under carpet tiles; it may be too soft a base.

If the concrete is rough, chuck down a bucket of self-levelling compound and smooth it out. It only needs to be a couple of mm thick.

jinkx

Really good tips everyone, thank you. Sounds like a reasonable job to attempt for my first go at DIY then! :-)