Modular Carpet Squares

What's the best way to save money on Modular Carpet Squares? You can shop til' you drop to try and find the best price on carpet squares and tiles, but there is a trick to finding great, hidden deals on this exciting popular flooring trend.

1. If you find a specific style you want locally or on a website such as Shaw, Milliken, or Interface Flor, and then try to compare that across various dealers, you are still working off of a high bar. First quality, running line modular carpet squares and tiles are expensive, very expensive. Some of these can run as much as $6 a foot! Large flooring dealers work on tight markups, the best price you may find over another on first quality goods may only save you an additional 15%.

2. Try a dealer (obviously, BecklersCarpet.com !) that stocks in quantity, seconds, overruns and promotionals in modular carpet tiles and squares. By going with off goods and clearance tiles, you will save from 30% to 60%. If you aren't super picky, chances are you will be able to find a color and pattern that will work in these types of closeouts on the modular squares.

3. For a phenomenal price, if the goal is to have a floor that is functional and cool looking, consider going with an assorted lot or batch of tiles. This is a truly modular approach. Many flooring dealers who wholesale carpet squares will have very small lots of 5 or less tiles. These are hard to sell as they aren't enough to do a room or even mix with another color to complete a job. You can get these very small lots and singles for prices you wouldn't even believe. What you can do is go with a rainbow assortment, use light and dark squares to contrast (this is a neat look!) or go with a primary color scheme, such as blue, earth tones etc. By using a primary color, even though all the tiles are different shades, or patterns, they will blend as you put them down. At BecklersCarpet.com, in Dalton, GA, we have these assorted squares as well.

Whether your project is a small basement or a large office complex, you can use these techniques to save a bundle on your next flooring project! We hope you give us a call for Modular carpet squares and tiles. We know we can save you money, just give us a shot! 1-800-232-5537. Tell your sales person you saw it on the blog!

What's the best flooring for a basement?

What's the best flooring for a basement? When your putting a floor in a finished basement moisture and the subfloor material are two of the more critical issues you have to deal with. When addressing the issues of a basement the more obvious choices seem to stand out. The choices I'm going to throw at you aren't to be taken as absolute gospel but they are a very good starting point as considerations.

Ceramic Tile is a very good option. Ceramic holds up well with moisture and humidity. You can also install it over concrete whether using true ceramic with a backerboard or even the kwik tile, glueless, ceramic floating floor.

My favorite however, is carpet tile. The cheaper the better. I would stay with the commercial style instead of a fluffy, plush design. Commercial carpet tiles have a very durable backing and actually hold up better than you would realize with water and humidity. You can pressure wash them for goodness sake! If you can do that to them, a damp basement won't hurt the tile. The other reason I like commerical carpet tiles is of course the price and the fact that it is very easy to do yourself. As the cheapest and easiest flooring available on the market, it's kind of a no brainer.

The last option is a luxury vinyl flooring product. The total installed cost may run a little less than ceramic. It will hold up pretty well as well with the moisture problems. I would not use a peel and stick product though. Those tiles or planks will be coming up soon as the adhesive on them isn't very rugged for the long haul.

One other option is to paint the concrete or stain the concrete. I know very little about these options but you're kind stuck with the concrete being there one way or the other anyway. Probably the cheapest option is to get some paint and a clear coat and go to it. It won't be very soft on the feet but it would get the job done I guess.

I do not consider laminate a viable option. Moisture kills laminate floors. There are some very good moisture barrier/pad combinations available but it just isn't on my favorite list for basements due to the potential for issues later on. With that being said, I actually have laminate in my own finished basement, but it was that way when I purchased the house. I haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood) but the basement is dry as a bone. If ever re-do the room I will use another option.

I hope this helped a little bit! If you are looking to do your basement and aren't sure what to use or where to start PLEASE give us a call. We are here to help you. We get a lot of satisfaction from helping consumers pick the right floor for any room or application. We feel that if we help you get a great looking floor and it's the right floor, you'll come back the next time you need flooring. That's how we've done it since 1949 and it seems to work! Give us a call @ 1-800-232-5537.

What's the Best Flooring For a Kitchen?

This is another question we get asked a lot over the phone, in the store and especially at home shows! So what is the best flooring for a kitchen?

These are just my opinions! I'm sure there are varying thoughts out there but I try to take a very practical approach on this one.

When looking at kitchen floor applications I think there are three main considerations. Water on the floor, ease of cleaning and dents - scratches.

I think the two best overall options are luxury vinyl plank and tile or ceramic tile. I'll explain why.

Luxury vinyl plank and tile are very heavy commercial rated, individual planks or tiles of vinyl. These are not your typical sheet good vinyl products nor the peel and stick junk you see at the home improvement stores. This is the same stuff you are standing on in the clothing section at the nation's largest retailer (when you're at W*&mart and in the clothing section, look down at what you're standing on, it will look like wood). If it can handle their traffic it will certainly handle the traffic in your kitchen! The tiles as well mimic ceramic, slate or stone and look as awesome as the wood plank look. These planks and tiles go down individually so it doesn't have the appearance of the cheap stuff. Luxury planks and tiles hold up great with water spills, far better than hardwood or laminate. If you have ever had laminate in your kitchen and had a water leak under the dishwasher you certainly know what I'm talking about! LVTP (luxury vinyl tile and plank) also performs very well against scratches and dents. The kitchen is a place where things tend to get dropped or scraped and can be a problem area if you're not careful. LVTP is super easy to clean as well! With a cleaners on the market by manufacturers such as Bona Kemi and others, a simple damp mop does the trick. My favorite LVTP products are by Karndean (knight Tile-Warm Oak, pictured upper left), Nafco and for the budget minded, Earthwerks Pacific plank is hard to beat.

Ceramic tile holds up better than virtually anything else with water issues. Ceramic tile is apt to crack or break if you drop something very heavy on it, but at least tiles can be replaced. Regular foot traffic does nothing to ceramic. It is susceptible to scratches from dragging the fridge etc, but hopefully you won't do that! Ceramic can also add value to your home, whether real or buyer perceived and that can mean something later. Ceramic is pretty easy on day to day maintenance. Just make sure a good sealant is put on the grout when you have it installed.

So why didn't I mention hardwood or laminate? Let me say that I love hardwood! Hardwood and laminate have their place in the home. The potential of water issues can be a problem. One big leak from your icemaker or sink and your beautiful Brazilian Cherry Wood Flooring or laminate floor is toast. Wood can be very susceptible to denting. It's not as bad as it used to be with the newer aluminum oxide finishes but it can dent. Laminate in most cases is hard to scratch if little weight is applied, but water is a killer for laminate.

My thoughts on this are just that, thoughts. If you are dead set on hardwood flooring in the kitchen, than go for it! It's your kitchen and you need to be happy with it (just make sure you give us a shot at your business!!). If you can only afford an inexpensive laminate floor, then by all means, put it in. I just wanted to give you a little up front information to think about so your decision isn't an impulse buy on how nice something looks or the color matches the cabinets perfectly. When choosing a floor for a kitchen there is a lot more at stake than what just meets the eye.

Be sure to check back soon for an update on our carpet squares designing tips!

Give us a call at BecklersCarpet.com, 1-800-232-5537! We can help you with any of these options, vinyl tile or plank, ceramic tile from Daltile, Emser and others, all species of hardwood flooring, and laminate as well. You can view all of our vinyl plank and tile offerings at BecklersCarpet.com. We look forward to hearing from you!