A hundred tiny people, running round, playing, learning and laughing… schools are definitely a unique environment for interior designers and architects, and they present some unique requirements for School Principals and Facility Managers. Obviously one of the primary considerations in materials choice is safety, and nowhere is this more true than in schools.
Student Health
Despite a wealth of uninformed arguments that carpet ‘creates’ an allergen-laden environment, the truth is that the same amount of allergens is present in the air whether flooring is hard or carpeted. However, unlike hard flooring, dense-pile construction commercial carpet can actually trap allergens, reducing the amount of airborne dust and pollen, until they can be safely removed by vacuuming.
Ensure you choose flooring products with low VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions. The vaporized compounds can cause unpleasant odours, which can increase substantially in hot weather or under heated conditions. Many VOCs are irritants and can result in headaches, dizziness, difficulty in breathing and in rare instances can be toxic. They have a greater impact on developing bodies than on adults, so low VOC emissions should be an important factor in product choice for schools.
Flooring should contain antimicrobial protection
Those of us that have had children at home understand that while concepts such as spillage come naturally, hygiene is a concept that comes much later! Antimicrobial protection such as the patented Intersept® on leading carpet tile brands is especially important in a school environment. Antimicrobials prevent the development of moulds and fungi which can give off VOC gases that can contribute to “sick building syndrome”.
Flooring and colour psychology
The effect of colour on mood and the subconscious is an ongoing debate. Some studies show measurable differences in cognitive characteristics can be achieved through changes in environmental colour. As a designer, though, the aim is always to create a space that will inspire and energize the people using that space. Where linoleum and wood flooring have little patterning, and broadloom carpets are typically quite repetitive in pattern, carpet tiles offer the greatest inspirational possibilities in schooling environments.
Carpet tiles also offer the greatest opportunity to calm and relax those within their space – a wide range of subdued colours and patterns that mimic those found in nature is available to create a rich study environment in places like libraries.
Student Safety
Hard flooring carries an inherently greater risk of slips and falls, especially with the propensity of children towards spilling things! The traction that carpet provides ensures that even when students are ignoring the directive ‘not to run in the halls’, they are still safe. Carpet tiles are impermeable to water, yet still provide traction when wet.
Flooring should be built to last
Along with higher-quality products like carpet tiles, the cost of the materials is more likely to be backed by a warranty. Carpet tiles by their design are more durable, and many manufacturers offer long warranties. Modular flooring offers the opportunity to replace only the tiles in heavy traffic areas, or those that are stained or damaged, without replacing the entire floor. Some parts of your carpet will even outlast the students.
Is it sustainable?
Always a key concern in today’s architecture and design environment, sustainability is becoming not only a preference, but a client requirement. Carpet tiles can be sourced that are made from sustainable materials.. A GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia) seal is a handy benchmark.
Variety of Discount Carpet Tile Styles
There is more kind of flooring for your home or office. There’s laminate wood, real wood, bamboo, ceramic or porcelain tiles, roll out vinyl, vinyl tiles, roll out carpeting and even cheap carpet tiles that are great flooring solutions for any home or office. The kind you choose is determined by several factors including the area it’s being used, cost and quality. One a side note: Keep in mind that just because something says it’s cheap doesn’t always mean the quality is cheap. Discount tile is easy to find that is also of very good quality that you can use for any purpose.
Choosing Your Carpet Tiles:
Measure – The first thing you need to do before choosing any kind of flooring is the size of the room. This requires that you measure the area(s) you plan to install cheap carpet tiles before you even begin your quest for the color and pattern you want.
Research- Next, you want to research the various brands, colors, styles and prices. Some good quality brands you might want to consider include Mohawk, Mannington, Nirvana, Shaw and Columbia. Read reviews and research products first.
Price – Comparison shopping and savvy shopping will get you the best price on cheap carpet tiles. A few good tips for getting the best price include looking for discontinued tiles. It is common for companies to discontinue certain patterns and colors every year. This is due in part by changes in ink color batches.
Color and Pattern – Your final step before installing carpet tiles is to choose the color and pattern you want for the room.
If you plan on doing this project yourself, you also need to research how to lay these tiles before you get started. Also buy extra to cover odd areas and to make sure you coverage for mistakes.
There are many kinds of carpet tile options from the kind that you glue on to the glueless type that requires no messy glue, so it’s important that you do thorough research before you begin such a project.
Once you complete these steps and get your cheap carpet tiles installed you can enjoy the efforts of your labor. You can use this kind of flooring for any room in your home or even your office. They look great, are durable and very easy to maintain and clean. This is one of the easiest ways to add value and good flooring to your home or office.
Looking to save $$$ on Carpet Tile?
Discount carpet tiles are one of the most unique, effective and affordable flooring styles available. Modular carpet tiles and squares are used in offices, restaurants, commercial buildings, homes, daycares, schools, and churches. If you can find carpet tile on sale at a discounted price it can make a project become very inexpensive and lower the project’s overall budget. There are four types of discounted carpet tiles and squares. These types are called Promotionals, Overruns, Seconds (also called off goods), and Closeouts.
Promotional carpet tiles are made by the manufacturers’ to test the water with a new product, new color, new pattern, or a new size. These are often distributed to carpet dealers for a short time period or even used in the commercial contract market for a few specific jobs. When the manufacturer decides they are done with the product, the carpet tiles are sold at a heavy discount to carpet retailers. This can translate into a significant discount to the consumer as well.
Overruns are when a manufacturer overproduces carpet tile and increases it’s inventory. There are several reasons why this happens, bad forecasting, large order cancellations etc. The carpet square manufacturer has to unload this inventory quickly, so the carpet retailers buy these large lots of overruns at a savings. The nice thing is that overruns are almost always first quality.
Seconds and off goods present a huge savings opportunity on a floor-covering project. Seconds have defects that prevent them from being sold as first quality. These defects can be as simple as cosmetic defects. The defect could be that the tile is slightly off color, a skewed pattern, or slight “lines” in the carpet itself. A major defect would be a problem with the backing. Defects in color, pattern etc, do not affect installation or the wear factor of the tiles and modular squares. If you can find a deal on seconds and off goods, you can save up to 70% sometimes. Try to stay away from carpet tile seconds that have issues with the backing peeling away from the primary carpet surface.
Closeouts in carpet squares and tile are a fun way to save money and be creative. Many retailers and wholesalers end up with small lots of carpet tiles. They may have bought small lots or sold almost all of a product and have just a little left. When these lots get to around 200 square feet or more it becomes harder to move them because there is not enough of the product to do multiple rooms using this single color or pattern. Closeouts can be deeply discounted. How you can take advantage of these closeouts is to consider using 2 or 3 of these patterns to make a unique look in a room. You can do this by creating patterns, such as checkerboards, contemporary layouts, multiple color patterns etc. Not only will you save a tremendous amount of cash, but your room will look like it has been custom designed. This method of using multiple colors of modular carpet tiles has become very popular recently and featured on several Home and Garden TV cable shows.
