How to Install Self Sticking Carpet Tile
- 1). Your subfloor should be 1.5 inches thick. If your subfloor is not that thick, add AC plywood to the subfloor until it is 1.5 inches thick. Mix some latex-reinforced floor patching compound to the thickness of toothpaste. Using a flat trowel or a taping knife, fill all the nail holes and seams between the plywood. Use the trowel to smooth the patching compound and scrape it to make it flush with the plywood.
Let the patching compound dry overnight. Smooth the dried patching compound with medium-grit sandpaper. - 2). Draw two perpendicular reference lines across the entire floor by snapping chalk lines between the midpoints of each wall. Trace the chalk lines with a permanent marker since the chalk will wear away as you work.
- 3). Dry-lay some carpet tiles along the reference lines. Adjust the tiles so that no more than half of any tile needs to be cut away. Make sure that the tiles are laid tightly against each other.
Your self sticking carpet tiles have a grain that may not be obvious when looking at a single tile. But the grain will be obvious across the entire floor. The direction of the grain is marked on the back of the tile. While dry laying the tile, see if you want to have the grain of every tile facing the same direction or if you want to alternate the tiles in a checkerboard pattern. Do not let the grain orientation be random or it will look sloppy. - 4). Mark the end tiles to be cut. Flip each end tile upside down, set it against the wall and slip it under the neighboring carpet tile. Run a marker along the edge of the neighboring tile to mark the cut line.
Pull the tile from under the neighboring tile. Set a straight edge, such as a level or a piece of wood against the cut line. Draw a utility knife along the cut line. Make several light cuts until the carpet tile pulls apart.
Dry lay the cut tiles back into place. - 5). Stick all the tiles along the reference lines to the subfloor by peeling away the backing and laying into position. Be mindful of grain lines when positioning the carpet tiles.
- 6). Fill in each quadrant of the floor by dry laying the tiles, cutting the edge tiles as needed and sticking them to the floor.
Source...