After considering many flooring options, you’ve decided to go with carpeting for your condominium’s common spaces. Great choice! Carpets provide instant warmth and a stylish look to rooms.
Once that decision has been made, you’ll have to choose a type of carpet to meet your condominium’s needs. But no need to panic! We’ve outlined the pros and cons of both broadloom carpet and carpet tiles so that your decision is as easy as possible.
Carpet Tile: Advantages and Disadvantages
As the name suggests, carpet tiles are available in pre-sized squares that feature their own integrated backing and base. Individual tiles are placed individually directly on your substrate and be customized to make your own pattern. Minimal cutting is required.
Because no carpet pad’s needed, carpet tiles can be easily installed in a space. Whenever carpet maintenance is necessary, individual tiles can be simply cleaned or replaced. Extra tiles can be kept on-hand using minimal storage space.
Carpet tiles offer plenty of design options, including some that can’t be cost-effectively replicated in broadloom carpets. However, its seams are more visible than broadloom, which can influence the choice of design.
Another disadvantage is that the underlay included with carpet tiles doesn’t provide as much cushion as the separate pads used with broadloom carpet.
Broadloom Carpet: Advantages and Disadvantages
As the most popular choice for wall-to-wall carpeting in both commercial and residential spaces, broadloom carpet comes in endless design options. It’s best suited for larger patterns or mosaic styles and for placement in large spaces including conference rooms.
Available in large rolls normally a minimum of 12 feet wide, broadloom carpet is installed by aligning the pieces together and cutting them if needed. Because this carpet is installed over a carpet pad, it can look impressive even if the underpad has minor imperfections.
The higher quality broadloom carpets come with a moisture backing that provides extensive stain resistance. Its seams are hidden well due to chemical welding. When used with a high-quality underlay material, broadloom carpets can feel softer and plusher than carpet tiles.
Generally, broadloom carpets are cheaper per square foot than carpet tiles. However, because broadloom requires more cutting than carpet tiles, there is more waste created during the installation process. This waste can offset savings in unit price.
Broadloom comes with a longer installation time due to the need for a carpet pad to be installed first. Plus, broadloom carpeting is both time-consuming and expensive to repair. Sometimes, the entire carpet needs to be replaced in order to completely fix a moisture problem.
In the end, choosing between carpet tiles and broadloom carpets depends on your budget and design needs. Let us help you choose the best carpet for your condominium common space! Contact us today for more details about our interior design services.