FEATURE
ON THE TILES
Karen Burman, Product Manager for Gradus Floorcoverings, examines the reasons why carpet tiles are becoming an increasingly popular flooring choice in the current economic climate.
The intense scrutiny of budgets and emphasis on cost, and long-term value for money has raised the profile of carpet tiles and many specifiers now recognise them as a cost effective flooring solution for a variety of applications for a number of different reasons.
Zoning Where budgets are tight, many specifiers are looking for ways to reduce costs and are “value engineering” their choice of products for particular areas within a building. When refurbishing an entire building, it has become increasingly popular to balance the budget by selecting a range of products at different price points. This avoids the ‘one-product- fits-all’ mentality and increases design capability by helping specifiers to create a premium design scheme which fits within budget. It has also become increasingly popular to refresh an interior by refurbishing small areas without replacing the entire floorcovering.
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Whether a specifier is refurbishing an entire building or simply updating small areas of it, specific zones such as breakout areas, reception areas, boardrooms and walkways can be emphasised. This ‘zoning process’ not only provides coordination and an aesthetically pleasing and positive change to an interior, but also offers a cost effective solution.
“Carpet tiles have many qualities, which make them suitable for a wide range of applications.”
Gradus offer a wide choice of carpet tile ranges which coordinate and work well together, and can therefore be used within different zones of a building to provide the necessary performance qualities for different areas. For example, the contemporary Wall Street range includes two designs, which are both available in tile format, in loop pile construction; ‘Wall Street’ and ‘Wall Street Stripes’. Wall Street Stripes
features an attractive linear design, whilst Wall Street is a coordinating, plain textured design. The designs can be used alone or can work together to create interesting and unique floor schemes. Wall Street can be installed either broadloom or quarter turn and Wall Street Stripes can be installed either broadloom, quarter turn or brick bond. This offers great flexibility and can be used to enhance an interior by customising the floor to complement a specific design
scheme or corporate identity. The range can also be used to differentiate areas within a building, such as breakout areas, seating areas, lift areas or walkways, as well as be used to highlight exits and access points, in line with Equality Act guidelines.
Similarly, Gradus’ SqMile with Emphasis range features a wide choice of colours available in tile format, in cut pile
construction. The range includes a variety of ‘SqMile’ colours comprising natural colours like reds, greens, blues and greys and a choice of bright, vibrant ‘Emphasis’ colours including red, orange, green and blue. The colours can work together to create interesting and contemporary floor schemes.
Cleaning and
maintenance Perceived as being difficult to clean, carpet has often been avoided on the basis that it can quickly become dirty and hence off-putting. However, carpet tile fibres, yarn construction and backing make them hardwearing and able to cope with the frequent wheeled and pedestrian traffic occurring in many buildings. Plus, they can be easily and affordably replaced – should one tile suffer excessive use or be damaged, it can simply be replaced without relaying the entire floor.
However, a regular cleaning and maintenance
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