Carpet tile talk 101

You know when you walk into a shop or visit a website and you’re faced with an onslaught of words and phrases that make about as much sense as a cross between Minion and Klingon? Yeah, well we really don’t want to be one of those so we thought it was about time we explained some of our most popular industry terms so you’re not left completely bamboozled when searching for the carpet tiles of your dreams. We do seem to have developed a whole language of our own over the years so if there is something that isn’t covered here, by all means, feel free to give us a bell on 0345 222 1548 and we’ll be more than happy to set to the record straight.

Heavy contract use - This basically means that even if a heard of elephants came trampling through the room wearing a mix of 6-inch stilettos and steel toe-capped boots, your floor would be fine.

Standardised sizing - All of our tiles come in one standard size (50cm x 50cm) so you don’t have to worry about doing any complicated mathematics when placing your order.

Entry-level tiles - While heavy contract tiles are prepared to withstand a safari animal rampage, entry-level products are best suited to more moderate use.

Load-bearing backing - The backing on all of our tiles are built to withstand heavy furniture, plenty of busy feet and some serious wear and tear so you don’t have to worry about the longevity of your new floor.

Pile composition - This is just a posh way of saying what the tile is made out of. So just like jam and butter make up the ‘sandwich composition’ of a good jam butty, yarn fabric and backing material make up a tile’s composition.

Total height/thickness - Okay so now it’s time to do a bit of maths but don’t worry, we’ll keep it simple. Height of the yarns + thickness of the backing = total tile height/thickness. Got it? Good!

Commercial application - Again, this is just a snazzy way of saying that the carpet tiles are being installed in a commercial interior such as an office or public space.

Colourways - We often describe the different colours each carpet tile range comes in as ‘colourways’ and that’s just because sometimes, we like to think we’re fully-fledged, interior design geeks. Humour us. They’re just colour choices.

Needle punch rib - The needle punch process is when short fibres are punched with barbed needles (funnily enough) and then intertwined to form a hardwearing surface. It’s not as painful as it sounds, we promise and anyway, our carpet tiles are as tough as old boots.

Cut pile - Carpet is most commonly made up of lots of little loops that all come together to create flooring magic. A cut pile construction comes about when there loops are cut to create tall tufts that stand upright.

Tufted loop pile - Tufted loop pile tiles are those which haven’t gone through the cutting process described above, so the loops are still…well, looped. These tiles are extremely wear-resistant and easy to clean.

Fastness to light - Different tiles will react differently to light exposure depending on the way they’re dyed or the material they’re made from and this reaction is described as the tile’s ‘fastness to light’. Some fade, most won’t.

Polypropylene - The popular kid of carpet tile materials, polypropylene is a tough substance that manufacturers often use to offer durability, anti-germ qualities and handy moisture-repelling properties.

Ethically-sourced - When we say a product has been sourced ethically, what we mean is that it comes from a company or manufacturer that bares our precious planet and your carbon footprint in mind when creating their products.

100% recyclable - Sometimes when you’re skim reading it can be easy to baffle the ol’ brainbox so FYI, what we mean here is that all tiles are reusable. They aren’t necessarily 100% recycled but they are 100% recyclable.

Installation - This long word full of tall letters merely describes the process by which one transfers their carpet tiles from their neat packaging to the floor they were bought to adorn by simply laying in ones chosen arrangement.

Colour fastness to water - Just like the ‘fastness to light’ we explained a little bit further up, this simply describes the tiles ability to keep its colour when exposed to water. All of our tiles have a high colour fastness, which is great news for your floor!

BREEAM rating - BREEAM is the world’s foremost environmental assessment method and rating system” and many of our carpet tiles have passed through this scoring system for you to behold. In fact, lots of our tiles get straight A’s in the BREEAM department.

Appearance retention - This is just a roundabout way of describing how good a tile is a keeping its good looks over time. So for example, you’re going to want to go for the Kylie Minogue of carpet tiles as opposed to the Donatella Versace.

Subfloor - The floor you're laying your carpet tiles on top of. Simples!