Flying Carpets, No: Floating Carpets, Yes.

Flying carpets don’t exist. But, did you know there is such a thing as a real floating carpet?
(Okay, not floating as in Luke Skywalker’s land speeder on Tatooine, but floating nonetheless. And if it were hovering like Luke’s red speeder, it would then technically be a flying carpet of which there are none, so there we are.) 

Floating carpet installations are completely glueless installations of carpet tile. Small air pockets created by the texturization of the backing of certain brands of carpet tile create a vacuum when laid on a smooth surface, and the carpet tile “sticks” to the floor- without any glue. (If you are thinking “Hey,that’s just a little bit like the party trick where you stick a spoon on your nose,” then let me tell you, you are absolutely right. It is kind of like that.)  Small squares of adhesive tape at corners on the underside of the carpet tile holds the entire floor together, creating a look completely identical to other carpet tile installations.

So, why would you use a floating installation?

Why, indeed? (I mean, other than the fact that we like neat little acts of physics trickery,like the spoon-on-the-nose trick? Or Luke’s land speeder. Now that is totally awesome.) 

First, a floating installation is ideal when carpet is desired in a space that is currently tiled with asbestos flooring. Despite its drawbacks, asbestos has an amazing resilience, and will look and perform great on floors throughout our city for many years to come. (Some of my non-facility manager customers are often horrified when I mention that their asbestos floors I see are looking great. They are so “What, we have asbestos?” Oh yeah. Yeah, you do. It is so everywhere, really.) 

Even so, we should hesitate to glue carpet tiles to asbestos. A few years down the road from your new installation, when it comes time to again replace the carpet tile, the possibility exists that with the forcible removal of the now-old carpet tile, the asbestos underneath may disengage from the subfloor. (Oops.)  Now your organization might be faced with hiring an expensive guy in a spacesuit. (As Scooby Doo would say, “Ruh-roh!”) In fact, many flooring installers will not glue carpet tiles to asbestos due to liability issues. We’ve seen schools with lots of asbestos-tiled classrooms that opt for carpet for the comfort and noise reduction it provides, and a floating install is ideal in this situation.

Secondly, many customers with dirty, worn carpet waffle when it comes to replacement due to uncertainty over whether their organization plans to stay in the same space long enough to make the investment in new carpeting worthwhile. But with a floating installation, you can simply take your carpeted floor with you! (Brings new meaning to the phrase in moving “everything but the kitchen sink,” doesn’t it?) The carpeted squares easily peel up from the corners, and because there is no glue, there is no mess.

We are committed to helping you achieve the look and installation you are wanting. Give us a call for any of your flooring replacement needs. We can help you with carpet broadloom, carpet squares, sheet vinyl, plank, or tile; ceramic, laminate, vinyl composite tile, hardwood, and vinyl or rubber steps and stringers.  We even install sports flooring. Finally, we also install all kinds of window treatments, like roller shades and screens and blinds of all types. (Which is not flooring, obviously, but we do it. And we’re great at it. Boo- yah!)  

And if you want to see how the floating carpet works, we will bring it to you. Just mention that you want to see “the carpet on the string thing.”  Oh yeah, and you need to be in the Kansas City area.  Sorry to you disappointed Floridians.  *I just wanted to say "Floridians."*

See our installer John explain a floating carpet tile installation we are doing at a Kansas City fire station on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVSNrj9PwpM

Most sincerely yours,
Your commercial carpet and flooring contractor,
All Flooring and Window Treatments, Kansas City
http://www.allflooringkc.com