Broadloom vs. carpet tiles: which should you choose?
When choosing carpet for your home, there are many things to decide on. Before thinking about the colour and design, you should settle on the carpet type. A broadloom carpet or carpet tiles. But what benefits does one have over the other? Let’s take a deeper dive into each type and compare broadloom to carpet tiles on four levels.
WHAT IS A BROADLOOM CARPET
Broadloom carpet, also known as “wall-to-wall carpet”, comes in large rolls of 4-5 metres in width. Because of its size, broadloom carpet can be rolled out over the floor and cut to the length needed for your room.
WHAT ARE CARPET TILES
Carpet tiles, also referred to as “carpet squares”, are a type of modular flooring. The most common size is 50x50 cm, but carpet tiles are also available in other dimensions and shapes (planks, triangles, hexagons, …). This adds to their design versatility.
You can install carpet tiles throughout a room. Or you can choose to create an area rug that covers only part of your floor without having to finish the edges.
BROADLOOM VS. CARPET TILES: AN IN-DEPTH COMPARISON
Design options
Broadloom carpets and carpet tiles alike are available in a myriad of colours, textures and patterns. This offers a lot of design possibilities and allows you to choose a carpet that complements your interior.
If we compare carpet tiles to broadloom, then carpet tiles allow for even more creative options than its counterpart. Thanks to their modular nature, you can easily combine different colours and patterns in one room. Even by just alternating the installation direction of the tiles, you can create a different look because of the way the light hits the carpet pile. Whereas for wall-to-wall carpets, it’s more cost and time effective to cover your floor entirely with one design.
Look and feel
Because both wall-to-wall carpets and carpet tiles are available in different textures, you can create a similar ambience with both of them. Whether you like the minimal appearance of a short loop pile, or the luxurious and lush look of a high cut pile, you can achieve both with each carpet type.
Nevertheless, broadloom carpet has the perception of being more luxurious and comfortable. That’s mainly because of its uniform look. For most rooms, a single roll of carpet will be enough to cover the entire space without any seams. Whereas for carpet tiles, even with perfectly tight installation, it’s a challenge to achieve that seamless finish.
Installation
When it comes to the ease of installation, then carpet tiles offer more advantages over broadloom. First of all, installing broadloom carpet requires knowledge. It takes more time to fit your wall-to-wall carpets and you need to be skilled or enlist the help of a professional. Carpet tiles, on the other hand, you can install yourself, even if you’re inexperienced. Although you should keep in mind that elaborate floor designs with carpet tiles increase the complexity and duration of your installation.
Also take into consideration that installing carpet tiles produces less waste. Because broadloom carpet comes on rolls, you usually have more cutting loss. Whereas for carpet tiles, it’s only a few strips that are trimmed off.
Lastly, carpet tiles are easier to handle and transport. This comes in handy if you have a room with lots of odd corners and angles. Or need to bring your carpet to the upper floor. But if you want to carpet your stairs, then broadloom rolls are the better choice.
Maintenance
Both broadloom carpet and carpet tiles are easy to keep clean if you vacuum on a regular basis. Most stains or spills can be removed with a deeper clean. However, if your floor is damaged or stained beyond repair, then you can easily replace the faulty tiles. This isn’t an option for wall-to-wall carpeting.
IN CONCLUSION: BROADLOOM OR CARPET TILES, WHICH SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?
Choosing broadloom or carpet tiles depends on your preferences regarding the creative possibilities, the look and feel, and the ease of installation and replacement. These preferences can differ from room to room. In general you can keep in mind the following.
Choose broadloom carpet if you value
- A uniform, seamless finish
- An ambience of comfort and luxury
Choose carpet tiles if you value
- The creative freedom to combine different colours and patterns
- A shorter installation time and lower installation cost
- A do-it-yourself installation
- Easy replacement of a tile
