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[rolen]

Hi NickNack - We have flor brand tiles in many rooms of our home.  Some are great and some we replaced rather quickly. 

First, you can tell by looking carefully at their site and the close up photos, that the tiles are very, very thin.  They are almost more like a 'mat' than a carpet with depth.  This can work for or against you.  I thought by being so thin that they would not show wear, foot marks, etc.  That is pretty much true.  Always order sample tiles before going any further.  The thiness however does not feel like a plush carpet at all.  When the grandkids lay on it, they say it feels almost like laying on a wood floor - not quite, but almost. 

The main problem I found with flor tiles is that if the tile has a pattern, lines, squares, swirleys, etc. - know in advance that the patterns DO NOT align from tile to tile.  This drove me crazy.  They have some tiles that have very bold patterns and even in their display photos on their site and catalog, it looks like a crazy quilt and I think looks awful. 

I wanted the tiles to look as much like wall to wall carpet as possible.  So I really wanted as little difference from tile to tile as possible. 

When I was first looking at the flor tiles, there was one pattern I was thinking of getting.  I did not know then that the patterns did not line up one to the next for a cohesive look.  In fact, I remember thinking that surely it must line up or it would look terrible.  One example I was checking out 'kind of' looked like it might line up from tile to tile, but I was not sure.  I called them and talked to a lady who said that the tiles do not line up one to the next and that the photographers had worked for days and days to get a photo that looked OK for that particular pattern.  She said they went through boxes and boxes of tiles trying to make it look good.

They now actually do mention on some of the tile styles that the patterns do not align. 

Also,  for one room I chose a tile because I really liked the color. I don't know if they still do it, but then they rated the tiles then for moderate or heavy traffic.  I chose one tile that was moderate traffic.  Bad idea.  You need to make sure that it is rated for heavy traffic or it will not wear well. 

To solve the problem to mismatching patterns, we finally chose mostly tiles that were textured and did not have a specific pattern.  We had a long hallway that we did over within about a year.  But the rest are OK.  Some rooms are better than others. 

The tiles do not stick to the floor.  They stick to each other with little adhesive dots at the corners.  For an area rug, you probably would not need to cut anything.  But for a room, you need to cut the tiles at the wall.  The main problem with installation is that the tiles need to be put next to each other as tight as possible to avoid the seams showing. As with everything we do around here, we got better as we went from room to room.  So the first rooms do not look as good as the later ones. 

[NickNack1]

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@Tigriss wrote:
Try looking at some youtube videos on installing flor tiles or carpet tiles.

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That's a great idea.  I'll do that.  Thank you.

[NickNack1]

Thanks very much @rolen.  This was a big help.  I was looking at a chevron pattern.  Knowing that I couldn't get it to aligln I would now go with a different tile.  I would definitely order samples first. I don't know what I would think about it being so thin.  It does look thin online, but I just really like the idea of being able to replace a tile.

[Tigriss]

The tiles my mother and father got from Lowe's are a plush carpet with padding attached. It feels and looks just like regular carpet except we can pull up a tile and fix it. They stick well together because the edges aren't straight but waved, so the seams blend in perfectly. This is a lot like what mom and dad have http://www.homedepot.com/p/Simply-Seamless-Tranquility-Mountain-Mist-24-in-x-24-in-Carpet-Tile-10-Ti...

[NickNack1]

Thanks @Tigriss.  I like the carpet that's like your parents chose.  I will definitely look at Lowe's and Home Depot before deciding.

[Tigriss]

Feeling of the carpet is a big thing. They did the tiles sometime ago in 2002, so the tiles have only improved since then. I seem to find more adhesive backed ones than anything, but the reviews are great!

When I do my floors, I'll be putting down tile or the vinyl wood planks because of my cats and just being cooler in the house than carpeting since it is so hot down here most of the year. I wear socks in the winter anyway.

[Nightowlz]

After we had enginereed hardwoods installed I needed a rug under the chair at the computer desk. I could not find the size color I wanted so I ordered carpet tiles from Flor.com & made my own rug. You can do it yourself. They are easy to install, cut, & replace as needed. If you order from Flor don't forget to check RetailMeNot for a coupon code. They have 25% off right now. The tiles have arrows on the back so you know which way to lay them. You can also lay them with the arrows not going in the same direction if you want that look. They have pics on their site you can look at. They also have what they call a Flor Builder so you can you make your design & see it online. The Flor brand tiles are put together with what they call Flor Dots which are round sticky pieces that hold the rug together. You don't need any padding. The rug will stay in place. I have had the one I made for over 2 yrs. It has stayed in place with no curling, raveling etc.