Carpet tiles (modular carpet)

Our DESSO carpet tiles and planks are used in many different commercial interiors and have countless design options. With impressive colours, designs and structures, we offer something for everyone, whether you are looking for an impressively complex interior design or a stylish and minimalist interior design. Our carpet tiles also contribute to better acoustics and indoor air climate and they have extremely durable properties. For example, our carpet tiles with EcoBase backing are 100% recyclable and we are one of the pioneers in the field of Cradle to Cradle floor coverings .

A carpet tile is often 500 x 500 mm, but in addition to these tiles, planks of, for example, 250 x 1000 mm and 500 x 1000 mm are also increasingly being used. In this article we will talk about carpet tiles for the sake of convenience. In addition to the size, a carpet tile has two other clear characteristics: the carpet backing and the yarn.

The backing of a carpet tile

Wall-to-wall carpet and rugs naturally also have a back, but that of a carpet tile is characteristically different. The backing of a carpet tile is flexible at all times, but has enough weight to allow the tile to lie flat. A carpet tile should of course not become convex or concave.

For carpet tiles, two different types of carpet backing are used. Bitumen is widely used for the production of carpet backings, as it has the right characteristics for a good carpet backing. However, bitumen is less sustainable and Tarkett currently only uses a sustainable alternative: the EcoBase backing developed in-house. This DESSO backing is 100% recyclable into a new backing and contains upcycled, processed calcium carbonate (lime) from local drinking water companies. This sustainable innovation has a Cradle to Cradle Gold certification.

The yarn of a carpet tile

A sustainable material flow was also sought for the yarn. Currently, more than 50% of our carpet tiles are available from ECONYL® yarn. ECONYL® is yarn made from 100% regenerated nylon, including discarded fishing nets and post-consumer carpet fibres sourced from our carpet recycling centre . The carpet recycling centre was established in close collaboration with our yarn supplier Aquafil.

A carpet tile offers several practical advantages compared to, for example, wall-to-wall carpet. That is also the reason that carpet tiles are used in the vast majority of commercial environments today. Our DESSO carpet tile collections are specially designed for high traffic areas, suitable for the use of castors and have good wear resistance. It is a modular floor solution and therefore relatively quick and easy to install with minimal cutting loss. The tiles are also easy to replace (in case of dirt and stains). Here we will discuss seven benefits.

1: Carpet tiles give room for creativity and order

The creative possibilities of carpet tiles are endless, thanks to the wide variety of colours, designs, sizes and installation methods. You can choose one colour for a calm effect, but you can also combine colours and designs for a more unique floor design. For variety, you can even vary in dimensions or laying directions. In the past, the approach with carpet tiles was often to give the carpet user the impression that not carpet tiles, but wall-to-wall carpet was installed (monolithic). However, over time the method of installation has changed and the carpet tile is now often installed in a way that the tile is clearly recognizable in the design and indicates this direction. Furthermore, carpet tiles are ideal for 'interior landscaping', where you create the idea of "diverse" spaces by means of different surfaces. For example, the use of different structures and colours of carpet tiles can be used to determine the destination of each room. This can also be done in combination with different materials, such as modular PVC strips.

2: Carpet tiles provide a healthy environment

Contrary to popular belief, carpet tiles also help improve indoor air quality and reduce particulate matter in the room. Good indoor air quality is important for health. For example, the AirMaster® collections are designed to achieve better indoor air quality. The AirMaster® carpet tiles have been proven eight times more effective at absorbing and retaining fine dust than flat floors. The AirMaster® carpet tiles also ensure that the concentration of dust particles is significantly reduced.

3. Carpet tiles have sound dampening function

Carpet tiles are ideal for office and school environments, for example, because of the sound-absorbing function that carpet tiles originally have. Carpet tiles ensure that people can understand each other and create a quieter working environment. However, this positive effect can be further enhanced by using a carpet tile with the correct subfloor or carpet backing. For example, by means of our specially developed SoundMaster® backing via isolation and absorption, the amount of unwanted noise is reduced by an additional 10 dB on average.

4: Carpet tiles have good wear resistance

Thanks to the carpet backing, a carpet tile is often more durable than wall-to-wall carpet. This can be seen from the usage class indicated in the technical specifications. The use class for commercial use is 33 and all Tarkett DESSO carpet tiles are in this class.

5: Easy installation with less cutting loss

A carpet tile is easier to install than wall-to-wall carpet. The cutting is easier, carpet tiles fit together better than rolls of carpet and it is many times more manageable than wall-to-wall carpet. Considering that a carpet tile is more manageable and easier to work with, there is significantly less cutting waste. With wall-to-wall carpet, 20% cutting loss must be taken into account. For carpet tiles, this is between 5% and 10%. You can hand in this cutting waste to us, so that we can then recycle it and reuse it as a new raw material.

6: Easier to remove and 100% recyclable

Carpet tiles are easy to remove. This allows problem areas to be easily replaced and the carpet tiles to be easily removed after years of use for use in Tarkett's ReStart® collection programme. At Tarkett, DESSO carpets are designed in such a way that they can be recycled with minimal effort. Tarkett is therefore also proud of its ReStart® collection program and the recently opened Carpet Recycling Centre.

Recycling carpet tiles with EcoBase backing and ECONYL® yarn provides up to 84 percent more CO2 savings compared to incineration. This ground breaking development takes us one step further in the field of recycling and Tarkett is (proudly) contributing more and more to a sustainable, circular economy.

7: 93% of DESSO carpet tiles are Cradle to Cradle certified

It is our passion to create sustainable products that have a positive impact on people's health and well-being. Cradle to Cradle® assists Tarkett in the continuous optimization of products. The certification system makes it possible to identify areas for improvement. Driven by the principles of Cradle to Cradle, this purposeful design has ensured that as many as 93% of commercial DESSO carpet tiles are Cradle to Cradle Bronze or Silver certified (depending on the backing). A number of collections also have a Cradle to Cradle Gold certificate.

Tarkett Fusion strives to create inspiring and modern office floors with high-quality, durable carpet tiles and design floors. Tarkett Fusion offers virtually unlimited options for creating a combination of floor coverings due to the variety of options (tile or board size, patterns, colours, styles). You can choose from more than fifty different DESSO carpet collections and two different collections of design floors, namely iD Inspiration Loose-lay and iD Square. Read on for more information about the different possible Tarkett Fusion collections in the following three product categories.