Carpet tiles, which ones are good?

[Joerg]

Hello,

We are thinking about laying carpet tiles in the living room. Normally I don't like them but we sometimes sit guide dog puppies and, well, you know what can happen. Then if it's really bad we won't have to spend hours scrubbing on our knees but can replace a tile. A slightly darker color after a few years is better than that odd-shaped bile stain from a canine upchuck situation.

Long story short I laid Legato tiles in the offices and I am not pleased with the quality. Now they even start cupping in the flor direction. Not cool at all, and I won't use them anymore. Seems Home Depot switched brands to Berkshire's "Simply Seamless". At 24"x24" they are huge and I'd prefer smaller but if the quality is ok I'd swallow that. We'll need high pile because loops can be pulled out by the little pups, and it shouldn't look like an office.

Any experience with these, or other brands to recommend?

[Joe]

Can't recommend a brand because in your situation carpet tiles are not a viable choice. Fitting the material to the job requirement in this case means going with something cleanable and sanitary much like you would find in any commercial establishment. Consider wall to wall vinyl sheet material in some pleasant pattern until the dog sitting no longer happens. Way more practical then any carpet tile, and more serviceable. People wold be impressed.

Joe

[Joerg]

But my wife wouldn't be impressed :-)

I used to have carpet tile in my electronics lab in Europe. That stuff was extremely thick and had some asphalt-like layer in the middle. It was easy to lift out a tile or two after a spill. Mostly I was able to clean them and let them dry in the sun. If not I could just take a spare one and it'd look as if nothing ever happened to this carpet. However, (so far) I can't find those in the US.

[DerbyDad03]

You could move back to Europe. ;-)

P.S. Kudos for sitting guide dog pups.

[Joerg]

[...]

Nah :-)

Importing would be an option but shipping charges would be painful.

Thanks. They are fun and you get to follow them (somewhat) through their life. Actually, one guide dog is retiring today and the original raiser takes him back. We'll meet him in a few hours. They will try to get him through certification as therapy dog like we did with one here. Then you can go into nursing homes and such and cheer people up. A dog can often make more of a difference than the most caring person can.