Self Stick Carpet Tiles
 

I have a small area when you first come in the front door that already has those self stick tiles on it, they are vinyl I think. 5 years ago I bought berber carpet squares to put down in that area. They say they are self stick. My question is should I use additional adhesive on them? Would they stay better that way? It is obviously a high traffic area. Also, would they have to go under that metal strip in a door way? Is this something I can do myself? Or should I pay someone to do it?

Lots of questions. Sorry and thanks!

no, you do not want to use extra adhesive because then the two adhesives can actually act somewhat like a lubricant. The included adhesive will stick to the carpet and the extra adhesive will stick to the floor. These bonds will be stronger than the bond between the two adhesives, so the carpet can end up coming up. As long as your subfloor is VERY clean you should be fine.

However, carpet squares aren't always fond of water, which they're likely to see in an entrance way. Have you considered vinyl flooring or even Congoleum's Durastone? Actually Durastone would be great for your application. Looks like tile, is actually a very strong composite.

At any rate, yes youll want it under the threshold (the metal strip in teh doorway). Just pull the strip up - if you damage it you can get another one from the hardware store for a couple bucks.

You can do this yourself whether you choose the carpet squares or the durastone as long as you're very careful to keep everything lined up right.

the metal strip in the doorway should be something that is screwed or nailed on and you should be able to remove it I'd imagine.

Are you going to put the carpet down over the tile or remove the tile first?

Since the carpet is a few years old - some of the stickiness may have dried up.. you might want to check with the manufacturer to see what they'd reccommend.

I never even thought of that. Thank you so much for all the information. Maybe I can use these carpet tiles somewhere else. I will check with the manufacturer first to see what they recommend since they are so old. oh - I just had an idea. Maybe in the room with the washer/dryer. The floor does not get wet there.

And it'll cut down on the spin cycle and the dryer noise to boot.

It's probably no big deal if they're old. I've installed some REALLY old self-sticks and they're no worse for the age as long as the protective backing has never been messed with.