Our Work · Commercial Carpet Tiles
Fitting carpet tiles in an office: the Earls Colne job
A few office units in Earls Colne, roughly 200 square metres fitted with Gradus Latour carpet tiles over two days: a corridor and a large open plan floor with floor boxes, finished in a dark grey flecked tile. This page covers what the job involved, why offices choose carpet tiles, and how we price work like this.
The job at a glance
| Where | Earls Colne |
|---|---|
| What we fitted | Gradus Latour contract carpet tiles |
| The space | A few office units, roughly 200 square metres: a corridor and a large open plan floor with floor boxes |
| How long it took | Two days |
| Who did the work | Our own fitters, the same small team as every job |
How it came together
The sequence on this job is the same one we use on every commercial floor:
- We measured first, free of charge within about ten miles of the showroom.
- We checked the floor underneath, because tiles show an uneven subfloor more than a stretched carpet ever would, and any levelling needed is priced at the quote rather than discovered later.
- The tiles were ordered in to specification. We do not carry them around in the van hoping they fit.
- Our own fitters laid the floor. The same small team does every job, which is why the finish looks the same in an office as it does in a living room.
- The whole job took two days, fitted around the customer's working day and our own opening times, so the offices never had to stop being offices.
What the photos show
The photographs through this page are the Earls Colne job itself: the corridor and the open plan floor in the dark grey flecked tile, with the floor boxes cut in around the power and data points. Floor boxes are the detail that separates an office fit from a domestic one. Each one has to sit flush and open freely, and the tiles around it have to be cut so the floor still reads as one surface.
Why offices get carpet tiles
An office floor takes more footsteps in a week than most living rooms take in a year, and it takes them in straight lines: door to desk, desk to kitchen. Carpet tiles are built for exactly that. Each tile is a 50cm square with the backing built in, laid straight onto a sound, level floor. The colour and the wear are commercial grade, which is a polite way of saying they are chosen to still look right after years of chair castors and coffee.
The repair trick that sells them
The real reason busy places choose tiles is what happens years later. When one tile is stained or crushed, you lift that single tile and drop in a new one. We always suggest keeping a handful of spares back from the original order, because then the match is exact rather than close. No other floor can be repaired that cheaply or that invisibly.
The tile we used, and why
For contract work like this we use Gradus Latour, a carpet tile made for commercial floors. Once we have measured, the tiles are ordered in to the specification the job needs, and you can see and feel the range in our Lawford showroom first if you want to.
How we price a job like this
We come and measure, then put one price on the job: the tiles to specification, the fitting, and any preparation the floor underneath needs, each as its own line rather than a surprise. It is a 50% deposit on order and the balance when the job is finished. And if you have a written quote from somewhere else for the same product and specification, bring it in and we will match it.
The result
The finished floor is the one in the photographs: roughly 200 square metres as one surface through the corridor and the open plan space, the floor boxes sitting flush, and a handful of spare tiles left with the customer for the years ahead.
The business stays unnamed here for a simple reason: it is a customer we still do ongoing work for. The photographs and the floor can speak for themselves.
Questions people ask
Carpet tiles or carpet for an office?
Broadloom carpet gives a seamless look and suits boardrooms and quieter rooms. Tiles win on a working floor for three reasons: a damaged patch is a one tile swap rather than a refit, floor boxes and cable routes stay reachable, and the busiest lanes can be replaced without touching the rest of the room. Plenty of offices use both, tiles through the working floor and carpet in the meeting rooms, and we supply and fit either.
Do you supply carpet tiles without fitting?
Yes. If you have your own fitter, we supply to specification and deliver across Essex and Suffolk, usually within 3 to 5 days of ordering.
Do you subcontract commercial work?
No. Our own small team of in-house fitters does the work, the same people who fit our domestic jobs.
Where we do this
Offices, schools and nurseries, shops and salons, pubs and cafés, care homes, and landlords with units to turn around, across Essex and Suffolk. That is where our fitting team works, so it is a promise we can keep.
About Manningtree Tiles & Flooring
We are a family run carpet and flooring showroom at Jubilee End, Lawford, open Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm. The ranges are on display to stand on, and the people who measure and quote your job are the people who fit it.
Get in touch
Thinking about a floor for an office or a unit? Tell us the rooms and we will come out and put numbers on it. Call 01206 395163 or book a free quote.