Carpet Tiles and Indoor Outdoor Carpeting
Outdoor Carpet
Carpet isn't just for your living room; it can be a perfect outdoor flooring choice as well. Learn about outdoor carpet, carpet tiles and indoor outdoor carpeting.
What is Indoor Outdoor Carpeting?
Like its indoor-only counterpart, indoor outdoor carpeting is a more comfortable alternative to other types of outdoor hard flooring. Outdoor carpet is a special carpet made to survive weathering and outside conditions.
Indoor outdoor flooring is typically used on porches, sunrooms, playrooms, outdoor changing rooms or mudrooms. Outdoor carpet is also used around pools and can be glued directly to concrete surfaces.
Types of Outdoor Carpet
Unlike several decades ago--when outdoor flooring choices were limited to turf carpets--many outdoor carpet types are available on the market today, including:
- Economy-grade grass carpet: Resembles grass and is good for indoor areas and covered outdoor areas that don't see a lot of traffic.
- High-grade grass carpet: Suited for indoor areas and fully exposed outdoor spaces.
- High-grade grass carpet with marine backing: A good outdoor flooring choice for outdoor areas with full exposure.
- High-grade plush carpet: Works well in indoor spaces and covered outdoor areas.
- Mid-grade plush carpet: Can be installed in indoor areas and covered outdoor areas with low traffic.
Look for moisture-resistant marine backing on any outdoor carpet that will be fully exposed to the elements to prevent mildew and other moisture problems.
Installing Outdoor Carpet
Indoor outdoor carpeting installation is considered an intermediate do-it-yourself project. Indoor outdoor carpet can be loose-laid or adhered to another clean, dry, smooth, flat surface--such as concrete, asphalt or wood decking--using glue or tape. Outdoor carpet usually comes in widths of 6 or 12 feet or square carpet tiles; you can calculate the amount needed by using an online calculator.
Experts recommend installing indoor outdoor carpet using two-sided tape for the lower grade carpets and indoor-outdoor adhesive for higher grades. Basic installation steps include:
- Allow the carpet to sit, unrolled, and expand for an hour.
- Line the area to be carpeted with double-sided tape.
- Center the carpet in the space, and then position it to allow 3 inches on each side for trimming (rooms requiring seams need to have carpet overlapped at least 2 inches).
- Use a notched spreader to apply adhesive.
- Use a 50-pound carpet roller to adhere carpet to the adhesive or tape and a utility knife to trim edges.
- Walk the perimeter of the room to finish the edges.