We own some boat slips in our condo marina. Along with the slips, there is a condominium clubhouse in the adjacent building that is jointly owned by all the moorage owners.
It's basically just a giant concrete room. A few years ago, a sump pump that serviced the residential portion of the building malfunctioned and flooded the entire space. The carpets and portions of the gypsum board needed to be removed. It was ugly.
Since that time, the moorage owners have battled the condominium association to have the rest of the repairs made, while certain members of the board of directors dug in their heels, saying we had no business carpeting our apartment since we knew their sump pump might flood into our unit if it malfunctioned (I know, it makes no sense to me, either).
The association eventually replaced the damaged gypsum board, because the local fire department threatened them with steep fines, but they never repainted, and they never replaced the carpet.
Without carpet, the space is cold, and it echoes. The moorage owners have decided to go ahead and re-carpet and paint the space themselves, and then seek reimbursement. The problem is, our budget is very tight, and the Association might refuse to pay. Since I'm an interior designer, I was called upon to find an affordable flooring solution.
First, here are some problems with the space:
Since the room is cold and echoes and is uncomfortable, the best flooring solution is some type of carpet. Since there is a remote possibility of future flooding, and a strong possibility of spilled wine, it would be great if we wouldn't have to replace the entire carpet -- only replacing the damaged carpet. Because of the noise and the cold, we really need a carpet pad, but carpet pads are pretty yucky to remove when they have been flooded by a malfunctioning sump pump. What to do?
Carpet tiles seemed like the right solution, but boy, can they be pricey! Carpet tiles are easy to install, they have built in pads, and if one (or many) are damaged, you can simply pull those tiles up and replace them. The big problem is the price. At $15 to $35 for a 20" by 20" square, it looked like they would be out of our reach.
After much scouring of the internet, I discovered these tiles from Wayfair. The tiles come in a mixed variety, are 24" by 24", and each tile is $4.00. A rubber-like pad is already attached to each tile. I ordered several tiles to get an idea of quality and color variety. The quality was very good, and the variety was great. I was pretty sure this was a best solution.The next hurdle was convincing the other owners that an assorted mix of tile would look great.
I poured through Google Images looking for patchwork carpeting. I knew patchwork carpeting could be made to look great, but I needed some images to convince the moorage commissioners.
While I was at it, I looked at patchwork quilts for inspiration. My husband quickly nixed the idea of making stars, saying that since he was the one who would be roped into installing the carpet tiles, there was no way he was going to make all those diagonal cuts. Some folks spoil all the fun.
I looked at patchwork inspired rugs...
and patchwork inspired tile.
I loved these patchwork kilims!
During the process, I discovered Flor had an online outlet store, and they had random pattern twenty inch carpet tiles on sale for a dollar each! This was much less expensive than anything else I'd found -- it was so affordable the commissioners that the commissioners finally realized the beauty of random carpet tiles. Imagine carpeting a 1600 square foot space for under $800!
I think it's going to turn out beautifully! We just received the last of the tiles, and as soon as the walls are repainted, we will start the installation. What do you think? Would you install random carpet tiles? It's risky, but the cost cannot be beat, and I think we can pull it off.
If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to House Revivals in the sidebar, so you won't miss the fun projects we have planned. Find us on Facebook, too, so you can catch all the "in between" stuff, and see what I'm working on throughout week on Instagram. Feel free to link today's project to all your favorite social media sites.
~Amanda
It's basically just a giant concrete room. A few years ago, a sump pump that serviced the residential portion of the building malfunctioned and flooded the entire space. The carpets and portions of the gypsum board needed to be removed. It was ugly.
Since that time, the moorage owners have battled the condominium association to have the rest of the repairs made, while certain members of the board of directors dug in their heels, saying we had no business carpeting our apartment since we knew their sump pump might flood into our unit if it malfunctioned (I know, it makes no sense to me, either).
The association eventually replaced the damaged gypsum board, because the local fire department threatened them with steep fines, but they never repainted, and they never replaced the carpet.
First, here are some problems with the space:
- The moorage owners have a tight budget.
- The room is cold.
- The room is uncomfortable.
- The room echoes.
- The sump pump might malfunction again, at some point in the future.
- Typical broadloom (wall-to-wall) carpets are heavy and difficult to remove when they are wet.
- Typical carpet pads are heavy and difficult to remove when they are wet.
- If there is a minor flood, it would be nice if we only had to replace the affected carpet, and not replace the entire carpet.
- Did I mention the very tight budget?
Since the room is cold and echoes and is uncomfortable, the best flooring solution is some type of carpet. Since there is a remote possibility of future flooding, and a strong possibility of spilled wine, it would be great if we wouldn't have to replace the entire carpet -- only replacing the damaged carpet. Because of the noise and the cold, we really need a carpet pad, but carpet pads are pretty yucky to remove when they have been flooded by a malfunctioning sump pump. What to do?
Carpet tiles seemed like the right solution, but boy, can they be pricey! Carpet tiles are easy to install, they have built in pads, and if one (or many) are damaged, you can simply pull those tiles up and replace them. The big problem is the price. At $15 to $35 for a 20" by 20" square, it looked like they would be out of our reach.
I poured through Google Images looking for patchwork carpeting. I knew patchwork carpeting could be made to look great, but I needed some images to convince the moorage commissioners.
While I was at it, I looked at patchwork quilts for inspiration. My husband quickly nixed the idea of making stars, saying that since he was the one who would be roped into installing the carpet tiles, there was no way he was going to make all those diagonal cuts. Some folks spoil all the fun.
I looked at patchwork inspired rugs...
and patchwork inspired tile.
I loved these patchwork kilims!
If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to House Revivals in the sidebar, so you won't miss the fun projects we have planned. Find us on Facebook, too, so you can catch all the "in between" stuff, and see what I'm working on throughout week on Instagram. Feel free to link today's project to all your favorite social media sites.
~Amanda
