You’re invited to our National Presidents Day Flooring Sale on Saturday, February 18, 2012. Take advantage of spectacular savings on all flooring in every department for one day only at Chicago’s only STAINMASTER FLOORING CENTER®. For one-day only, you will be guaranteed the lowest pricing on all flooring at Home Carpet One. Enjoy big savings on our already aggressively priced in-stock carpet, natural stone and hardwood as well as on major brands like STAINMASTER ULTRA LIFE® carpet, Relax its Lees and Masland. See you Saturday February 18th for Home Carpet One’s National Presidents day Sale! We will be open from 9 am until 7 pm so take advantage of that extra hour of savings! Call ahead to schedule a pre-measure and save $100 on your installed purchase of $750 or more. Home Carpet One. In Stock. In Style. In Chicago

On November 12th, Home Carpet One is having our first ever Warehouse Blow-Out Sale. Stop by Home Carpet One’s 15,000 sf warehouse where you can take advantage of our HUGE inventory discounts. Save up to 50% OFF on in-stock tile, hardwood, stone, area rugs, and carpet.

We are blowing out our inventory for this One Day Only, Saturday, November 12th from 10am-5pm at our warehouse location, 1383 N North Branch.

Don’t miss out on savings up to 50% off of in-stock tile, hardwood, area rugs, stone and carpet. Can’t wait to see you at 1383 N North Branch for Home Carpet One’s first ever Warehouse Blow-Out Sale November 12th from 10 am to 5 pm.

Home Carpet One. In Stock. In Style. In Chicago.

Tile flooring looks great, it is easy to clean, and it resists wear from heavy foot traffic better than many other types of flooring. This combination of practicality, durability, and visual appeal makes it ideal for the two parts of the house that consistently see the most use, the bathroom and the kitchen. Thoughtfully chosen tile flooring looks clean and can easily compliment the other features of either of these rooms. It is often an effective way to brighten a room and thus add a sense of open space.

The kitchen is usually the meeting place in a home, and bathrooms obviously get a lot of use. Tile flooring will not wear out from the constant use of these two rooms, so it requires less maintenance to continue being visually appealing for years. And spills are easy to deal with on tile, especially when large tiles with minimal grouting are used, making keeping the floor clean and hygienic in these rooms easier.  Some tile manufacturers have started to add anti-microbial self-cleaning treatments to tile making clean-up effortless.  Jasba, a tile line we carry at Home Carpet One uses hydrotect on most of their tile lines, a product that does just that, cleans itself.

Tile flooring thus outperforms other budget-friendly kitchen and bathroom flooring options such as linoleum, which wears out quickly, is more susceptible to moisture leaks  and damage, and often more difficult to keep hygienic. Viewing home improvements as an investment in future value is important.  The importance that people place on how the bathroom and kitchen look as well as the functionality means that spending extra money to improve the usefulness and visual appeal of these two rooms almost always offers the best return. This means a homeowner that upgrades their Chicago bathroom or kitchen with tile flooring will get great value, enjoyability, and a decent return on the investment.

Still skeptical about tile flooring? Here are a few reasons why new tile flooring is a beautiful and practical thing to install in your existing home:

1. Low maintenance – Today’s tile flooring is one of the easiest materials to maintain. Whether you choose natural stone, glass, metal, or any one of the hundreds of other styles at Home Carpet One, our local experts will help you decide on the proper sealant to apply at the same time as installation; keeping your tile looking brilliant and your cleaning time down to a minimum.
2. Large selection – No matter your style, Home Carpet One has a tile for you. Whether you like natural stone or stylish porcelain, our team of experts will help you decide on a look, size, and price that suit your taste and your budget.
3. Expert service and installation – Home Carpet One is Chicago’s premier supplier of tile flooring. We employ extensively trained and highly talented flooring technicians. From the first time you visit our showroom to the actual installation of your new tile, our experts will be available to talk you through every step of the process. No question is trivial and we treat every customer’s home like it’s our own. You won’t believe the difference that our friendly expert service makes in your home improvement experience.

Choosing new tile flooring can be a daunting process – if you don’t have the right team on your side. Once it’s installed, you will absolutely adore your low maintenance, functional, and stylish new tile floors. Call Home Carpet One today to speak with a flooring expert who can help you get your home improvement project started!

Home Carpet One is looking forward to opening its doors for the designers to eat and drink while looking over some of the tile lines and new designs now displayed in the showroom. It will also be a great time for the interior designers to ask questions to some of our high-end tile vendors and to hear about the latest trends in tile.

Everyone at Home Carpet One is very excited to be a part of their first Designer Night Event. When interior designers are knowledgeable in the different tile and tile lines, it becomes that much easier to present them to their clients. And what better way to educate about products than to have an open house and let the designers speak with sales people and tile vendors? Home Carpet One knows by combining education of different tile lines and a laid-back environment the Designer Night Event will be a success.

Tile flooring is important to keep clean for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is “location, location, location.” Tile is most commonly installed in kitchens, where cleanliness is an absolute must, and in bathrooms, where germs tend to lurk and multiply the fastest if you don’t stop them in their tracks. The first thing to remember about floor cleaning is that it should be the last thing you do when cleaning a room. Whether you’re wiping down the kitchen counters or scrubbing the toilet, cleaning tends to lead to messes on the floor, and it will make your life easier if you remember to do the floor last. If your mother ever told you to clean your room “from top to bottom,” then you know that this wisdom has been around for a long time, and for good reason.

When you are ready to start cleaning your tile flooring, it’s important to realize that you really need to clean it twice. First do a “dry” cleaning, to pick up dirt, dust, and hair, and any other miscellaneous items that might be lying about. You can always use a broom and dustpan, but a better approach is to vacuum with a hose attachment (or any vacuum without a beater bar). Follow that with a Swiffer-type dust catcher and you’ll be well on your way to a clean floor.

Now you’re ready for a “wet” clean. Again, you have some old school and new school options here. If you want to go old school you can always use a rag or a mop. Mops with removable heads are easy to clean, and they tend to do a good job. If your tile can stand up to a cleaning with a citric acid solution (1-cup citric acid to 1.5 gallons of water), go for it. Citric acid makes a good and affordable floor cleaner, but not all tile flooring can handle it, so be sure to check with your manufacturer. If you’re in doubt, you can use a cleaning product such as Dupont’s Stonetech. If you decide you’d rather skip the mopping altogether in favor of a more contemporary solution, you can choose from products such as Swiffer’s Wet Jet, or one of the various steam-based cleaning tools out there. A professional steam cleaning every few years (or whenever your tile flooring starts to look really dingy) can also do wonders. You may have to reseal your tile after a professional streaming, but having a truly clean floor is worth a bit of effort.

AKDO, a company known for producing beautifully crafted, great quality mosaics, has recently undergone a makeover in our tile showroom at Home Carpet One.  We are now displaying over 20 new concept boards with fresh and innovative mosaic ideas to get the creative juices flowing.  AKDO products are some of the most well made mosaics and tiles in the flooring industry today.

Stop into our showroom to see our showcase of AKDO products that includes Carrara, Calacatta, Bursa Beige, Blue Lagos, and many more stone mosaics in interesting patterns and unique stone combinations.  From basketweaves to honeycomb mosaics, our sales professionals at Home Carpet One can help you select a mosaic that will enhance the beauty of any Chicago space.  

When confronted with all the issues that arise when determining material quantities for a tile project, there are a few easy steps to lessen the confusion. For instance, when one has chosen to remodel a washroom, there are certain ways square footages are determined. The process is quite simple, yet can prove to be challenging when ascertaining accurate calculations. First, it’s easier if you measure in lineal feet as opposed to inches. If a wall is 60 inches wide by 72 inches tall, the measurements are recorded as 5 feet by 6 feet. If the aforementioned measurements were calculated, you would have to divide the product by 144. This is due to the fact in one square foot; there are exactly 144 square inches. Rather than performing the extra math needed when measuring in inches, its much easier to measure in feet. Also, when measuring lengths, it is quite common to have a wall or floor measure “x” feet “y” inches. An example would be a floor measuring 12’8” by 13’5”. This calculation needs to be figured 13’ by 14’ plus 10% for waste. By rounding up to the nearest foot and adding extra material, the estimator is accounting for waste and partial material usage. Here the calculation would be 13’ x 14’= 182sq ft plus (18) = 200 square feet.

Other potential issues can be the extras that are often forgotten when measuring. An example would be the necessity for a bullnose tile. When tiling a bathroom, there are areas where the tile needs to have a smooth edge and this is where a bullnose tile is necessary. Simply using a field tile is quite often not within the perimeters of the design. Here, one would measure the bullnose in lineal feet as opposed to square feet. An example would be if you had a tub surround where the tile ended. Unless you are working with Natural Stone that is capable of being polished, ceramic and porcelain installations usually have a coordinating bullnose piece available. Again, it is crucial to add for waste to make sure the installer has enough product to complete the job. Other factors are coverages for adhesives and thinsets. Depending on the type of tile being installed, the installer will use the appropriate trowel to spread the adhesive. Larger format tiles need extra adhesive, thus bigger trowels are utilized. Typically, there are ratios available to help determine how much thinset or adhesive is needed. This information can be found on the labels of adhesives and thinsets alike.

Finally, the last factor that needs to be determined is the quantity and type of grout. Again, the size of the tile, pattern used, and thickness of grout joint are all factors that will inevitably dictate the amount of grout needed. For the most part, there are two sizes available when purchasing grout. Ten and twenty-five pound bags are the most common. Regarding the type of grout, it is necessary to consult with the installer or sales associate. There are two different types of grout available: sanded and unsanded. Each has its usage recommendations that should be adhered too.

-Tony Reyes, Hard Surface Manager

There is nothing better than the luxury of having your own personal steam shower.  Many newer custom homes are equipped with steam showers.  One can enjoy that same luxury in an existing home so long as you adhere to the proper installation guidelines.  The following are the necessary steps required to build a leak proof, beautiful steam shower that will last for years to come.

The first step when one has decided to install a steam shower is to select a tile that is relatively non-porous. This helps in keeping the moisture produced by the steam from penetrating the tile, thereby preventing moisture damage.  There are many tiles to choose from at Home Carpet One that fall into this category.  Porcelain and ceramic tiles are great, yet quite often, stone tiles are used instead.  Being that the porosity of stone tiles such as slate or travertine are higher, various coats of stone sealer must be applied to the tile after it is installed.

The second step is to address all preventative measures regarding moisture control.  It is imperative to have a vapor barrier on top of your stud network before the appropriate wall board is installed.  This vapor barrier can be as simple as using a 4 mil plastic.  Next, the wallboard must be Durock.  This is a cement board panel used for tile installations that is an excellent bonding agent.  When attaching this cement board, the correct screws must be used to avoid any potential corrosion.  Also, all the joints and inside corners must be covered with an adhesive mesh tape and cement-like thinset. When attaching the actual tile, it is crucial that one does not use tile adhesive; thinset must be the bonding agent.  There are various thinsets available; we recommend using the Mapei Ultraflex line.  Finally, after all the Durock has been installed, it is necessary to roll on a water proof membrane that seals the entire closure.  This is the final step that prevents any moisture from getting behind the wall board that can wreak havoc on the structure and insulation of your home.

Finally, there are a few other courses of action one must utilize when building a steam shower.  The ceiling should be slightly pitched to avoid water condensing and falling onto the user while inside the steam shower.  A typical slope would be 1/8 to ¼ per lineal foot and would slope to the back wall of the shower unit.  Also, the glass enclosure around a steam shower must be water tight leaving no gaps anywhere for the steam to escape.  These glass enclosures can be slightly more expensive than a typical shower enclosure so the buyer must budget accordingly.  The steam units themselves come in a variety of sizes, styles, and output and can be purchased at the appropriate dealer.  The plumbing and electric obligations associated with steam units should be handled by a licensed tradesman rather than a tile installer.

-Tony Reyes, Hard Surface Manager