Installing Burmatex Go To Carpet Tiles: A Professional's Guide
by Shopify API on May 31, 2026
Burmatex Go To tiles are among the most installer-friendly commercial carpet tiles available — the dimensional stability is excellent, the backing lays flat, and the consistent thickness makes tight fitting straightforward. That said, the preparation work before the first tile goes down determines everything about the finished result.
Subfloor Preparation: Where Most Problems Start
Go To tiles are unforgiving of a bad subfloor — not because the tile is fragile, but because a 500mm tile is very good at telegraphing imperfections. The spec is:
- Flatness: Maximum 3mm deviation under a 1.8m straight edge
- Moisture: Relative Humidity below 75% (concrete), below 65% (calcium sulphate screeds)
- Temperature: Installation area above 10°C during and 48 hours after installation
- Cleanliness: All grease, adhesive residue, and loose material removed
Acclimatisation
Store the tiles in the installation area for a minimum of 24 hours before laying. In practice 48 hours is better if the building has significant HVAC — the tiles need to reach equilibrium with the ambient conditions before installation.
Adhesive vs Free-Lay
Go To tiles can be free-laid in most commercial situations (the weight and dimensional stability of the BioBase™ backing handles normal foot traffic well), but adhesive fixing is recommended in:
- Areas with heavy wheeled traffic (pallet trucks, trolleys)
- Entrance areas where tiles may be caught by opening doors
- Ramps or any inclined surface
- Areas with underfloor heating
Where adhesive is used, specify a pressure-sensitive releasable adhesive — this allows tiles to be lifted individually for subfloor access and future replacement.
Laying Pattern
Find the centre of the room and snap chalk lines — the industry-standard method is to work from the centre outwards so that cut tiles at opposite walls are equal. Never start from a wall unless you've confirmed the room is perfectly square (it rarely is).
For the most common laying patterns with Go To:
- Grid (monolithic): All tiles face the same direction. Clean, contemporary, highlights any directional texture.
- Quarter-turn (ashlar): Adjacent tiles rotated 90°. Hides seams better, reduces directionality, slightly more cutting waste.
Fitting Around Obstacles
For column bases, door architraves, and irregular edges, a sharp carpet tile knife and a steel straight edge are your tools. The BioBase™ backing cuts cleanly — score deeply and snap rather than trying to cut through in one pass.
Need Professional Installation in London?
Our sister company Cavendish deVere specialises in commercial carpet tile installation across London — including Go To supply-and-fit packages with site survey, subfloor preparation, and out-of-hours installation available.
