After working for an architect for over 20 years, I amassed a collection of commercial carpet tiles over the years that were discontinued. I didn't have enough to finish the whole basement ...but I found some at Ollies here in Ohio pretty cheap. So overall, it cost me about $150 to do almost the whole basement, minus one storage area and a raised platform area (which I'm eventually going to do a paper bag floor on). These are perfect for a basement .....they have a rubber backing, so no need for a carpet pad. And if there is ever a mess, just pick it up, clean or replace ...Simple!! A good DIY project .....just need sharp box cutter to cut tiles with. As I was doing the carpet, I took a little bit off at a time so that I could get a tight fit. Ended up doing a lot more cutting that way, but didn't waste any carpet tiles due to overcutting. Whew, what a job this was ...after taking out all the old nasty carpeting that had been there for over 20 years. I took a pic of my current project, I'm in the process of working on .... I'm crocheting a small throw rug out of some jute I've had laying around for years. The lighting isn't that great in my pics, the carpet looks a lot better in person.