Self Stick Vinyl Tile: An Easy Way to Upgrade a Bathroom or Kitchen

Installing self-stick vinyl tile is a great and low-cost way to make a room look great. This type of tile looks great, is available in many different colors and patterns, and is very easy to install. By taking a few precautions, this tile will last anywhere between 5 to 15 years.

The first thing to consider is the amount you will need to complete the project. Measure the room to find the square footage. You want to be sure that you purchase about 15% more tile than the square footage of the room. This is because you will have to cut the tile to fit at the edges of the room, and so you have some replacement pieces later if one of the tiles are damaged or the glue on the back fails.

Now that you have chosen the tile you want for your room, lets get together the tools that you may need to properly install the tile. You will need a razor knife, a razor scraper, a chalk line, a tape measure, a wide paint brush that is clean and has stiff bristles, a straight edge, a kitchen rolling pin or vinyl roller, a pair of pliers and some cardboard peices cut the same size as the tile you are using. I will explain later what you will use each of these tools for.

The first thing that you want to do is to remove the moulding along the floor and the old flooring. A lot of people will tell you that this is not always necessary, but I have found as many times as I have installed these tiles, that this is the best. The reason for this is that the tile will take the shape of whatever is underneath it. If your old tile has shapes or groves in it, they will show thru the tile once it is put in place. If there are waves in the old flooring, it will cause the tile to lift up and not stick properly. I have also found that the old flooring may be covering several other layers of flooring. remove all of it down to the sub-floor.

Now that the old flooring is gone, you have to look at what kind of sub-floor is in this room. In most slab built homes, it will be cement or concrete. You also may find out if you have a basement or a crawl space under your home, or if your in a mobile home, that it will be plywood or particle board. No matter what you have to make sure that all of the glue for the old flooring is removed. This is what the scraper is for. You want to scrape the glue down to the concrete and get as much of it off as you can. You can also remove whatever is left with some sandpaper. If you have a wood sub-floor, you will have to apply a thin coat of concrete over the wood, and smooth it out. This will give a smooth surface to allow the glue to stick. Since you have a smooth floor to work with now, we will go on to the next step.

Before you start laying down the tile, you will have to prime the sub-floor using an adhesive enhancer. This helps the glue on the back of the tile stick and makes the tile last a lot longer. You apply this using a paintbrush, making sure you get a good layer of the enhancer down, and don't leave large puddles of the enhancer on the floor. You will have to wait 60 to 90 minutes for this to totally dry before you start laying down the tile.

Now that the floor is clean and dry, you can start to lay down the tile. You will need to find the center of the room. Measure the walls and find the center of the walls. You want to make a chalk line that interesects in the center. You will start with 4 tiles, each meeting at the corners of the chalk lines then work your way out. After laying down each section of tile, about 6 tiles, you should use the roller or rolling pin and put pressure on each tile to secure them to the sub-floor.

You will notice that the room is not always perfectly square, you have cabnets to deal with, doorways, or in the case of a bathroom, the hole in the floor where the toilet is installed. There will also be a gap between the last full tile and the wall. Lets start with the walls, and work from there. This is the part that will make or break any installation. If you do this right, it will look like a professional job, if not, then not so much. To find where you need to cut the tile, lay one on the floor up against the wall, and mark it at the edges of the tile it is laying on top of. When you have your marks, place the tile on a hard surface, not your tile, line a straight edge up on the marks, and cut your tile using the razor knife.

Once it is cut, do not remove the paper backing. Place the peice in place to make sure your cut is right and the peice fits making sure that you leave about a 1/8 inch gap between the last tile and the wall to allow for expansion of the tile due to humidity and temerature. Then remove the backing and install. Continue doing this around the room. At your corners, if they are not totally square, or you have some moulding such as around a door, you can use the cardboard to make a stencel. Cut the cardboard until you have a good fit, again leaving about a 1/8 inch gap. Transfer your pattern to a tile, and again use the razor knife to cut out your cut. In a doorway, if it is meeting carpet, you will also need to pull up the edge of the carpet and slide the tile underneath. This will make any rough edges on the tile dissapear.

In the case of a bathroom, you will need to make the cut out for the toilet flange. Using a peice of cardboard, line up the cardboard like you would a tile, and mark a circle around where the flange is. Again, transfer this to a tile, and cut out around the outline. Test fit your tile for the cut before you install it.

Now that your floor is down, and looks great, there are a few more steps you need to take. Next thing you will want to do is to reinstall the moulding around the floor. Once it is installed, you will what to use a bathroom caulking around the edges of the moulding. You will also caulk the area around any cabnets, bathtub and the toilet. This will keep water from getting under the tile and will prevent any mold growth or water damage.

One thing you need to remember when using this tile, is that for 3 to 5 days after being installed, you need to make sure the tile stays good and dry to allow the glue on the tile to set properly. Do not mop the floor for about a week and in the case of a bathtub, use bath rugs or towels to limit the amount of water on the tile. In the case of a kitchen, wipe up all spills immediatly.

The last thing you need to do is to enjoy all the hard work you did, and how much better the room looks.