Vinyl Tile Installation For Your Floors

Vinyl tile installation is fairly straight forward and it doesn't need too much DIY knowledge to do a proper job of it. Vinyl tiles are quite flexible and can be used in any room as an adequate flooring especially in the kitchen and bathroom; two areas that have lots of water spills and moisture on the floor.

Vinyl Tile Installation Tips

When you have decided to install vinyl tiles on your floor, there are a few things you need to really give attention. Depending on how you buy the vinyl, you might get it as a larger sheet that you need to cut to size. If this is the case, make sure to first make a template out of a cardboard with the right size. Only then attempt to cut your vinyl, so all your tiles are of the very same size. Of course many times you can actually buy the tiles already cut to proper size.

Also you need to make sure that the vinyl tiles you buy are of a good quality so you end up with a flooring that will last you for many years even under the strictest conditions of tear and wear. As I mentioned in the overview of sheet vinyl flooring vs vinyl tiles, one of the advantages of vinyl tiles is that if one tile gets damaged, it is very easy to replace it, unlike sheet vinyl which needs replacing of the entire sheet (which could run along the entire length or width of a room).

An important aspect of having good flooring for many years is proper maintenance of your subflooring. It is very important that your subfloor is dry, smooth even before you attempt the vinyl tile installation so the adhesive really sticks to the subfloor.

To calculate how many tiles you actually need to cover your entire room flooring you need to take proper measurements of your room. What you need to do is first measure the room and then find the total area to be covered by multiplying the width x length. If you have any extra places such as reveal or bay, add those numbers to the total. Once you have a number, round it up to the nearest whole number, as this will allow you to find out exactly how many tiles you need. Tiles usually come in packs so you need to also know how many tiles contain a pack.

Installing vinyl tiles

Once you have all the material handy, have measured the flooring and your subflooring is smooth and even, you need to start with the vinyl tile installation. Before you start gluing the tiles down, however, you need to see how the tiles will be spread on the floor. The first thing you need to do is find the center of the room and then start laying down the tiles from the center towards the walls right until you reach the skirting. If you notice that you have any narrow pieces that the tiles will not be able to cover, shift your starting point a bit so the tiles cover the entire surface right up to the wall with no empty spaces.

Here is a short Youtube video that shows how to install vinyl tiles in the kitchen.

An important point before installing the vinyl tiles is to keep them in the room for about 24 hours before laying them on the floor so they remain elastic and supple during the installation.

If your vinyl tiles have a self-adhesive backing, you can even lay them down over older tiles without removing them first. However those really need to be stuck down well and be smooth without any bumps on them.

The self-adhesive vinyl tiles have a paper backing that keeps the glue safe. You should only remove this paper the last moment, when you are actually laying down the tiles so the glue doesn't dry out. Start with the center tile, peel off the paper and make sure to align the tile edges nicely with the guide lines. Go slow but with firm hands so the tiles are properly aligned. If you aligned your tile wrongly by mistake, peel it off right away and lay it down the proper way. You can get away by doing it twice, however trying it three times the glue might not stick anymore.

Once the center tile is placed on the subfloor, lay the next tiles by butting up the edges, then rolling out the tile flat on the floor with a strong and steady hand pressure so the glue makes proper contact with your subfloor. Once you laid down the entire flooring, go over the each tile in the room and press down on each tile to assure a proper bonding of the adhesive with the flooring.

Avoid using water on the floor (such as for cleaning) for about one week after the installation.