New Kitchen Floor Tiles

[JeffInNYC]

Well I just put on stainless steel cabinet pulls on those hideous cabinets....and they look great!

So I thought....why not try installing those sticky do it yourself floor tiles like I see them do on television!

My question is, how difficult is this to do? I hear you start in the middle and work your way out...but Im concerned when I get to the edges...do I need any special equipment to cut the tiles to fit?

Any sites that will explain step by step how to install these sticky floor tiles? Anyone have any advice?

A lot of you on here seem very industrious so Im sure someone has some good advice for me.

Thanks!

[RapidRod]

Jeff, go to DYI. You'll need a box knife and several blades, straight edge and a chock line. Go corner to corner like making an X on the floor. then start in the center by placing the center of the first tile on the center of the X. Put all the full tiles down first then come back and do the tile you have to cut. Put the tile that is to be cut on top of your last full tile take another tile and place it against the wall over top of the one you are going to cut that you layed on top of your last full tile then run your knife along the end of the time that is up against the wall and resting on the tile to be cut, score the tile, place it on the floor and use a straight edge and cut down the scoring and snap. That's all there is to it. Make sure you always use a sharp blade. If you  have any questions let me know.

Rod

[JeffInNYC]

If you  have any questions let me know.

Rod

yes I have a question...can you come over and do it for me? LOL

Whats DYI?
it should be easy enough to do, but Im very neurotic and everything has to be precise or itll drive me nuts.
Can I put the tiles over the existing linoleum floor which is in excellent shape and flat with no bumps or obvious tears?  Or do I have to remove the linoleum floor first?

Thanks for your help.

[RapidRod]

DYI, do it yourself instructions. I'll see if I can find you a good site with diagrams. It's really easy to do. Jeff, if you go to Lowe's or Home Depot you can get the instructions from them or get the little flooring book by the service desk that explains it in easy steps. You'll save a little more than what it cost you for the flooring if you do it yourself. If you want to use the glue it down type, you'll need to get the glue and the notched trowel and it is done the same and you won't have to worry about it coming up. It's just as easy to lay. You just have more choices if you use glue down tile to pick from. You can even rent tile cutters if you want. Then you just mark the tile to be cut, line mark with blade and pull down the handle and it's cut. What's an airline ticket cost? ROFL... You won't have any trouble. If you do it yourself. PM me and I'll give you my phone number and you can call and I'll walk you through it if you find yourself in a jam. I don't think you will though.

[Ann]

Can I put the tiles over the existing linoleum floor which is in excellent shape and flat with no bumps or obvious tears?  Or do I have to remove the linoleum floor first?

Thanks for your help.

Hi Jeff,

That depends. Is the existing flooring glued down? If it is totally sound with no loose bits, there's no real reason why you'd have to take it up. If it is loose, you may be storing up trouble for the future. If it's not glued down, you may as well take it up and be done with it.

If you leave it in place, make sure it's very clean first. If it has a shiny finish, you may want to give it what's known as a "key" before attempting to glue your new floor covering down. A key is simply scratches the new adhesive can adhere to. Giving the surface a key could be as easy as giving it a quick rub-over with a rough grade of sandpaper, making sure you wipe the resulting grit or dust off the floor before proceeding.

Good luck - we're expecting photos. Before and after would be nice!

Ann

[Boo Radley]

Jeff,

If you are not a total klutz like me tiles may be an option but in my case they are not (although I still haven't replaced the existing ones with sheet vinyl or, ha, real tile).

First, last year my 15 year old dog Buddy started urinating overnight in the kitchen and I have no way to block his access.  Worse, I am notorious for doing things like filling the sink with water to wash dishes and walking off and forgetting about it.  I've done it at least 3 times since I moved in in 1999.  Liquid standing on the tiles for even a short period loosens the adhesive and the tiles come up.   

I'm not sure but I think the tile manufacturer recommends installing a sub-floor before installing the tiles since existing floor covering may not work well the the tile adhesive.  Maybe there is a newer glue available that actually resists water and adheres even to "non-adhesive" surfaces.  If there is maybe I'll buy some and try to replace the numerous bald spots in my kitchen.  How about it, RapidRod?

Good luck!

Boo

[Life]

Jeff tell me how it goes... I have been looking at our old floor in our condo for 2 years debating if I could or should try it... I like you cannot deal with imperfections esp if I try and do it.. 

[JeffInNYC]

Well Id like to try to do it myself.  i already installed stainless steel cabinet pulls to the existing cabinets and let me tell you it makes a world of difference and all it cost me was 100 bucks plus 30 bucks for a drill.  Well worth it instead of knocking down cabinets and redoing the entire kitchen.  I can live withthis a few years now before gutting the kitchen.  If you look close though you can see the errors I made by not spacing the holes exactly right...so theres a few extra holes but its not noticeable.  Overall, Im proud of myself.

I figure if I can install cabinet pulls then I should be able to put in the floor tiles...but I have to research more - I cant pull the linoleum up so it probably is glued.  Maybe I will see if I can get someone to pull it up for me.

Thanks all for the input.

[mrtallguy]

Hey Jeff....
Since your linoleum is in good shape and does not pull up just go over it with the new tiles.  Ann talks about scuffing the floor so the adhesive sticks better however if you are using the self stick tiles the scuffing is not needed.  You do want to make sure the floor is squeaky clean.  RapidRod says to start in the middle which is probably the right way to do it but then you are trimming tiles on all 4 walls....ugh!  I always start in one corner so I am not trimming along 2 walls...work your way across to the opposite corner....this way you only have to special cut "fill in" pieces along 2 walls.   Ask 1000 people how to do something and you'll get 1000 different answers!! Good Luck!!

Be Well....
Craig

[Miss Philicia]

I am notorious for doing things like filling the sink with water to wash dishes and walking off and forgetting about it.

We have so very much in common.

[J.R.E.]

Hello Jeff,

This link will give you a visual and audio tutorial on how to lay tile :


http://www.easy2diy.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_index.asp?page_id=35720307



Ray

[Longislander]

hey Jeff,

If you're not having problems with animal urine, leaving water running, or just you dropping food all the time, I say go with a pergo-type flooring. No doubt your Manhattan apt kitchen isn't huge, so you wouldn't need too much. In my rental apt I put down a pergo-type (diff manufacturer) tile-look floor. It is so sturdy and quite scratch resistant. ( she has cats, and the kitty litter gets all over the floor and crunches when you walk on it~)You'll need something to cut the boards with ( a tablesaw, circular saw or a jigsaw). And if you have moulding around the edges you'd have to remove it first, then reinstall or put in new. But the look may be so much nicer than peel-and-sticks.

If you do go with peel-and-stick, they make some very realistic looking ones that resemble stone.

Good luck

Paul

[Ann]

Ask 1000 people how to do something and you'll get 1000 different answers!!

Ain't that the truth!

[Robert]

Jeff.

I'm following this topic very closely.  I have to do the same thing and keep putting it off.  Can you please print some before and after pictures and perhaps a daily diary telling us what you're doing and exactly how you feel about it?

GOOD LUCK!!

robert

[ACinKC]

Jeff.

I'm following this topic very closely.  I have to do the same thing and keep putting it off.  Can you please print some before and after pictures and perhaps a daily diary telling us what you're doing and exactly how you feel about it?

GOOD LUCK!!

robert

Because we dont think that you have enough to do!

[Miss Philicia]

I actually have to do this too.  The tiles in my kitchen and bathroom were ancient and beginning to crack, so I took them all up.  Unfortunately I'm not good with follow up and they've sat there with no tiles for some time.  I enjoy the industrial look of a bare sub floor!

One question that has not been answered by this thread, or even any of the links, is do I need to sand off the old adhesive residue that remains on the sub floor before I put down the self-adhesive type floor tile which I've yet to purchase?  If so, that royally sucks because I do not own a sander though I guess I can borrow one from someone I know.  I just hate sanding because of the nasty dust particles.

The areas I'm doing are so incredibly tiny (the tile total I think won't be more than 120 pieces) that I'm just loathe to make it a big production, but at the same time I don't want to end up doing it twice.

ps:  I need a boyfriend who does all this crap for me!

[Dachshund]

I actually have to do this too.  The tiles in my kitchen and bathroom were ancient and beginning to crack, so I took them all up.  Unfortunately I'm not good with follow up and they've sat there with no tiles for some time.  I enjoy the industrial look of a bare sub floor!

One question that has not been answered by this thread, or even any of the links, is do I need to sand off the old adhesive residue that remains on the sub floor before I put down the self-adhesive type floor tile which I've yet to purchase?  If so, that royally sucks because I do not own a sander though I guess I can borrow one from someone I know.  I just hate sanding because of the nasty dust particles.

Yes, you will need to remove the adhesive residue on the sub floor. The surface should be as clean and smooth as possible before laying peel and stick. One trick I use is heating the room with a space heater before applying tiles for the max in stickability. But you are right you're better off letting a boyfriend or a trick do it.

The areas I'm doing are so incredibly tiny (the tile total I think won't be more than 120 pieces) that I'm just loathe to make it a big production, but at the same time I don't want to end up doing it twice.

ps:  I need a boyfriend who does all this crap for me!

oops...sorry for screwing up your quote

[bear60]

At the risk of being corrected....thats ok...I am sometimes wrong....
1. There are preparations to apply to old tile to prepare the surface for new tile of the peel and stick variety.  But I dont think you can just put tile on top of tile. Problem is the doors or doorways if the new floor is too raised up.
2. If you remove old peel and stick tile....the adhesive residue is soluable with paint thinner or some other solvent...I would never recommend sanding adhesive....I'd rather pull up the old subflooring and put down new.

[Longislander]

sanding dried glue would most likely become a sticky mess!

[Ann]

One question that has not been answered by this thread, or even any of the links, is do I need to sand off the old adhesive residue that remains on the sub floor before I put down the self-adhesive type floor tile which I've yet to purchase?  If so, that royally sucks because I do not own a sander though I guess I can borrow one from someone I know.  I just hate sanding because of the nasty dust particles.

Depending on what your doors are like (how much of a gap you have to play with) you may be able to put down thin ply first. I did this in the kitchen of my now condemned flat (not why it was condemned LOL) and it worked very well.

Also, if the sub-flooring is concrete, you can get stuff from any good hardware/DIY shop that you apply to the whole floor (it's liquid) and it will fill in all the irregularities without adding too much to the height of the floor. I can't remember what they call this stuff, but it works well and dries quickly.

sanding dried glue would most likely become a sticky mess!

Yes, it will! A friend of mine tried that... it was a mess and the fumes were toxic as well.

ps:  I need a boyfriend who does all this crap for me!

My fella is a builder and you could borrow him for the price of a trans-atlantic airline ticket.

Good luck!

Ann

[Miss Philicia]

OK... so I can safely ignore the old ancient dried up 20 year old adhesive, right?  I this is wrong I'm givng bear come over for fix it )

[Dachshund]

OK... so I can safely ignore the old ancient dried up 20 year old adhesive, right?  I this is wrong I'm givng bear come over for fix it )

....or you could do what most mo's in your situation would do....move

[Miss Philicia]

.I'd rather pull up the old subflooring and put down new.

shudder the thought!

so are you saying there is some chemical that removes the old adhesive?

[Miss Philicia]

Also, if the sub-flooring is concrete, you can get stuff from any good hardware/DIY shop that you apply to the whole floor (it's liquid) and it will fill in all the irregularities without adding too much to the height of the floor. I can't remember what they call this stuff, but it works well and dries quickly.

They are 20 year old plywood I'm sure.

[Miss Philicia]

....or you could do what most mo's in your situation would do....move

True True... but I like fixing things up in my apartment.  NO apartment is perfect in large city and I refuse to live in a suburb.  My apartment is 2 stops from City Hall and all of my doctors/hospitals so I do not own a car.

[Ann]

OK... so I can safely ignore the old ancient dried up 20 year old adhesive, right?  I this is wrong I'm givng bear come over for fix it )

It will depend on how much it disturbs having a smooth surface. If it's sitting there with loads of ridges and valleys, you'll want to get it smoothed out as much as possible.

It also depends on what you're planning on putting down on top of it. If you're going to use the self-adhesive tiles where you peel off a paper backing and just stick them down, you're going to want as clean and smooth as surface as you can manage.

If you plan on using tiles where you have to use a separate adhesive that you put down with a trowel, you can get away with much more. Make sure you get rid of any crumbly or loose old adhesive first though.

When I used thin plywood on my kitchen floor, it was because I was dealing with old lumpy floorboards that had some left-over adhesive on them. The ply I used was the thinnest available and it did the trick quite nicely.

I think you can use that liquid leveler stuff on plywood, as long as the gaps between the sheets aren't too large. You wouldn't want to chance it on floorboards, unless the floorboards were on top of another sub-flooring.

Ann

[Miss Philicia]

who knows... the apartment is 100 years old... seems pretty smoth though from what I can tell.  I may just take my changes