Is it easy to install vinyl flooring in a bathroom? Or should I get a pro?

Question

Our bathroom is 6.5 feet by 8.5 feet, and most of the floor is taken up by cabinets and the bathtub.

Answer 1

The bathroom is the hardest room in the house. If you have never done it before please practice in the back porch.the toilet is the worst nightmare. cut a pattern out of newspaper first. even that could bring you to tears. lol..... however if you are just a natural and some people are....you just cut and paste. Have fun, I got a pro! because I am completely under talented

Answer 2

UNLESS you are very mechanical and patient, I would not try doing a vinyl floor in a bathroom. IF you do, make sure you take the toilet out and remove floor moldings. The vinyl needs to go under those items. My wife and I have done vinyl and ceramic tile...and to tell the truth...they ceramic was easier to install and turned out better. (besides, vinyl can be a nightmare in a bathroom with the potential for water problems, urine smell, etc.)

Answer 3

It is a fairly easy process. If you are unsure, take the time and purchase a Vinyl Flooring Do-it-Yoursel book from a local Hardware store. They are fairly cheap and will provide a reference if you run into a problem.

If there are a lot of cabinets (and they are easily removed), I would remove them first. this will save you the difficulties of creating a more complicated pattern.

If you decide to leave the cabinets in, you should firast make a floor pattern using taped together newspaper. This pattern will be used when cutting the vinyl for your floor and will guarantee a perfect fit.

Good Luck with your project! ☺

Answer 4

Everything is easy if your know what you are doing. That said, I don't recommend vinyl tiles in a bathroom. Water/moisture is always a problem which could very easily undermine the adhesion of the tiles.
Consider alternatives. In my home where there are no children (all grown) I put a Pergo type floor, specifically Wilson Art, and it came out great. We are, however, very careful about the water issue. I recommend going to a flooring center and talk to the sales reps about your wishes. Good luck!

Answer 5

It's not a real hard job if you want to do it yourself. After removing off the floor including the toilet, make a pattern out of old newspapers taped together (use a lot of tape and tape all the sides of each page, leave nothing "flapping around"). Then lay out you vinyl flooring in the living room (or anywhere you can lay it flat and work with it). Now place the template you made over the vinyl and trace it with a pen. Use a straight edge where needed. And cut out the toilet hole.

Answer 6

Depends on your comfort level in doing it. We put vinyl tile in our bathroom, and it was much more manageable than the stuff that comes in a roll.
What do you currently have covering the floor in the bathroom? That might factor into your decision also. In our case it was the vinyl that comes in a roll and we had to buy a heat gun to melt the adhesive in order to pull the old stuff up. That was a chore!

Answer 7

Yankee, my strong advise to you is get a pro, I have done many vinyl floors and seem to screw them all up. The difficulty level is high. You will most likely end up cutting it wrong and you now just wasted 200 to 300 dollars. invest in a pro to do it.

Answer 8

Vinyl is easy to work with. I wouldn't waste the money on a pro if it's something you have time to do.

Answer 9

After installing thousands of sq. ft. of various types of flooring, and having remodeled more bathrooms than anything else, I have suggestions.

Even for a DIY this need not be a negative issue.

Take accurate measurements, perhaps even consider removing existing Cove base molding?

I advise sheet stock, for a longer lasting seamless floor...If Vinyl is your choice. In any case Vinyl is often only 3/16th or 1/8 thick,,,easy to cut, even with decent shears.

Assume for a moment you choose the sheet stock. After measuring find a place where you can trace/line out those measurements onto the chosen vinyl, and cut. A Untility knife and straight edge will be fine.

Remove the toilet, allowing that the flooring will be under it once it's reset, and obviously allow for the drain opening.

If you feel more comfortable, sketch the shape/cuts in the room onto a piece of paper, or even graph paper, with all the measurements. It would be adviseable to check inside and outside corners for "Square"

Without knowing at all if this is an "overlay" onto an existing substance/flooring,,,Especially existing vinyl, you should probably note how that floorings condition is.

Use the appropriate Vinyl adhesive, spread with a fine tooth applicator, avoiding any build ups, and as you move along, preferably OUT of the most distant area of the bathroom, have the NEW flooring rolled so that the process is done in measured stages... IE: a foot at a time, etc. Spend the money for a floor roller, or at the very least a baking rolling pin and work that process over the floor once completely down. Most Vinyl adhesives allow a pretty decent "window" for set up time, so in a room that size you should have few problems in that regard.

I'll assume you can purchase what your choose by the sq. ft. and allow for extra. in your case the total "sheet", if you go that way would be 56 sq. ft. I'd allow at least 10% over for waste. If it's sold by the sq. yd. then I'd suggest buying a 9ftx9ft piece and holding the extra. If it's inexpensive enough double the purchase in case it doesn't work out well.

Obviously Tile IE, 12x12, might be easier, but also tend to separate, warp, lose adhesion, and if you go that way you should prepare the substrate (as you should anyway) and use a contact cement, brushed and rolled on, for better adhesion. I use water base exlusively in residential situations. The water base allows easy wipe up and cleanup initially, but sets as good as any other chemical base adhesive. You should be able to accomplish the task, for less than $50 for materials, other than the actual flooring.

Steven Wolf

Once installed, with accuracy, and in following adhesive directions, you can "weight" it if you wish with pieces of plywood, prepared ahead of time, and something of substance like bricks, cinderblocks, etc.

Answer 10

such an easy to do project, save your money and don't get a pro who will charge you 3 - 4 times what it would cost to DIY