I need advice on laying self-adsive vinyl floor tiles, please.?

Question

Hi. This is my first time posting here. I have a question that I'm hoping someone can help me with. We had to pull up the carpet in the hallway of our home because I couldn't stand the odor coming from it any longer. We had cats in the past that preferred it to their litter box.

Due to financial restrictions, my husband and I decided that we would go with what I refer to as a "temporary, indefinite fix". We are going to install some of the self-adhesive floor tiles. Our dilemma in installing these tiles is where to measure and snap the chalk lines for lining up the tiles.

The hallway is in a T shape. The hallway is not the same width at one end as it is on the other end of either part of the T. (The builders didn't do a very good job of squaring up their work.) The top part of the T has six doors leading to bedrooms, closets and bathroom. The bottom of the T has one closet door in it. The bottom part of the T stops at the foyer which has parquet type wood flooring.

The instructions that came with the tile said to draw a line 12" to the wall that is farthest from the door. I can't exactly do that since there are so many doors. I thought about measuring the line 12" from the wall that makes the top part of the T, but then I run into the problem with the walls not being square. Is this still the best place to start? If I do this, then I will have partial pieces meeting up with the foyar floor. Will this look alright? I plan to put a wood piece down where the two different flooring meet to give it a "professional" finished look.

Also, should I mark a chalk line down the center of the bottom part of the T to cross with the line on the top part of the T?

I hope all this make sense and that someone out there can help me. Thanks in advance for any help.

Answer 1

Good morning,

A lot of details with what may be an easy fix. (no offense)

After installing thousands of sq. ft. of flooring; I have suggestions.

First consider this; you'll probably have to make cuts. After all the measuring; you'll know how many and at what sizes.

In the CRUX of the "T" with a framing square; try to determine if anything is actually square. EVEN to the TOP of the "T" looking at it from the bottom imagine your line first, and lay out a few tiles UNPEELED; to get an idea of where the most Full pieces will be visible and aesthetically pleasing. THAT alone can determine where to snap lines. EXAMPLE: assume for the sake of argument that the hall will take 3 full pieces and two cut pieces spanning its width. Centering the middle full piece will allow the 3 fulls to be what will be most noticed, from the bottom of the "T", to a point in the top of the "T". Somewhere in that "T" top, set some in that perpendicular and assume cuts as well.? If no cuts are needed, consider it your lucky day.

It's obviously not great that the walls may not be square, but the focus will still likely be on the full pieces. The least obvious issue in having to make any cuts would probably be to split that distance and keep the cuts to the perimeters.

If you have cove base molding; remove it if you can; to HIDE cuts or OOOPS, and the fact that the area is out of square will have to be lived with; but replacing the cove base OR adding quarter round will help.

Ok: to review. Somewhere in the CRUX of the T, you'll need to find Square; at the intersection where the perpendicular snap lines meet; even using the framing square on the floor to find the MIDDLE 90 degrees.

Adjust any full and cuts according to how the full sheets are best centered, then determine cuts. It's possible you can create two cut pieces from one tile? The cutting is an easy task.

Again, before peeling, lay out a course of two. It's a minor step in the sense of how much time it will take, but could be a critical step.

Once you're ready to install, and given the fact that you use the word indefinite; I suggest a water based contact cement as added security for sticking. Certainly the sub floor should be well cleaned; with no depressions or rises evident.

The water base I buy is a nice aqua color, the consistency of milk; has less of a noxious odor than the lacquer based; applies easily; is washable with water for a short time; drys rapidly; and sticks as well as anything I've ever used. Apply it in small areas, probably beginning in that 90 at the top of the "T" and work to an exit point. On the bottom of each peeled tile piece and to the subfloor.

Place and press at the 90. Save the cuts install for the end, in case you've mis - measured.

There is transition molding that allows various floor types to meet, but if you lay out this tile job properly you'll only need transitions where the tiles do end, not in the "T" at all.

Steven Wolf

Answer 2

Measure the hallway opening at the bottom of the tee ,then the neck of the tee only ,split the difference at each end , If its 32 inches wide at the bottom of the tee center will be 16 inches, if the neck of the tee is wider like 34 inches then 17 is center at that end, snap your line !! theirs no need to put a line in the top of the tee ,it will take care of its self.
vinyl tile has a factory edge ,make sure the arrows on the glue side ( bottom ) are going the same way !!
if the floor is concrete , clean then seal with 50/50 mix of elmers white glue & water apply with a paint roller let it dry , then get to work !!!!!!!!! that tile will never ever come up!!

Answer 3

Make sure floor is dus, dirt and grease free 1st off. What I like to do when I tile is to pop a line along two meeting walls.12" Once you start laying your tile along these lines the rest will fall in place keep a good sharp blade handy for trimming and cutting also

Answer 4

All that sounds good. Just take your time. Also, a good pair of scissors would also help trim the tiles, better than a razor blade knife. Just make sure you sweep or vacuum your floor very thoroughly first. Always if you can, buy an extra box of your tile. That way if one gets damaged or doesn't stick anymore, then you'll have spares to replace it. They may not offer that specific color or pattern in the future. Best of luck to you.

Answer 5

The Doc has this one well answered, but I would like to add something.

Knowing that your hall is not square, and you with no experiance with any form of carpentry (No offence).

If you can not find a square point then simply pull all of your measurments off of one wall, wether or not it is square after you are done it will give the apperance that your hall way is square.

It has been my experiance that perfectly square is not always as important as square with the room you are working on.