Quart of pre-mixed gray grout: amzn.to/3FMgBSL
Gallon of pre-mixed gray grout: amzn.to/3FSspmi
Tin snips: amzn.to/3nbaLUo
amzn.to/3nbaQra
amzn.to/3z631pr
Tiles: Bought from local Home Depot
How I fixed kitchen floor with old vinyl tiles by installing peel and stick vinyl tiles directly on top of them. First I filled in these areas where the tiles had come off and I just applied this mortar using a spackle knife to do that. Then I just wiped the floor clean with a rag soaked in some diluted tsp solution. It’s the same solution I used to wipe down the kitchen cabinets before painting them. Other than cleaning the floor, I did no prep work. I did not remove any of the baseboards or the shoe moldings. I started from one corner and just started peeling and sticking. I was careful to install this tile as well as all the other tiles that are right next to the walls as close to the shoe moldings as possible.
As for the arrows printed on the paper on the back of the tiles, the instructions on the box say that you should lay the tiles so that the arrows on the tiles all point in the same direction. Well, that is not critical. Installing the tiles so that the arrows on all the tiles point in the same direction may make it less likely that you’ll have tiles with the same print next to each other, but what I did was to just make sure to look at the patterns on the tiles carefully so that I don’t let that happen. What helped was just positioning a bunch of tiles on the floor so that I can scan the group of them to make sure the patterns worked well together. I decided to grout between the tiles, so I left about a quarter inch spacing between the tiles for the grout, but I eyeballed the spacing width and didn’t use any tile spacers.
The installation instructions also said to roll the floor with a floor roller after all the tiles have been installed. I didn’t do that. As for the appliances, I didn’t move any of them. I just cut the tiles to fit around them or under them.
Making straight cuts on the tiles is the easiest. You just need to run a sharp blade down the line. You don’t have to press hard and you just need to run the blade down once. You are not cutting the tile. What you are doing is just scoring the vinyl surface and that will allow the tile to snap off very cleanly. Having a tin snipper would be very helpful for cutting
Grouting the spaces between the tiles took a very long time. I filled in the spaces between the tiles with premixed grout, then I took off the excess grout using a spatula, and then wiped down any remaining grout with a small piece of wet rag. All the excess grout got used and not discarded. On vinyl tiles, waiting until the grout haze has dried before wiping it off the tiles could be disastrous if you use colored grout that is different from the color of your tiles. That could make your new tiles look like old tiles that were not cleaned well. Dried grout haze had stained the vinyl tiles beyond the point of return. The stain would not come off no matter how much I scrubbed or how hard I scrubbed with soap or other cleaning solutions. This was a terrible mistake that really diminished the quality of this install and I’m not happy about it at all. I suppose this wouldn’t be much of an issue if your grout color is the same as that of your tiles. So, had I used white grout, I don’t think I would have noticed any staining.
What not to do when installing peel and stick vinyl tiles.
Peel and stick tiles on kitchen floor.
How to install peel and stick tiles on kitchen floor as a beginner.
how to cut vinyl tiles.
FULL DISCLOSURE and DISCLAIMER: The links above are affiliate links, which means that I could earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links (with no extra cost to you). Also, because sellers can run out of inventory or change prices at their whim, I cannot guarantee the availability of the item or that the price will remain the same as what i had paid.