Vinyl Tiles

shiraz99

I'm thinking of renewing the floor in my bathroom with self-adhesive vinyl tiles, it's currently covered in rather ugly laminate. Can I lay the tiles on top of the laminate, if so would it be a good idea to key/seal the laminate with PVA before laying?

Also, any recommendations for a good, yet not too expensive vinyl tile?

FreeBear

Used self adhesive tiles in a dark room - They were naff. Stuck OK, but liquids still seeped through the joints. If you want vinyl, you'd be better off picking up a cheap "end of roll" from your local (independent) carpet warehouse.

GDB2222

FreeBear said:

Used self adhesive tiles in a dark room - They were naff. Stuck OK, but liquids still seeped through the joints. If you want vinyl, you'd be better off picking up a cheap "end of roll" from your local (independent) carpet warehouse.

The issue is fitting it. It's a skilled job. Maybe, I might manage it in a nice square room, but a bathroom has lots of things in the way.

Bendy_House

Hi Shiraz.

No, do not PVA...! PVA will 'reactivate' if it becomes damp, so its sealing use will be kaput.

For self-adhesive tiles to adhere, the surface just needs to be smooth and clean. If a sealant is required, the manufacturer of the tiles will recommend a specific primer or similar.

That's one issue. The other is whether laminate flooring is a suitable base in any case. I suspect it might not be, as the planks will be able to move relative to each other, and that's bad news for stuck-down tiles - they can easily crack. In any case, as mentioned above, self-adhesive tiles ain't a good idea where there is damp and water.

Best to choose a tile you like, and then see what the preparation and fitting instructions are for it. Also check its suitability for use in bathrooms - it might well be ok if a proper adhesive is used.

I get what GDB says - cutting vinyl tiles accurately around bathroom items is very tricky. However, I'd personally rather do that job with tiles than a whole sheet; the most you can do with the latter is wreck a single tile at a time... And if you do get one wrong, then use that as a template to help mark out the next, taking into account the error, of course.

I left sil to do her own bathroom with self-adhesive tiles (really couldn't be arrised doing it myself), and the result was, er, 'variable'. Anyhoo, I finished it off by fitting anew bath panel, and then sealing everything with white silicone and a Fugi. These are great for getting a real neat finish, and even better at hiding the wee gaps between the tiles and the pottery...

Megaross

PVA belongs on your kids art projects nowhere else. Hateful stuff, causes so many issues - even in the right place (ie under skim) there's better products.

Remove the old floor either way, ripping up laminate and underlay is a half hour job.

You'd be surprised how easy fitting lino is, trick is to cut it a bit oversize for the room. Slit it at the basin and sink then cut it back in stages. Then work the walls and run under the archtrave. Bit of double sided at the edges. Eventually once trimmed to size you can neated up round the sink and toilet with a bit of silicone if needed.

I've done a few lino floors it's much easier than carpet.

ProfWaff

In my experience, they were not very successful!  As others have noted it is quite a precise job to do and although they looked brilliant at first (I was chuffed!) it wasn't long before they started to move apart ever so slightly in the high traffic areas (so from the doorway to the most frequently used spots).  This meant that anything (dust, fluff, dirt, hair etc) would stick to the adhesive residue between the tile gap and it looked awful.  It was a major job to keep clean because of these sticky strips and it drove me mad because it never looked clean despite the effort.  In the end I took them up which was an absolute nightmare because they snap and break and the base of the tile, although thin, is really sharp.  I ended up going with lino which was a far better solution for me and way easier to keep clean and maintain.  So although lino might cost a little more, on balance it was definitely worth it!

shiraz99

It's simply to cover up the horrible laminate as I get the house ready to sell so it's purely cosmetic and I though the tiles would be quicker and easier to lay than a roll of vinyl or lino and the laminate itself would be a pain to remove as it's fully glued together rather than click and also under all the skirting and an area that has been boxed in.. TBH, I don't really care much about longevity, I'd imagine the new owners would likely rip out the bathroom anyway in the future and start from scratch.

villieb

Don't use these self adhesive vinyl tiles!!!! I thought it would be a good cheap way to replacing the flooring in my bathroom. It isn't.... if you can go for the luxury click vinyl (or Luxury Vinyl Click according to BnQ). I put this down in my laundry room. Not only is this flooring extremely easy to put down, I managed to cut it to size really easy using a jigsaw and some laminate blades.... and it seems pretty water tight/resistant

benson1980

shiraz99 said:

It's simply to cover up the horrible laminate as I get the house ready to sell so it's purely cosmetic and I though the tiles would be quicker and easier to lay than a roll of vinyl or lino and the laminate itself would be a pain to remove as it's fully glued together rather than click and also under all the skirting and an area that has been boxed in.. TBH, I don't really care much about longevity, I'd imagine the new owners would likely rip out the bathroom anyway in the future and start from scratch.

I’ve done exactly this before- taken a shortcut before selling and laid vinyl over laminate to refresh a downstairs toilet and bathroom. I would look at lvt tiles- I had some leftover karndean looselay which did the job perfectly well. I’d imagine you are looking at a small area to cover so cost wise it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference, but I’d go for a thicker lvt tile and you could try eBay if someone has some excess they are trying to get rid of.

I wouldn’t worry about sealing anything beforehand.