Vinyl stick-on tile installed a few inches away from wall

16 years ago

Hi there,

I'm getting ready to install vinyl tile flooring (the stick on type from Armstrong) in the basement on a well-sealed floor (no moisture, sealer should be a good bond for adhesive on tiles). The problem I have is that because the walls are painted concrete walls, they are not perfectly even (quite bumpt in fact) and the floor around the perimeter of the room is also not even for about 3-4 inches out. So what I am thinking of doing is spacing the tiles about 3-4 inches away from the walls and painting the floor area border between the tiles and the wall. What worries me is that now there is no boundary to butt the tiles up against and that they will move.

I am contemplating using Sanitred.com's Permaflex (which was the sealer used on the floor and has proven to be amazing material) to adhere the perimeter tiles or using heavy duty contruction adhesive on the perimeter tiles to secure them as a sort of boundary for all the "internal tiles".

Any comments on this?

Thanks so much, I appreciate it.

Ellie

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

bluestarrgallery
16 years ago
Couldn't you put some type of thick baseboard, wainscotting, built in benches or bookcases or a mixture of these to hide the unevenness of the wall and cover the tiles. I would square the room as best I could and get the vinyl tiles as close to the wall as possible and then decide on something to afix to the wall to hide the uneven edges. I think if the tiles are away from the wall they may tend to peel up and I think it would be more pleasing to the eye for them to go all the way to the wall. Do you have a picture you can show us?

I used vinyl stone look tiles in my garden shop and some people have thought it was real stone. I put them as close to the wall as possible and then covered with baseboards (of course it was new construction and the walls are fairly straight). It was recommended to start in the middle of the room - but I laid mine out in a dry run and found that if I started at the entrance door with a full tile then only two walls had part of a tile and they are hidden with bookshelves, a counter and displays.

Make sure the floor is perfectly clean before laying the self stick tiles. I used a sealer on my concrete floor beforehand too.
ellie_g
Original Author
16 years ago
I can't really build anything other than a fully framed wall due to the uneveness of the wall - and I don't want to frame up a full wall because if there ever was a leak through there again, I wouldn't catch it till a lot of work was destroyed.

But I did go back and look at how close I could get to the wall and I've decided to lay the tiles as close as I can to the wall, which is pretty darn close (to the nearest bump sticking out :)), so it won't look strange and shouldn't peel up. Of course now the perimeter tiles will sit on a few inches of slightly uneven floor right by the wall, but I think they will hold out OK since the foot traffic along that border will be minimal.

Now my last dilemma is if I should still use some other adhesive (Permaflex or constructiuon adhesive) on the perimeter tiles since they won't all be butting immediately up to something, or should the stick on glue hold it?

I'll definitely clean the floor well before I lay them down.

Thanks so much for the reply!
Ellie

P.S. Will try to get a picture, but camera is not co-operating today.
Related Discussions
Novalis peel-and-stick vinyl planks -- feedback?
Q
Comments (157)
I devoured this thread for months and finally went to Lowe's to look at these planks. When I first looked at them in the store I thought they looked so fake and cheesy that I almost gave up, but I brought a few home and set them on the floor. They looked good! It seems that most people have good results as long as they follow the directions really carefully and don't use professionals to install the floor. It also seems that the trouble comes when the climate is really hot or humid. But, just to make sure that we weren't the unlucky ones, I installed it in my entryway first to see how it would hold up on our concrete slab. I pulled up sheet vinyl and scraped off the remaining mastic, used the Henry's and it went down and stayed. I am a dog walker/pet sitter and we board dogs, all different kind of dogs, at our house and we needed something durable and easy to clean and this has fit the bill. I installed it in our entire downstairs myself. Everyone loves it and thinks it's either wood or laminate and several neighbors want to put it in themselves. I've noticed vinyl flooring everywhere now, including high end stores. Thanks to everyone for recommending this flooring and for the terrific tips. Here are a few of my own: 1) Definitely prep, prep, prep the floor. I scraped up mastic and glue from the carpet pad. I didn't use adhesive remover because one site I saw said it may soak into the concrete and interfere with adherence. The key is clean, dry and smooth. 2) The instructions on the box and the Novalis website recommend the self-stick tile primer. It is a must - it goes on really thin and dries clear in about half an hour. 3) Take your time when laying the tiles and get them as tight and straight as you can. 4) I found some walnut wood filler that I used in some of the tricky spots and it worked great. 5) Definitely let the planks sit in your house for 48 hours before installation. 6) I ordered OOPS! Painters wipes which Novalis recommends to remove excess adhesive. They also recommend them to remove the white "scratches" which Novalis calls scuff marks. I found that the wipes didn't work on the scuff marks, but time does. They eventually wear away. 7) I didn't use a rolling pin, but did baby steps on the tiles once they were down. There are a few that I missed and they sound funny. I have not had any scratches from dog's nails, but we did have some from broken dishes. It's not as noisy as laminate, but it is hard - almost like walking on concrete. I love this flooring and am so glad to have put it in. I am a middle aged woman and did it by myself. I took my time and did one section at a time and it came out great! Here is a link that might be useful:
...See More
TrafficMaster Allure vinyl floor install
Q
Comments (66)
Don't know what other people are experiencing with the Trafficmaster floor tiles but I'm very satisifed with the product. You can install it/float it right over top the existing vinyl floor as I did.The original vinyl flooring in the kitchen was shot but i did not want to tear it all up and looked for alternatives and found this product. I watched a few youtube videos on installing the flooring and followed the advice about laying it carefully. I used a 4" Caster wheel available at Home Depot to apply strong pressure and roll the joints with and it worked great and after the job was finished, I returned the caster wheel for my money back. It seems wise to install the flooring at the median temperature that the floor will be most of its life to reduce any gaps from expansion, contraction, etc. and leave a tiny gap around the edges of the walls and counter bases so it can breath a bit. I left about a 1/8" gap. You can cover that gap with something like shoe molding. I installed the 12" x 36" Cyprus tiles for a total of about 250 dollars. i have lived with it for over a year now and I love it. Clean it with a wet rag or damp mop. If you get right down on the floor and inspect it all VERY closely you may find a few gaps between some tiles but they aren't even large enough to stick a credit card into.I have not had any lifting in ANY location. I have shown the floor to many folks and they like it a lot and others plan to try it in their homes.I do not know how it will perform on a cold concrete floor but it has performed beautifully in my kitchen.
...See More
addressing glitches in vinyl flooring install
Q
Comments (4)
If it's only one short wall, remove the baseboard and shim it outwards a bit, then disguise the gap at the top with some backing and caulk. It will give you enough room to cover the gap at the bottom with the 1/4 round. Did you do a full glue application, or only a perimeter glue? For situations like this, I find that perimeter glue isn't enough over time. You get some creep, even though the manufacturer says you won't. That is what ends up affecting the join areas. With the subtle height difference that you have, I'd expect the area to only telegraph that worse when the inevitable creep happens. You might think about a marble threshold there. It would be traditional for an older home, and eliminate a lot of your now and future problems.
...See More
Kitchen looks great if you look from far away-up close I'm crying
Q
Comments (50)
I just posted this on someone else's thread but I wanted to say THANK YOU for helping me find my voice! And making progress! The granite guy came today and fixed the crack. You can't tell at all standing over it. I can see it when the sunlight is reflecting off of it, but also bc I was specifically looking for it. Anyone else would just see it as graining. Granite guy said it happened probably when the cabinet guy was hacking at the trim he had to remove bc it wasn't right. This I can live with. The cabinet guy showed up yesterday. The magnet he brought to fix door wasn't the right one. I started to show him which cabs had nails still sticking out and he said he'd check all of them. Then he said ok I'm done. I opened a cab and said the nails aren't finished, I thought you were going to finish them. He says,"Oh I didnt realize that you wanted me to do that." Really?Really? I guess he thought the splintered wood was fine? So then he says ok I'm done. I'm going to run to HD and get the magnet and be right back. Then I went to check his work. He missed cutting nails in 2 cab and didn't finish 3 others. Well...An 1 1/2 later he calls and says he got the battery but needed to go home and he'd come back tomorrow. I told him he missed more nails etc. And... he didn't come. But I do consider it a small victory he came at all. And lastly, I called the glass guy and said it was really driving me crazy everytime I look at it. He said he was going to call daltile to see if there was anything he could do, but if not, they would have to do it over bc it was their mistake. Yea! So I'll let everyone know how things turn out. I really don't expect to hear from cab guy. But, it's not the last he'll hear from me!
...See More
Linda Graovac
5 years ago
Laundry room floors had been painted years ago. I am trying to scrap it off so I can place the self stick vinyl tile. I was afraid the tile may not stick but also don't think it will if I'm having such a hard time scraping the old paint off. Any suggestions? Something I can wash the concrete floors with. The room is 24x12 and I have most of it off but am getting frustrated not to mention the aches and pains from scraping. Help! Will the answer go in my email or will it be lost forever.

Vinyl stick-on tile installed a few inches away from wall

Comments (3)

bluestarrgallery

ellie_g
Original Author

Related Discussions

Linda Graovac

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Vinyl stick-on tile installed a few inches away from wall

Comments (3)

bluestarrgallery

ellie_gOriginal Author

Related Discussions

Linda Graovac

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ellie_g
Original Author