How to Lay a Vinyl Tile Floor

By: Joseph Truini, This Old House magazine

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. ADHESIVE-BACKED VINYL TILE

2. LEVELING COMPOUND
for underlayment

3. PLASTIC BUCKET AND 6-INCH DRYWALL KNIFE
for mixing and spreading leveling compound

4. KNEEPADS

5. SHOE MOLDING
to conceal gap along baseboard

6. 1 1/2-INCH (4D) FINISHING NAILS
to attach shoe molding

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Electric heat gun,
  for softening tiles so they're easier to cut with a utility knife
- Vinyl tile cutter,
  available at rental shops for about $15 a day
- Chalk line
- Utility knife
- Tape measure
- Undercut saw (for trimming bottoms of door jamb and casing
- Dust broom
- Framing square
- Sanding pad with 100-grit paper,
  for sanding leveling compound
- Hammer
- Rolling pin or J-roller
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Product Gallery
Product selections for this project
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Introduction
Overview
Steps:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9

6 to 8 hours to complete a 10x10-foot room
About $2 per square foot (vinyl tile), plus $80 to $100 (other materials)

Difficulty: Easy to moderate It’s slightly uncomfortable crawling around on your hands and knees - be sure to wear kneepads - but the tiles go down quickly

Long before the advent of resilient sheet flooring and plastic-laminate planks, there was vinyl tile. Originally produced as an alternative to linoleum, vinyl tile grew in popularity because it was colorful, easy to clean and crack resistant.

Vinyl tiles remain popular today and are commonly installed in baths, foyers, laundry rooms and mudrooms. The 12x12-inch tiles come in dozens of colors, patterns and textures, making it easy to create checkerboard designs and floors with contrasting borders.

There are two types of vinyl tile: glue-down and self-adhesive. Glue-down tiles are set into a bed of mastic, which is a rather messy process. Self-adhesive vinyl tiles are a peel-and-stick product, making them ideally suited for do-it-yourselfers.

Here, we asked Jimmy Tiganella, owner of Classic Tile in Oakville, Connecticut, to demonstrate how to install a long-lasting vinyl tile floor, a job that starts with covering the old floor with plywood underlayment.