# Peel & Stick Vinyl Tiles



## mrs oz (Jul 3, 2007)

Hi all,
Looking for opinions/experiences with peel & stick vinyl tile. Any pictures you have of finished installations would be great, too! Thanks in advance!


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

A fast cheap way to freshen a floor. Technically if you want it to last you need to prep the floor as for lino, or you'll get cracks. But they're fast and cheap to replace too. The look is of course cheap. Did I mention they're fast and cheap? There are some nicer looking peel and sticks you can grout (or not) and a floating vinyl called Allure that at least has some material to it so it should last. You stick the seams together. I use them because I know I'm going to rip out my kitchen, so why have a ceramic floor I'll likely destroy in the process? I like them for what they are, a non-permanent flooring. I did my kitchen 9x12 lifting the old and laying new in 3 hours with help from my son.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Oh you should get 5 years of hard use out of them, more if you're not feeding dogs and cats on it spilling water constantly.


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## mommathea (May 27, 2009)

you want to put them on a sub floor, not cement- and you want a smooth serface to put them on. Any lumps or bumps under the tiles and it will show as the tiles wear. 
Use the primer - and have your floor absolutely clean and dust free when you lay the tiles.

Make sure they are laid tight as high traffic areas can shift slightly and you can end up with little cracks between the tiles.

Other than that, they're easy to lay, and looks great.


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## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

This is for the downstairs,it would be directly over the concrete slab.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

I'll echo Ross. 
Even the supposedly "good" ones are still just a cheap and easy option. If it's planned as a temporary solution, it's perfect. But having BTDT, I wouldn't do it as permanent flooring...


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## Curtis B (Aug 15, 2008)

If you want to go cheap, and have it long lasting go with VCT. I maintain some 40 year old commercial properties that still have the original tile in use. It isn't real "pretty", but it holds up great.


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## crispin (Jun 30, 2010)

I am so very happy with my "click together" plastic wood flooring.
It went together very very easy, flows over and uneven floor, and is lasting perfectly.
It looks 100% the same as when I installed it over 3 years ago


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## crispin (Jun 30, 2010)

I paid about $1.00 per sq/ft and installed it by myself around 800 sq/ft in 1 day



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I don't think you can stick tile directly to concrete. A floating floor like Alure would work.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

That looks really nice, crispin. 
It doesn't look "plastic-y" in the photos. Does it in real life? 

That's always been something that bothered me about laminate wood floors; they LOOK plastic... :shrug:


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

Crispin- can you tell us the name brand and where you picked it up at? Would like this for my kitchen.


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## crispin (Jun 30, 2010)

No it does not look like plastic
It actually looks real good
I bought it at home depot.
I will go take a pic of the box


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

Thank you!


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## crispin (Jun 30, 2010)




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## Jan in CO (May 10, 2002)

Nice floor, Crispin! Does it get glued down, unlike the wood, which has to be nailed? Wish I'd gone this route instead of wood in the kitchen. 

We did put the stick down tiles in our back mudroom, and everywhere the sun shines on the floor for any length of time and warms them up, they shrink. Also the dogs coming in and out the door over a few years have scratched them, so now there are small white places where the color is gone. For ease and temporary floor, they're great. I wouldn't put them near a heat source, however. They are also in the mobile home my Mother rents, and near the heat vent and the vent under her fridge, they have shrunk, and peeled up, so she's had to glue those spots down to avoid catching a foot. 

Jan in Co


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Unless your going with the ultra cheap stuff, you can put down ceramic, slate, or saltillo for about the same amount of cash... more work, but it'll last forever. I unknowingly thought I was saving money 20 years ago putting down the peel and stick. Few years later found saltillo for less.... my peel and stick looks like chicken poo... lots of places are rubbed smooth of 'print'.

I'd not put down peel and stick again, even if you gave me a truckload of it. If someone offered to deliver and install it for free, I'd decline. Offered to pay me, nope. ....can you tell my love affair with peel and stick is over? :indif:


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## anette (Jun 20, 2008)

Even with obsessively intense prepping, our peel and stick popped in several places. I wouldnt do it again...


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## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

Well it looks like we are going to go with staining the concrete,it should hopefully work out okay and is not very expensive.

Thanks for all the help.


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## HTG_zoo (Apr 18, 2011)

I've seen some wonderful stained concrete!

I've had good luck with some peel & stick and bad luck with others. I found a nice Armstrong tile with on clearance, after I patched the floor with a skim coat made for that purpose, it went down great and cost about $.50 a square foot. Took me a few hours over 2 days to do and has lasted 5 years now. It's starting to show signs of wear now, but I figure I got my money's worth. Did the same thing with cheaper made tiles in the other room and it lasted about 5 weeks...


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## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

We decided to stain the concrete instead of putting tile down,at least in the bedrooms and the main room.




























Still need to put the final sealer on and finish them.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

That came out NICE!


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## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

ErinP said:


> That came out NICE!


Thanks,there are some spots where the gray of the concrete is visible,I think this was due to the slab not being wet enough.You are supposed to wet the slab,then apply the stain.We did that however the slab soaked up almost all the water immediately.

The way we look at it is this,once the sealer is down,you won't be able to see the gray as much and it looks better than it did...

Can you tell we are about over this whole thing and ready to be there????
LOL


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## anette (Jun 20, 2008)

i love that... now to convince DH that we can do that in the guest apartment


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## tiogacounty (Oct 27, 2005)

Ross said:


> I don't think you can stick tile directly to concrete. A floating floor like Alure would work.


 I'm not sure about the glue used on a typical peel and stick, but you can glue them to concrete and they work fine. You need to use a trowel-able glue and apply it with a notched spreader. This can be done in addition to the peel and press glue and they will stick to the floor a whole lot better. As somebody else mentioned, there is virtually nothing more durable that VCT, or vinyl composite tiles, available in many colors at places like Lowe's. These are the 12" squares found in most schools and church social halls, etc. Properly installed and maintained, they will last the life of the house. They ain't pretty, but they are tough!


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## theschwarz1 (Jan 22, 2009)

the peel and stick tiles are not a good idea for ANY area that may get wet....even dry areas. I used them in our bathroom and around our tub. The areas that got wet peeled. The areas that didnt get wet, peeled. I wish I hadnt used them. They were ok for about 1 year. I put laminate flooring over them.


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