Materials and Supplies

Installing Vinyl Over Vinyl Sheets

Vinyl tiles are an easy and affordable way of giving a room a totally new look. They are easier to install than vinyl sheets, and if you are not very experienced at DIY they are definitely the best option. But if you already have a vinyl floor, a common concern is whether installing vinyl over vinyl sheets is possible. In most cases, installing over sheet vinyl is possible, but you will need to prepare the floor correctly.

Is The Old Floor Lifting Up?

First of all you will need to check out the conservation status of your existing vinyl flooring. The most important thing to look at is whether it’s perfectly bonded to the subfloor. Old vinyl flooring in need of maintenance often shows signs of lifting from the subfloor, and will need some vinyl flooring repair in order to install vinyl tiles on top. Use vinyl flooring glue and wait a few days to see if the old vinyl flooring lifts again. If it does, removing vinyl floor with a knife may be easier than installing over vinyl flooring that is in such bad shape.

Are There Marks Or Deep Scratches?

If the existing vinyl flooring has cuts, holes or deep scratches, those imperfections will make installing vinyl over vinyl difficult and will need to be fixed before continuing. If there is a lot of damage you may be better off removing the old floor and preparing the subfloor for laying vinyl floor directly on top of it. If the imperfections are minor, you can fix them using a self-levelling embossing solution to fill the holes, and make sure the entire floor is perfectly flat.

Installing Vinyl Tile Over Existing Vinyl Floor

In order to install your new vinyl luxury tile you will need the floor to be perfectly clean and flat. Start with using a good floor cleaning liquid, but avoid those that have wax or give a glossy finish. Use a clean mop, and change the water as soon as it gets dirty. You need a really spotless surface for the self adhesive vinyl tiles to stick properly. Dry the floor using towels, and make sure there is no soap residue at all. Leave the floor to dry (and make sure you don’t step on it with dirty feet) and apply a coat of vinyl primer on the vinyl sheeting to improve the adhesive effects. Once the primer is dry it’s time to lay your new vinyl flooring on top of the old one.

If you are using vinyl tile squares it’s better to start in the middle of the room and move outwards towards the walls, so if you need to cut any tile it’s only one that is close to the wall. Be careful when cutting vinyl flooring over existing vinyl, as you could make a hole that would need to be fixed before you can install the tiles. Depending on the size of the room, this work can take less than a day. Just make sure you are very careful and align each tile perfectly with the ones next to it so the effect is of a professional vinyl tile installation over your old vinyl sheet flooring.

Why Choose Vinyl Kitchen Tile Flooring

Filed Under: Information

The kitchen floor is usually one of the areas of the house that needs more cleaning and has higher requirements in terms of hygiene. After all, nobody wants to make dinner in dirty environment fill of bacteria! Choosing vinyl flooring for kitchen has become a very popular option because is easy to clean and resistant to bacteria growth. Vinyl kitchen tile floors come in a large variety of colours and patterns, and can be installed by the homeowner, making them a very attractive choice of flooring for any kitchen.

Vinyl Kitchen Tile Is Versatile

Unlike wood or natural stone, vinyl tiles come in all the colours of the rainbow, and as such they can be matched to any decorative style. From checked black-white vinyl flooring to vinyl flooring that looks like wood, you can spend hours just deciding which pattern you like the most. And what’s more, you can create your own unique designs on your kitchen combining different vinyl square tiles to form a totally different geometric pattern, or to visually divide a room in different areas.

Vinyl Flooring For Kitchens Is Cheap

Prices for vinyl flooring are a fraction of those of marble, granite or even hardwood, and you can learn how to install vinyl floors in order to lower them even more. This makes vinyl an affordable choice for cash-strapped homeowners who want to redecorate and add value to their homes, or for those who enjoy changing how their kitchen looks every few years and don’t want to invest in more costly flooring materials that would need to be removed later on.

Vinyl Is Pet and Kid Friendly

If you have children or pets you’ll love to know that installing vinyl kitchen tile flooring is great for them too. Vinyl is soft to the touch and very comfortable to walk on, besides being bacteria resistant. Cleaning vinyl flooring is easy and quick, and any pet related accidents are not likely to leave a permanent stain, unlike carpets or wood. Worst case scenario, if a section of your kitchen vinyl floor tiles is damaged you can simply pull it out and replace the scratched or broken tiles with new ones.

Vinyl Tiles Resist Water and Chemicals

When choosing to install any other flooring instead of vinyl tiles, kitchen environment should be taken into account. Water spills are frequent on a kitchen or bathroom, which can damage wood or laminate unless they are mopped up quickly. Chemicals such as vinegar or some cleaners can leave marble or granite floors lifeless and dull after just a few years, and resealing them is costly. However, vinyl kitchen tile floors are resistant to both water and chemical damage, and while it can be dented if a heavy object falls on it, damaged tiles can be replaced easily.

Consider all of the above reasons when choosing vinyl kitchen tile floors for your new kitchen. Vinyl floor tiles are cost effective, low maintenance and will let you enjoy the kitchen design you like the most, without breaking your bank.

How to Clean Vinyl Flooring

Filed Under: Information

If you hate the idea of scrubbing your floors to keep them shiny, you should consider installing vinyl tile floors. How to clean vinyl flooring? Cleaning vinyl tile floors is easy and quick. You don’t even need a special vinyl tile cleaner, mild soap and warm water will do just fine. In order to keep your vinyl floors in perfect condition keep in mind the following:

Keep Vinyl Tile Flooring as Clean as Possible

If you want your floor to look as new for years, vinyl tile cleaning is all about cleaning regularly but with low intensity methods. Make sure you sweep and vacuum regularly, to avoid dust settling on the vinyl and potentially scratching the finish away.

Prevention Goes a Long Way

One of the best ways of keeping your vinyl looking great is making sure you don’t walk inside the house with a lot of dirt on your shoes. A mat on the front door will go a long way towards keeping your vinyl looking pristine for longer. Dirty and small stones can scratch the vinyl surface, and the more scratches the more dirt that will accumulate in them.

Cleaning Vinyl Tile

To clean vinyl tile flooring, the best tools are a mop and warm water. Make sure you don’t let the water form pools, as they could get into the cracks between the tiles and affect the glue. If you want to clean vinyl flooring more deeply, a mild solution of floor cleaner and warm water will do the trick. Another option is mixing a bit of water and vinegar, and using laundry detergent and water for in-depth cleaning once a week.

How To Clean Vinyl Tile That Is Really Dirty

Most of the time you should be able to clean your vinyl floor with just a bit of water. For very stubborn dirt, try mixing a bit of ammonia with warm water and use that to clean the entire floor, or spot clean particularly dirty areas with a more concentrated mix. However, make sure to use water to clean the floor afterwards, and always do this with the windows open as ammonia fumes are toxic. You can also use bleach instead of ammonia.

Wax Is Not Going To Help

Waxing vinyl floors is, in most cases, a bad idea unless your vinyl manufacturer recommends it. But what people forget is that many mop-and-go type of products actually have some wax in them to add shine. The only result you will get from using those products for vinyl tile cleaning is a layer of dirty waxy residue dampening the shine of your vinyl flooring.

Protect Vinyl Tile Flooring With Vinyl Floor Sealer

If your vinyl floors are very dirty, they probably have lots of small scratches that are like tiny dirt magnets. A commercial acrylic finish can be applied once the floors are totally clean and left to dry, giving you a glossy floor that stays clean for longer and looks much better.

How Do You Remove Vinyl Flooring

Filed Under: DIY Installation

All the good things come to an end, and vinyl flooring is not an exception. Whether you are tired of your existing vinyl design, want to install a new one or opt for a totally different flooring material, learning about removing vinyl floor is almost as important as learning how to install vinyl flooring tiles. Thankfully, it is a very simple procedure that can be done by anybody, and all you will need is a utility knife and lots of patience.

Removing Vinyl Floor With a Knife

The first thing you’ll need to do if you are removing vinyl tiles or sheets with a knife is to cut them into strips using the knife. In order for the strips to be easy to handle it is best to make them about 10 to 12cm wide. Insert the knife into the incision and slowly cut the adhesive below so the vinyl sheet separates from the floor. Peel the strip as you do so, and repeat until all the vinyl is out of the way. This is a messy and quite slow process, so a little trade secret that may help is removing vinyl flooring using dry ice.

How do I Remove Vinyl Flooring Using Dry Ice?

First of all, remember to always wear gloves if you are handling dry ice, as otherwise your hands will easily get frostbitten. Dry ice is a very cold substance, the solid form of carbon dioxide, so you will also need to be on a well-ventilated area and be careful not to inhale too much fumes, though it is generally not very toxic.

To remove vinyl flooring using dry ice, just cut the ice into cubes about 30cm big and place them on top of the vinyl. The dry ice will evaporate and cool off the vinyl, making it brittle and easy to break after a few minutes. The broken pieces of vinyl can be swept away easily. If you are working on a large surface, such as vinyl commercial flooring, this method is much more cost effective in terms of time.

Preparing The Floor After Removing Vinyl Floor

It doesn’t matter which method you used to remove vinyl flooring, there will be traces of vinyl and adhesive for vinyl tile on the floor which needs to be removed. This is a process that requires first the use of a scrapper and can be quite a bit of hard work but it is necessary if you plan on installing any other type of flooring as the surfaces need to be flat and clean. To make scrapping easier, you may want to use boiling water to soften the adhesive up but use towels to contain it and don’t try this if you are trying to remove vinyl adhesive from porous substances such as wood.

Some stubborn spots may be resistant to manual scrapping, in which case you will need to use a chemical stripper to soften the adhesive up. However, make sure to follow the instructions from the manufacturer, wear protective equipment to avoid breathing in the fumes and keep the area well ventilated.

Vinyl Commercial Flooring

Filed Under: Information

Vinyl floor tiles are a fast and easy way of transforming a room. They are also quite inexpensive, which has made them one of the most popular choices for home-owners looking to renovate on a budget. However, vinyl commercial flooring is also a great alternative particularly if you want to renovate as quickly as possible to minimize the time it takes to be open for business.

Heavy duty vinyl flooring for commercial spaces and offices is available from many manufacturers, though due to the higher requirements in terms of endurance and quality they are often more expensive than their domestic counterparts. Consider also whether you are going to install them yourself, or you prefer to hire a contractor to do the job. Learning how to install vinyl floors is easy, but since an office or shop need to look perfect even with heavy use you may want to leave installation to a professional that can guarantee great results.

Benefits of Commercial Flooring Vinyl

Vinyl commercial flooring can also be used for residential areas, as it offers better longevity than domestic vinyl tiles. It has many benefits for shops, offices and any heavily trafficked areas:

Comfortable underfoot and non-slip
Vinyl flooring for commercial use is thicker and more resistant
Easy to maintain, can be cleaned with mild detergent and water
Can last for ten to twenty years with minimal maintenance
Vinyl square tiles can be replaced if they get damaged, without having to replace the entire floor.
Can be installed over concrete, plywood subfloors, existing wood or linoleum floors… making it quick and easy to change how your office or store looks like.
Cleaning liquid spills is easy, and they won’t cause long lasting damage such as they would on a carpet.

While vinyl luxury tiles suitable for commercial use come in almost any colour of the rainbow, most business owners choose hard wearing styles that don’t require constant cleaning to look great. Textures that imitate natural stone such as granite or hardwood materials with clear grains look great even after a full day of trading, and can be cleaned with mild soap and water to look as good as new. Very light colours such as white marble may look expensive, but can soon become dirty and show every footstep, particularly if people are coming in from the street all the time. Commercial vinyl floor is considerably easier to maintain than carpets, particularly if it tends to rain a lot in the area and you are getting tired of people tracking mud inside.

The cost of vinyl flooring is considerably lower than alternatives such as stone or hardwood, making it one of the cheapest choices in terms of commercial flooring. Vinyl is also a modern alternative to linoleum or laminate, and if you choose tiles you can replace them inexpensively as they break instead of having to refinish the entire surface. This makes vinyl commercial flooring a great choice for any environment that requires affordable flooring that is suitable for heavy use.