Aside for musing the ceramic tiles in designing the bathroom and kitchen, I advice the Vinyl tiles. Ceramic tiles will make you cost much in purchasing and installing it. Well, with the use of the Vinyl tiles, it can be applied by you. It will help you save money, and also lets you decide what design or format you will make.
There are other reasons on how you will love the Vinyl tiles. From the ceramic of being simple, the vinyl tiles have different colors and design you can choose from. Many designs, style, and colors of the vinyl tiles that make your time consumed from choosing of. But it will be worth it, because it will make your bathroom, or your kitchen more beautiful and decorative.
The other reasons are it will be better to use than linoleums. The linoleum floor can be a big problem at all. Because when the single damage is happened, it will affect the whole linoleum. In purchasing the vinyl tile, you can buy extra ones. Why? If an accident ruins one or two tiles, you replace them.
Here are some tips on how to apply the vinyl tiles by you:
The first step is to go to the basics. Its not that you plan to plan into your floor but we will focus on application. The requirement of our project is too have a smooth floor and I’m sure you know why.
Laying the tile over an existing another, can be a good idea. This can be okay, but there are many other ways on applying the tiles. The right thing to do is to remove the existing tile and make your floor smooth as ever.
Problems are there of course, like cracks and holes, they are needed to be filled and become smooth before applying our vinyl tiles. Cements are good remedy on woods or cements to be smoothing. If you can afford, you can apply plywood over the floor to attain the type of floor our vinyl tiles is need.
It is needed that the floor is smooth before applying the tile because the rough areas can pressure the tile, and unluckily, it will make the tile break.
The next step is on buying the tile. If you want to apply the tiles easily, there are some self adhesive but for sure it will cost much. The quality of the adhesive in these tiles is not really superior so you can also replace them. This re thin as well, so these are damaged easily.
The thicker, the tile, the durable it is, and also the expensive it is. The longer lasting tile is the tile that is thicker. Choose the color and design wisely cause it will really affects the whole project. It will be with you awhile.
For cutting this type of tiles, we will not use the tile cutter, because it is slow. You will need a good razor knife, a small butane torch, a trowel with teeth along one edge for applying the adhesive, some old rags, and some mineral spirits.
Many of the experts on applying the tiles will tell you that you must start the laying in the center of the floor. But applying this technique in the bathroom or the kitchen is not the good idea. Start at the wall towards the cabinets because the cut edges aren’t is seen.
Starting along one wall, trowel on your adhesive, making sure there are ridges by using the toothed edge of your trowel. Do not go too far away from the wall as you will be laying tile there and don't want to have to reach while doing so.
Let the adhesive dry for about 15 minutes so it's very sticky. Lay your first tile at the corner and continue to lay a row, making sure you keep your tiles aligned. As you get to the end of your row, do not worry about the area that is left over where a whole tile will not fit in. We will take care of that last. However, remove the adhesive from that area so it won't dry before we get back to it.
The adhesive you applied should have gone just a little further out than the row of tile itself, so now you have a row, with a little adhesive area waiting for the next row.
Now start back at the beginning. Apply a little more than a row's width of adhesive, let it dry, then lay another row of tile, again making sure you align the tiles with each other so your lines are straight..
Once you have done the entire floor except those areas where a whole tile would not fit in, let the floor dry until tomorrow. Do not allow anyone to walk on the floor. The adhesive takes time to dry.
Now, once the adhesive is dry, we are ready to do the cutting in portion of your vinyl tile job. You should be able to walk carefully on the tiles without moving them by now. If not, you may have used too much adhesive and will have to wait longer, until you are sure it is dry.
Now, let's cut it in. Go to where your first row that ended with a little space left over. Apply some adhesive to that area, plus on the floor, along the wall where you are going to put in your cut pieces of vinyl tile. Let that dry, just as you did before for 15 minutes.
Now, take a full vinyl tile, matching it up with your tiles already on the floor
at the bottom, lean it at an angle to the wall. Let me explain so you are sure to understand. You place the tile against the edge of the last tile in the row as if you were about to lay it down, but just let it lean against the wall at whatever angle it has to.
Now, you will need your razor knife and your small butane torch. Be careful with the little torch that you don't burn anything, please. If you are not comfortable with handling a small torch, this method is not for you.
Place the fingers of one hand on the top of the tile along the wall with very slight downward pressure. Wave the flame of the torch back and forth across the center of the tile about where you would like it to bend. Don't let the flame linger on the tile to melt it. Keep a distance so it only gets heated up.
As it gets hot, the pressure from your fingers will begin to push the vinyl tile downward, bending it into place. As soon as the tile is bent to the point where it is flat against the floor and the rest against the wall, set down your torch, pointing it carefully away from anything or anyone, and take your razor knife and cut along the bend right at the wall. It will cut like butter.
Now that tile fits perfectly to the contour of the wall. It also, because of the light pressure you applied as you pressed it down, has tightened up that entire row, so the vinyl tiles will not separate later. This is a floor that will last a long time and answers the problem of the tiles separating later.
Continue that same process for each row and everywhere the tiles need to be cut in. Then clean up. You are now an old school master at laying vinyl tile!
One last warning, as I said before, if you are not comfortable using flame, you should go ahead and use a tile cutter. It may not be as tight, but you can still do a good job with it without endangering yourself. This article was intended to pass on an old school method I learned and have used to lay many beautiful tile floors that lasted for years. I hope that by passing it onto you, the old way will not be lost.
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