Want a a classy look without breaking the bank? Mac, Grandfather to Dez, chose to update that old vinyl kitchen floor with groutable luxury vinyl tiles (LVT).  Vinyl tiles can be placed together and can look fantastic.  But for this kitchen upgrade, he left a 1/8” gap between the tiles for the grout.

Probably the most time was spent bringing samples home to pick the right color.  You’ll notice the old vinyl beneath the tile samples—>

• Once he found a color he liked, he removed the existing vinyl pieces, to find a brick pattern, sheet vinyl underneath. 

• The sheet vinyl was glued to the plywood floor, removal would have been a nightmare. It’s perfectly fine to lay the vinyl tile and grout over the vinyl sheet, as long as it’s not too padded and the floor is firm and stable. 

Sand the vinyl sheet to remove decades of wax and give the vinyl tile adhesive something to stick to.

Mop the floor to clean up the dust and dirt.

• Lay out the tiles in advance. 

• Measure to the center of the room and work from the center to the walls, ¼ of the room at a time.

• All the videos he watched suggested cutting the perimeter pieces in advance, but he found it easier to cut them after the center full pieces were stuck to the floor. 

• Use 1/8 inch spacers between the tiles.

Once you have the first section ready, begin peeling the paper off the tiles and stick the tiles to the floor.  Start from the center working out, at least in the beginning.  To cut the tiles, score then snap the vinyl tile pieces with a square tool and a box cutter.  Once the entire floor is covered, you are ready to grout.  Use premixed, precolored grout from a hardware store. 

And here is the floor after grouting

This new floor is just right on my paws.

-Published by Mac Case