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Installing Peal & Stick Tile in 4 Easy Steps
First you must start with a clean,
flat and dry surface. You can lay the new tile over
the old tile or linoleum but the old surface needs to
be secure to the floor and it needs to be thoroughly
cleaned and dry and free from any irregularities. If
you are laying the tile down on a plywood or luan surface
that has been nailed down it is imperative that you
secure the nails from working themselves back up and
through the tile. This can be accomplished with using
a fast drying substance such as Bondo that is used on
cars to repair cracks and dents. It dries very fast
and hard and will secure the nails down permanently
from popping back up. This is a very time consuming
process but must be done if nails have been used. Remove
the molding that is running along the walls so that
you can install the tile directly up to the wall.
Your second step is to find the center
point of the room. You can accomplish this by using
a tape measure and a chalk line. Measure the width of
the room at each end and make a mark exactly half way
across the room splitting that end of the room in half.
Go to the other end of the room and do exactly the same.
Secure the end of the chalk line to the first mark with
a small nail or if you have a friend working with you
have them hold the end of the chalk line very securely
to the first mark. Stretch the chalk line across the
room to the other mark and pull the line as tight as
you can and then hold it securely on the second mark
you made which is dividing the width of the room in
half opposite the first mark. Lift up on the chalk line
and let it snap back to the floor leaving a nice straight
line of chalk which divides the width of the room exactly
in half. Go through the exact same process dividing
the length of the room in half and snap a chalk line
which will divide the length of the room exactly in
half. It does not matter the size of the room, this
chalk line process must be used as you need to start
your first tile exactly in the center of the room and
work out from there. This process should have left you
with a clean, dry and flat surface with 2 chalk lines
that are 90 degrees apart from each other or a simpler
way of saying would be that they fit exactly on corner
of the first piece of tile.
The third step is to start installing
the tile onto the floor. Take your first piece of
tile and turn it over to the thin paper side. You will
notice that there are arrows on the paper all pointing
in the same direction. The reason for this is so you
get all the tiles pointing in the same direction during
installation. Keep this in mind as you install each
square that before you peal the paper off the back that
you check the direction of the arrows first and rotate
the tile accordingly. The first tile that you will put
down will go exactly where the chalk lines cross in
the middle of the room. Put the corner of the tile exactly
on the crossing point while lining up each edge with
the chalk line and press the tile down. The positioning
of the first tile is very important and at this point
can be shifted slightly to make it exactly line up with
the chalk lines. Take a bakers wooden rolling pin and
roll and press down on the tile as you roll over it
to secure it to the floor. Be careful not to shift the
tile while you are doing this. Now take each new tile
keeping in mind the direction of the arrows and put
it tightly up against the first tile on the floor and
carefully set it down. Roll over each tile with the
roller securing it to the floor keeping all edges tight
and lined up. Do not rush this process as the tighter
the fit the better the finished job will look.
The fourth and final step will be
cutting the edges to fit up tightly against the walls.
For this you will want to have a large thin board to
use as a cutting board, a sharp construction knife,
a metal straight edge and a measuring tape for all the
odd corners you might run into around cabinetry and
doors. Use each tile as a template sliding it up to
the wall with the paper still on it keeping in mind
the direction of the arrows. At this point the arrows
need to be pointing in the opposite direction of what
they normally go. The reason for that is when you measure
and cut the piece off the finished piece you will be
rotating it back so that the cut edge goes up against
the wall and will be covered up by molding. At this
point all the arrows will be going in the same direction.
Work your way around the room taking your time with
each piece keeping it tight and rolling them out and
securing them tightly to the floor. While you are doing
this process you will find areas where the adhesive
is on the surface of the tile and this can easily be
removed with a cotton swab and some finger nail polish
remover. Replace the molding around the room and you
have a new floor.
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