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Has anyone used these before? I am thinking of using them in my kitchen. At first I wanted to put in laminate flooring, but I found out my floor is pretty unlevel and the thought of leveling it out is frightening me for some reason.
Has anyone had good or bad experiences with peel-and-stick tiles? Do they hold up over time? Looks good? Any feedback would be great! Thanks!
I can sympathize with your conceens, but the truth is peel and stick will look pretty bad pretty quick. There are several problems. The way they make the stuff there is no way for the adhesives to really be permanent. Oveer time it gives up it's grip. The individual tiles shift, first tiny amounts, but eventually enough for grit to get between the tiles and then it is won't be long until they no longer look clean. Over time they will pop up, and then yiu pretty much have to scrape up the mess and do something all ove again.
Leveling compound is not something to be afraid of. If your subfloor is with the range that a nice layer of leveling compound can fix I would recommend going that way. If you have not done it before the thought of pouring some soupy compound all over your floor seems a bit odd, but the stuff is made to give a nice flat level surface that will accept a durable finish floor. Read all the directions, use the exact tools specified and there is not much to be scared of.. If you then use a floating laminate or planks (like Pergo ...) you will have something that is much more durable, easier to keep clean and just a much better perceived "upgrade".
Of course I would also recommend that you price out both real hardwood and also vinyl sheet goods. There are a whole range of options and you might be surprised how little the price diffence really is...
I agree with Chet on the peel and stick - they are a quick, cost effective way to spruce up a floor that you don't need to 'stay' that way long.....
Another option might be - I have seen some beautiful linoleum square tile flooring that is put down with adhesive, that looks GREAT - is very durable, and there are so many decorator choices too! Think elementary school flooring here. I quickly googled it and was able to see all kinds of photograph examples of this type of floor. A bit more of an initial investment in money and time than peel and stick - but same 'mindset' in many ways, that should hold up looking good for years.
I was in flooring for many years and my husband is an installer. If your sub floor is too unlevel for laminate you can get sheet vinyl or vinyl planks that look just like a wood floor. Amtico makes a goregous vinyl plank that wears extremely well. Sheet goods, well some are better than others and for the cost of the better ones you can get the plank.
If it is able to be leveled there are self leveling products that make the job easier. The products are known as embossing leveler or patch. Messy, but effective if the sub floor is not too bad.
Vinyl tiles are not a good choice if the sub floor is not level. You will see every imperfection. Also, that type of floor needs to be waxed.
It is fairly easy to replace the sub floor and I would likely choose that instead of messing around with floating the existing floor.
In any case I would not choose laminate for the kitchen. It tends to not like moisture and can get to looking really bad after a spill or a leak.
Last edited by Racelady88; 09-17-2010 at 11:20 AM..
Thanks for the feedback! I was worried that those types of problems would arise. I'll steer clear of the peel and stick tiles then!
I didn't know that laminate is bad to put in the kitchen. I guess the only good covering for a kitchen floor is sheet vinyl or linoleum? What is the difference between vinyl and linoleum?
The leveling work doesn't sound that bad now that you've described it. When I get home today, I am going to check just how unlevel my floors are.
While we are talking about flooring, I have a concrete slab foundation. I have heard I shouldn't put real wood down on top of concrete. Is that correct? At the moment I have hardwood in the entry way, and it is separating. How hard do you think it would be to just completely pull it up? Thanks!
Last edited by Fireflychik; 09-17-2010 at 01:58 PM..
Hardwood over concrete slab? Probably moisture issues...
The fact is most concrete slabs are suitable base for hardwood IF you can isolate the moisture issues that often come along with a slab. The best way to do this used to be with vapor barrier, but now you can install a subfloor that is designed to isolate the finish side from the slab side be having an engineered system of air space. Typically give up a bit of headroom (under and inch) but gain a much more durable floor. These can even allow you to install HW below grade (like in a basement) which leads to a much more comfortable, stylish and long lasting system...
It might be cheaper to invest in some kind of ceramic tile, but even with an isolation membrane tiles can crack if the slab shifts. Further, I find tile floors to be very uncomfortable for any extended time in the kitchen, like dishwashing, cooking, prep work.
The kind of subfloor mentioned above does make for a great subrstate for sheet goods too. If you want to go all out, rip up all the old floors, lay new subfloor and then put down a new finish floor you will amazed at how much more comfortable the whole house will be. Slabs have no give and transmit a lot of cold in the winter. For the ultimate conversion / comfort you can even lay hydronic heating in the subfloor and have cozy warm tootsies going forward.
Linoleum is no longer made. It was actually a brand name once upon a time. There was some talk a few years back about someone making it again. It is all technically vinyl these days. It comes in sheet, plank, and tile form.
There are also some impressive tiles out there. Be sure you are not looking at VCT which will show every imperfection.
If you are considering hardwood you need to have a moisture test done. This will tell you if it is going to be feasible. Some slabs have too much moisture in them and there is no kind of barrier that will maintain the integrity of a hardwood floor.
Linoleum is no longer made. It was actually a brand name once upon a time. There was some talk a few years back about someone making it again. It is all technically vinyl these days. It comes in sheet, plank, and tile form.
There are also some impressive tiles out there. Be sure you are not looking at VCT which will show every imperfection.
If you are considering hardwood you need to have a moisture test done. This will tell you if it is going to be feasible. Some slabs have too much moisture in them and there is no kind of barrier that will maintain the integrity of a hardwood floor.
Not true. Linoleum was never a trademarked name. And both Armstrong and Forbo Industries make real linoleum flooring today.
Just to add - we have friends who went the peel and stick route a few years back and as chet said - particularly in the higher traffic areas some of the tiles have slipped over time and there are some pretty noticable gaps now. it looks pretty bad!
My parents just had sheet vinyl (or whatever its called) installed about 2 weeks ago. Its all about the install!! They guy who came in did a fantastic job. He cut the whole kitchen area in one sheet so no seams, they picked a square pattern and he made sure everything was straight and true, he made the transition to the dining room look great, removed and reinstalled all the trim. I was pretty impressed with the job he did. My mom said he was there for 4 hours!!
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Even the best peel & stick is not very good...
