Hot take: I think those peel and stick floor tiles are a trap for beginners.

I decided to redo my small bathroom floor in my apartment last month. Everyone online said the vinyl peel and stick tiles were a perfect weekend project for a newbie. I bought a box for about $60 and figured it would be simple. The problem started when my subfloor, which I thought was flat, had a tiny dip near the toilet. The first tile stuck fine, but the next one over the dip just would not seal down at the edge. I spent hours trying to press it, even used a rolling pin my mom suggested. Two days later, that corner popped up and the one next to it started to peel. I learned that 'easy' projects still need perfect prep work, which nobody really talks about. Has anyone else had a floor tile lift up like that and found a real fix, or is it just a tear out and start over situation?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellyperry9d ago

Yeah, the prep work is the whole game with those things. But what I'm stuck on is, how did you check if the floor was flat before you started? Did you just look at it, or did you actually run a level or a straight edge across that spot? Because I feel like a lot of tutorials just say "make sure it's clean" and skip the part about finding dips you can't even see.

hall.ruby10d ago

Did you try using a heat gun or even a hair dryer on that corner before pressing it down again? Sometimes warming up the adhesive lets it grip better on a wonky spot. If it's just a couple tiles, you might get away with pulling them up, putting down a dab of extra vinyl floor adhesive, and resetting them.