I am getting ready to put down the self stick Linoleum tiles in a small bathroom. Please tell me where should I begin, in the middle, the bottom of the room (entry) or at the top. I don't want to have to cut but so many tiles to fit.
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I've done this before, and it's easiest to start against the longest flush wall or better yet, a square corner (the wall that meets the doorway, depending on your space). Take the tiles out of the box and lay them out on your floor ahead of time, and you'll have a much better idea of the amount of cuts you will have to make. When I did it, I laid all of them out on the floor and did the cuts ahead of time, so when it was time to stick them down, I didn't have to do any stop-starting.
Also, make sure you clean your floor REALLY well before you do this. A bleach solution works great for the first pass and then an alcohol solution to make sure you have no oily or soapy residue that will interfere with the adhesive sticking.
Good luck!
We put down this type of flooring in our own bathroom about 3 years ago. If you are going to put it over exisiting flooring make sure you check for water damage in the floor any at all will dimple the flooring after about two years. And if you are going to pull up old lineoleum make sure you use masking liquid and floor leveler; it may seem expensive at first but is less expensive than redoing the floor again.
As for the best place to start so that you don't waste tiles I would start in the corner nearest the bathtub and work in strsight lines because when you get around the toilet and doorway you will be cutting and piecing tiles to fit; and parts of tiles behind the fixtures will look better than parts of tiles in visible places.
I hope this helps. :)
To do it properly, start in the center of the room.
I have laid many many many floors and tile walls.
If you don't, and you resell-a picky buyer could make you redo it.
Always start in the center of the floor and lay your first tile.
My Brother lays commercial flooring. I've layed tile several times and with his instructions, I'm proud to say mine looks like a professional did the job. ALWAYS start in the middle. If you don't start in the middle you may get to one side of the wall and have a piece you have to cut that's no more than an inch wide which will look bad.
I do handpainted, kiln-fired custom tiles for installation, so I've helped quite a few people decide where to begin tiling. All the directions say to snap a grid with a chalk line & to start in the center of the floor. But I say: Do the math & figure out where you'd have to start to do the LEAST amount of CUTS! ... Then snap the chalk line (for accuracy) and begin. The deal is: You want your cuts where you'll LEAST LIKELY see them... So if you're starting in an area that meets up with the family rooms wall to wall carpet. You'll see THAT portion of the tiles FIRST... so you'd NOT want there to be cut tiles right next to where you'd first walk in to the tiled room. Object: try to hide your cut tiles, especially tiles that are obviously cut.
* Now, if you were doing a border color or a pattern, you'd have to consider the pattern! ...With a border or a pattern, you need to consider how each will look, as you'd not want it to be off center with a border color or pattern!
---> HERE'S WHAT I DO:
Buy some tracing paper & print up (or buy) some grid paper. Then measure the floor EXACTLY... Then draw out the measurements of the floor on to the grid paper, then tape a piece of tracing paper over the top of the graph paper, then, with a pencil & a ruler (or an envelope) draw out different ways of laying out the tile to make the least amount of cuts in the lease conspicuous areas. Do this, the homework FIRST, & you'll be happy with the results! Measure properly, as no floor is exactly square.
Here's several sites where you can print your own grid paper:
www.printfreegraphpaper.com/
www.thepcmanwebsite.com/
www.mathematicshelpcentral.com/
incompetech.com/
*** Another thing to consider: Is your floor level?
All the advise submitted is good. Main thing is planning. Grid paper is cheap and can be worth it's weight in gold. Do the best job you can diagraming the floor. Then sit down and think about what is to be done. Starting in the center is generally best but not written in stone. Depends on the size and shape of the floor. TAKE YOUR TIME. Cut your tiles and put them on the floor dry. Make sure everything fits properly. Then stick them down.
I went on-line "Installing self stick tiles".. you can get an actual picture on how to do it...also very important, preparing the sub -floor ..other wise tiles will not stick.. take the time to read all the info....good luck
Typically most rooms aren't square so I recommend starting in the center. Some sub floors require a primer.If your not used to handling a razor knife use a pair of scissors to cut the tile.the later is much safer. When you get to the the wall you will find that you will have to cut the tile at an angle. Simply turn the tile upside down make both ends with a pencil. Use a straight edge to connect the dots .I'm lazy so I use a scrap piece of tile. Then cut the tile .gl
I did mine starting at the door. And the room is not even - one thing i found out after struggling with a utility knife for the most of it is, scizzors worked just perfectly UGH! LOL and i had a lot of places like around the pedistal sink and the toilet and even along the walls where it had to be a shape. I used paper and kinda went around it with my fingernail to make a pattern then laid that on the tile and cut it out. Worked out well and looks very nice.
A tip to cutting vinyl tile is to use a blow dryer to warm the tile. It will cut much easier. You can also buy rechargeable scissors for crafts and tile. Hope this helps.
Starting on the wall is not a good idea. In almost every bathroom in every house, the walls are not completely square, so when you get to the other side of the wall, there will be different sizes of tiles and they will be noticeable on that one side of the room.
My husband lays floor covering and he has always said to pop and line and start in the center. It will require a little more effort, but like someone said earlier, it could have a big impact on a sale of the home. And it is always better to do something right the first time! Don't worry with the paper grids, they will serve no purpose for you. Laying them out before you remove the backing may be a good idea for you since this is your first time. Also, if you remove the underlying floor, using liquids will not help you. They may hinder what you are trying to do.
The best thing to do is scrape up remaining floor and glue with a razor stick (long broom like handle with a large razor knife on the end), and vacuum the area very well, making sure you don't step on the area after cleaning. If you so choose, you can rent a disc machine to clean the floor and it will guarantee that it will stick for good!
Hi, I think you start in the middle. Hgtv has a website that explains it. Liz
If starting in the middle with tile, and presuming a possible even cut on either side of the room... how did the tiles in my new house's bathrooms end up with a tile edge not being cut... EXACTLY centered, or close to it, under the bathroom door when it is closed???
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