Filling gaps between vinyl tiles

[Stephan Bour]

Hi, The previous owner installed vinyl tiles of reasonable quality in the basement laundry room. Unfortunately, he must have done it in a hurry and there are small (~1 mm) gaps between some tiles. He used a Portland cement/Latex primer on the concrete before laying down the adhesive tiles so I'm confident the floor itself is stable. Is there a good liquid vinyl product out there that I could color to match the edges of the tiles and use to fill the gaps? Thanks, Stephan.

[Eric Tonks]

Vinyl tiles and other products often change size, frequently shrinking as you are experiencing. Possibly they were not rated for direct contact with below grade concrete. I have also experienced vinyl tiles expanding when installed on below grade concrete. They were raised up in ridges on the joints .

[PJx]

There are lots of color choices at your paint stores and home depot. You should be able to match it where no one will notice but you. The product or knock off you want may be called Seam Sealer. PJ

[Stephan Bour]

Yes, the concrete can get rather cold, maybe 50-55 degree in winter and the tiles may have shrunk. Question is, how do I fix it? Thanks, Stephan.

in article 402a6ff2$0$41298$ [e-mail], Eric Tonks at etonks@sunstormADD-DOT-COM wrote on 2/11/04 1:11 PM:

[Stephan Bour]

Thanks for the info. Seam Sealer appears to be a translucent epoxy liquid that's used to melt seams that are very close together. Do you think it's going to work on wider gaps? About the coloring, are you suggesting I mix it with paint or do they make color concentrates that are designed for the product? Cheers, Stephan.

in article [e-mail], PJx at [e-mail] wrote on 2/11/04 1:24 PM:

[jim]

the gasp in the tile are probably from this: if you buy some tile and put it in the garage or outdoor shed and leave it here its gonna get hot and expand... it you take it in and put it right down the tile job is gonna have spaces between the tiles as the tiles now are contracting and are a bit smaller than when installed in the inside of the house..... the same goes for wall paneling etc.. you bring it indoors and leave it there for a few days so it can adjust to the temp. that it will be after installation........ remedy is to tear it up and then buy some tile and leave it in the room you gonna put it in for a few days and then install it......

[PJx]

You can get an old tile and use it for filler. Steal one from under the washing machine.

Sounds to me like you should consider retiling the whole thing. PJ