peel and stick tiles

[SteveB]

SWMBO picked out some peel and stick tiles. The sales geek sold us a gallon of floor prep and confidently told us we shouldn't have any problem sticking it to new concrete. There's a little overspray along the baseline from the airless, but the rest of the floor is/will be pretty clean. I'm going to use 4" wide razor scrapers, a broom, and a mop. I'll go around and get all the overspray knocked loose that I can.

I'm hoping for the best, but these tiles look a little cheesy. How has your experience been? Should I rent a roller? Application temps are low right now. Should I wait until it warms up? I have a double head propane heater, so could get the three small rooms it's going into very warm, save for the concrete, and that would take days to warm up completely.

What say ye?

Steve

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Fri 28 Dec 2007 09:25:15p, SteveB told us...

Applying on a cold floor, no matter the temperature of the room, may give you problems. If you do the cleanup and prep adequately, you should have no problem if the concrete is not cold. I would wait.

[jgold723]

We had reasonably good luck with our concrete floor and peel & stick. We prepped with some sort of a latex primer which we rolled on. I think we did ours in the winter and we only had problems with a few pieces on the edges that wouldn't stick.

I think it is critical that the floor be clean and dry though.

John

[Lou]

Steve, make sure the floor is clean as possible and then clean it again. Use a paint roller to lay some liquid latex. It's cheap insurance. Then, what I do that has paid off very well is to flooring glue. Even though it is self stick, the flooring glue makes for an easier job and better results. Use a 1/16" notched trowel to lay the glue and then install the tile. This will help keep the tile from shrinking in the future and leaving those gaps. Also, it helps when laying the tile. If you accidentally put the tile in the wrong place or off a 1/4" it will just slide into place. Make sure you have a wet rag with you. Lou

[Duff]

For peel and stick, you need a clean floor. Finish off with masking tape. By that, I mean you get a 3 inch wide roll and stick it to the floor where the tile will go and then lift it off. If it sticks, then the floor is clean enough for the tile. If it doesn't then keep reapplying fresh masking tape until it does.

But much better is the expensive adhesive paste.

[El Stroko Guapo]

If there is even the tiniest bit of moisture wicking through the concrete, they will curl. I'd avoid them on any slab that lays on the ground.

m

[Max]

On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:26:29 -0500, El Stroko Guapo graced this newsgroup with:

maybe a thin sheet of glued down plywood as a clean, level barrier?

[Robert Allison]

I would either throw them away, or I would put them down with regular tile adhesive. I have never seen them installed where they did not come up over time. And usually a short time at that.

[SteveB]

They are safely back at the Borg. When I heard of how they didn't stick in cold weather, that did it. It's not over about fifty during the day here and in the teens at night. We decided to get the glue down carpet at the Borg. Got it in the office and storage room, and it's good. Only slightly more, too. We live in the middle of sand dunes. I think there would be noticeable wear patterns in traffic routes very quickly.

Steve