Self-stick Asphalt Floor Tile

[Pavel314]

We were shopping for floor tile to re-do our kitchen floor. The style my wife likes is a self-stick tile, the kind that you peel the backing paper off and press it onto the floor. I've always used the plain tiles, the kind that needs the tile adhesive and notched trowel.

Since I generally get adhesive on the top of the tiles, on myself, and on any other near-by surface, the idea of self-stick sounds good to me but I find it hard to believe that it will actually work.

Has anyone had any experience with self-stick floor tile, either good or bad?

Thanks,

Paul

[DS]

We got our kitchen done with them about 5 or 6 years ago on top of our old linoleum or vinyl floor. They looked fantastic for the first few years, but since have started to get a little gunky. Dirt over time tends to accumulate between the tiles, and they also tend to shift a little resulting in the seams not being perfectly square. I'm not talking huge movements, but in some cases enough to jam a sheet of paper between adjecent tiles.. and that means dirt gets there too (thus the 'gunkyness'). Also, if you have any dents or imperfections in the old floor, at first they may not show, but over years the new self-stick tile start to pick up the shapes too. Be sure to buy a box or two of spares because after a few years the designs are often changed or discontinued.

Good luck!

-Dan

[L Beck]

My sister put those down in her laundry area 30 years ago on bare concrete and has had no problems - still has the same floor down. It gets a lot of use, and has even had to replace the appliances a couple of times. No peeling at all. I think it depends on what the surface is that you put these tiles on. If placing over other tile or vinyl, I would suggest making sure there's not residual wax or other substances that might cause the adhesive to slip or not hold really well. The instructions also say to "roll" over the tiles after they are all down to make sure there is a good bond - usually using one of those weighted rollers.

[David Babcock]

I did an entrance way in a house of mine, and it came out so nice I continued the same pattern into the kitchen. My first consideration was the subfloor, so after pulling up the existing floor I put down a 1/4 inch underlayment, used ringshank nails, and they some levelastic to make the sub floor as close to perfect as I could. With these tiles every imperfection will show up over time, so as in most things around the home the better prep you do the better the finished product. Oh and buy some extras in case of damaged tiles over time, and use a roller on the floor to make sure of a complete adhesive contact. It cuts down on tile movement. Establish a middle point in the floor and work towards the walls, keeps the floor looking balanced.

Dave

[Casey Stamper]

"David Babcock" wrote in news:2bhIb.698580$Tr4.1741280@attbi_s03:

Just don't EVER take the advice of the sales person at the HD or Lowes and lay down extra adhesive on the floor before applying the tiles.

[PJx]

We applied them over linoeleum tile about 6 years ago.

I was behind the refrigerator, doing some plumbing work and noticed that the tiles against the wall were completely loose. I don't know why. Maybe because if you don't step on them, they come unstuck.

PJ

[Casey Stamper]

PJx wrote in news: [e-mail]:

My tiles don't want to stick ANYWHERE. They move, they slide, etc. About the only thing they don't do is curl. Oh well, it's a good excuse to put something better down.