So, you’re redoing a room and need affordable flooring to complete the job. Or perhaps you have to replace the floor, as I did when a leaking toilet ruined the carpet in my home’s half-bath.
In either case, vinyl tile flooring is a popular option. It’s affordable and easy to install — a good choice if you plan to do it yourself. In this article, we’ll show you how to install vinyl tile flooring, and I’ll talk about my experiences doing so.
| Project difficulty: Beginner / Intermediate Estimated time to complete: 3 to 4 days (including the preparation, installation, and drying time.) Project cost: To install vinyl tile flooring yourself in a 40-square-foot bathroom costs around $150 to $300. *Note: You might need the help of a plumber to remove a toilet or other fixtures. |
Types of Vinyl Tile Flooring
Tiles fall into two categories: Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) or standard vinyl tile. LVT, due to its multi-layer construction, is considered more durable than standard tile. It offers a wide array of styles and installation options.
Standard tile is a popular DIY choice, and also offers an array of styles and quality options. Overall, it is less expensive, making it a good choice if you have a tight budget. In fact, I installed standard tile in my previous homes; it was easy to work with and stood up quite well.
Once you make that decision, your next choice is the type of tile:
- Click vinyl tiles: These LVT tiles have interlocking edges that click into place. Use them in high-traffic areas, like kitchens, living rooms, and entryways. They’re very DIY-friendly, easy to clean, and are moisture-resistant.
- Self-adhesive vinyl tiles: Also known as “peel and stick” tiles, these can be LVT or standard. Self-adhesive tiles are also very DIY-friendly (I installed them in a kitchen and a half-bath) and work in any room. Be careful about installing in sunny rooms: Prolonged direct sunlight can weaken the adhesive.
- Glue-down vinyl tiles: These tiles can be either LVT or standard, and are good for rooms exposed to high traffic and moisture, like kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. Installation is more difficult, but produces a stable floor that won’t shift or buckle.
- Groutable tile: This is a type of LVT that resembles ceramic or stone tile and is designed with a beveled edge that allows for a grout line. Many styles allow for installation with or without grout.
See Related: How Much Does Vinyl Flooring Installation Cost in 2025?
Supplies You’ll Need to Install Vinyl Tile Flooring
Once you’ve decided on the type of vinyl floor to install, it’s time to gather the tools and supplies you’ll need.
- Utility knife
- Carpenter’s square
- Tape measure
- Chalk line kit
- Straight edge
- Kneepads (or a cushion)
- Undercut saw
- Pry bar or putty knife
- Claw hammer
- Grout float (optional)
How much vinyl tile to buy: To stay on budget (and prevent extra store runs) measure the room to determine how many square feet of tile you’ll need. For a kitchen, add the space under any appliances that aren’t built-ins. In the bathroom, add the area under the toilet.
Then, multiply your square footage by 10% and add it to the total. You’ll have extra tiles in case of mistakes now or repairs later. To ensure consistency in color and appearance, ensure that all your tiles are from the same manufacturing batch.
How to Prepare Your Floor for Vinyl Tile Installation
The good news is that vinyl tile can be installed over any surface. But proper preparation is crucial, or else you’ll end up with a less-than-stellar result. Expect the preparation process to take a couple of days, which includes drying time and acclimation for some materials.
Let the Tiles Acclimate
Vinyl expands and contracts to match the environment. To prevent buckling and gapping later, move the tiles into the room you’re working on and let them sit for at least 24 hours.
Clear the Room
Pull everything you can move: Furniture, storage bins, and floor registers need to go. In the kitchen, remove the stove and refrigerator if they aren’t built-ins. In the bathroom, remove the toilet. (Plug the hole in the floor to keep sewer gas out.)
Note: Removing appliances or plumbing may not be in your skill set, so don’t hesitate to ask for help. With my half-bath, I made a deal with the plumber: He pulled the toilet and capped the hole. When I finished the tile job, he returned to install the toilet and a new wax ring.
Remove the baseboards: If the baseboards have shoe molding or quarter-round, start there. Use a utility knife to cut any caulk along the top and a small claw hammer to pull any nails. Insert a putty knife and pull gently. Repeat the process with the baseboards.
Note: I’ve broken a piece or two of quarter round during DIY. If you do the same, don’t fret: They’re inexpensive, can be found in various lengths, and many come painted.
Don’t forget the transition strips: These are the metal, wood, or vinyl strips that bridge the floor area between rooms. Personally, I prefer metal strips, but they all work. They may be nailed or screwed, making for fairly easy removal; glued strips will need more effort.
Pull the carpet and pad (if needed): The carpet you’re pulling may be attached to carpeting in the next room. To ensure a clean transition, cut the carpet you’re removing about 3 inches from where you want it to end.
Make Sure the Surface is Clean and Smooth
Vacuum the area: This is very important if you’re installing directly on a subfloor. Use a vacuum to pick up any lingering dust and dirt. Be sure to get in the crevices.
Then clean: Adhesives stick better to a clean floor, so go over the surface with a cleaner that doesn’t leave residue. (Plain water works, too). Let it dry for at least 24 hours. Don’t mop a subfloor, but should it be wet from a leak or overflow, let it dry for at least 24 hours.
Make things smooth and level: On subfloors, remove screws, staples, or nails that can poke or imprint through the new vinyl. With tile, be sure the grout lines or seams are flush with the surface. A floor-leveling product can even these out.
If you’re installing tile over a vinyl sheet floor with gouges or scratches, there are kits for making minor repairs. For tears and holes, you may have to patch the vinyl before you proceed.
If you can’t get a level surface, you’ll need an underlayment. Foam or plywood (either vinyl grade or exterior grade) are the usual choices. If you use plywood, leave it in the room for 24 hours to acclimate to the environment.
Have questions about a specific surface? Check our FAQ for more information.
How to Lay Vinyl Tile
Finally, it’s time for the main event. Installation is the quickest part of the process; expect to need half to a full day to lay peel-and-stick or click tiles, depending on the room size. Glue-down tiles may take a full day or two. So, let’s start:
Put Down Underlayment if Needed
Here’s how to put down underlayments:
For plywood: If you’re using plywood underlayment over a wood subfloor, cover the floor with vinyl-grade plywood, then secure with underlayment nails. Seal the seams with a light layer of leveling compound. Let dry for 30 minutes, then sand. Vacuum again before you lay the tile.
For foam: Do this in sections. Roll foam from one wall to the other, with the vapor barrier up. Roll the next section next to it and butt the seams tightly (don’t overlap). Seal with duct or seam tape. Cut around obstacles, and leave a small gap around the perimeter.
Find the Center of the Room
This is where the chalk line kit comes in. To start:
- Measure to find the center of two opposite walls, then snap a chalk line across the length of that floor in the center spot. You should have the room divided in half.
- Snap another chalk line perpendicular to the first so they cross. The area where they intersect is the center of the room.
Caution! It is very tempting to bypass the above step. I can tell you from experience that it’s a bad idea:
I was in a hurry to install self-adhesive tiles in the kitchen of my first house. (In my defense, I was pulling an all-nighter.) So, I began laying tiles against one wall and worked my way down. Bad move: Walls aren’t necessarily straight.
At the end of the installation, I stood up to admire my new floor. It was slanted, with a definite tilt to the southeast. I didn’t have the time or money to tear up tiles and start again, so I was stuck.
In the end, it wasn’t a disaster. The new tile was dark, and when the appliances and kitchen table were placed, the slant wasn’t glaringly obvious. But I learned my lesson and made sure to measure when it was time to tile the half-bath.
Do a Dry Run
This works really well in a smaller area like a half-bath, but it can work in a larger area, too.
Start at the center of the room, and start laying down tiles (don’t apply adhesive or pull the backing off self-adhesive tile).
Why bother? This process will give you an idea of how the finished floor will look and where you’ll have to trim tiles to fit. If you’re installing vinyl tile over another floor, the dry run will determine if, or how much, you’ll need to cut the door jambs to allow tile to slide under.
(It’s also possible you won’t need to cut the door jambs. In my half-bath, the previous owners had put carpet down over a sheet vinyl floor. They’d already cut the jamb to allow for the carpet, giving me enough clearance to slide in the new tiles.)
The dry run is also a good time to measure the cuts needed for floor registers and vents, or around pipes. By the way, if you’re tiling a bathroom, tiles go under the toilet, not around it.
Put Down the Tile
Before you start: Vinyl expands and contracts with the environment, so to prevent buckling, all types of vinyl need an expansion gap around the perimeter of the room. Experts suggest around 1/4 inch, which should allow it to be covered by the baseboard.
For self-adhesive tiles, remove the backing paper and place one tile on the intersection of the chalk lines. Then, working in one quadrant at a time, install the tiles out toward the walls, using the chalk lines as a guide.
Note: I found that the backing paper was a bit slick. Keep a trash can nearby, so you can keep the paper out of your workspace and avoid mishaps.
For glue-down tiles, depending on the product, either roll adhesive on the surface, or put it on with a trowel. (Check the manufacturer’s directions for the depth needed.) For a pressure-sensitive adhesive, wait 30 minutes to let the surface become tacky, then place the tiles.
For click tiles: These tiles, well, are different. They click together, and they aren’t square. (They look like rectangles). So their installation doesn’t follow normal lines, either.
To mark the first row, snap the chalk line along the room’s longest wall. (Note that you’re not marking the center of the room.) Lay tiles along that chalk line. Place the first tile’s short side near the wall, then click the second tile’s short side into the wider side.
For the next row, place the long joints together, lifting slightly, then push down until they lock. To close gaps, gently tap with a rubber mallet.
Fill in the Blanks
You’ll likely find that you can’t lay an entire line of whole tiles — you’ll need a half or quarter piece to fill it out. To cut, measure, then mark the width on a tile. Score, then snap off the piece and install as usual.
How to Finish a Vinyl Tile Floor
At this point, you’re in the home stretch. Here’s how to finish the job.
Grouting: If you’re using groutable tile, only use a pre-mixed grout made for luxury vinyl tile. (Don’t use homemade grout or grout made for ceramic tiles.)
To seal, or not to seal: Generally, all vinyl tiles have a protective coating and don’t need sealer. Some folks will use a seam sealer (usually water-based) in areas that require extra water resistance. Check with your flooring manufacturer for guidance on sealing.
Clean the area: Use a damp cloth to wipe the floor. That will remove any stray adhesive or grout residue. You may have to wipe grouted tile down an extra time to pick up all the residue.
Replace the trim: Put the baseboards back, along with molding or quarter-rounds, and install the transition strips. (You can reuse them if they aren’t damaged.) I didn’t have a transition strip for the half-bath, so I bought one, carefully measured, then cut it to size and nailed it down.
Finally, let everything rest: Generally, you can walk on self-adhesive tiles immediately. But it’s best to let the self-adhesive tiles rest for a few hours so the adhesive sets. For glued tiles, wait at least 24 hours to let the adhesive set.
FAQ
How Do I Maintain my Vinyl Tile Floor?
Flooring makers suggest a daily sweep with a soft broom, then a damp mop once a week with water, a vinegar-water solution, or a vinyl cleaner.
Avoid using a steam mop. Tarkett and Armstrong, two major flooring manufacturers, discourage the use of a steam mop on vinyl tile, as the heat and moisture could warp the tiles or loosen the adhesive.
How Do You Install Vinyl Tile Over Ceramic Tile?
If you’re installing vinyl tile over ceramic tile, make sure that the ceramic surface is smooth — no cracks and all grout lines are flush with the tile. If not, it may be best to install a foam underlayment over it.
Opt for a luxury vinyl tile, preferably click vinyl tiles that can float above the underlayment. And remember that the new floor will be higher, so you’ll have to cut baseboards and doors to allow for that.
How Do You Install Vinyl Tile Over Concrete?
If your concrete floor is clean, dry, and level, you can install any type of vinyl tile on it. Use flooring levelers to cover any imperfections and apply a coat of water-based concrete primer.
However, concrete can retain moisture. If that’s possible, put down a vapor barrier and an underlayment — exterior-grade plywood is considered a good choice. You can let the plywood float, or you can attach it to the floor using concrete screws.
Seal the seams with a leveling compound and let dry for 30 minutes, then sand and vacuum before you lay the tile.
Give Your Flooring a New Look
If you’re on the fence about installing vinyl tile flooring in your home, I hope this article has given you the inspiration and the confidence to tackle the job. Plus, I hope it’s also taught you what NOT to do when installing a floor.
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Main Image Credit: Michael O’Keene / Adobe Stock Free / License
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