Anyone for vinyl?

October 16, 2017 3:10 PM

I have to redo a bathroom floor and thinking roll vinyl is the way to go?

I have a very small bathroom, 4'6" x 8'6" that I want to redo only for the purpose of making it neat and presentable and ready for selling my house. In other words I would like to keep the cost to a minimum.

Currently it has tile, all solid and good except an area around the floor grate that must have been badly put in at one point and there are a few missing tiles around the grate that have been filled in with cement.

I just want something clean and presentable as I intend to put the house ion the market in less than a year.

It seems vinyl flooring is a decent choice, but I am totally open to other ideas. One of the issues I am facing right off is that the DIY videos tend to suggest I can lay vinyl right over the tile, but when I spoke to a flooring place they said no way, the grooves of the tile will show through? The grout is very fine, like 1/8", so it is hard to imagine it would show thorough, but as with all my my renovations I would like to do it right and I have been surprised MANY times before, all pretty well documented here at AskMeFi (once again that for all the support)

I dont mind pulling up the tile if necessary, but also know that there may be a can of worms in that process as well.

Would love some feedback on what to do next?

posted by silsurf to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Use a self-levelling compound to fill the grout grooves and any other irregularities before laying sheet vinyl. I think that's the cheapest option.

Another option is to level the floor and lay self-adhesive vinyl floor tiles. I find them easier to lay than a sheet as it's simpler to cut the individual tiles to fit around the bath / basin / toilet pedestal, than it is to deal with a large sheet of material.
posted by doornoise at 3:16 PM on October 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

Can you find similar ceramic tiles? Chisel out the cement and replace the tiles.

Is the tile floor fairly nice? A tile floor will be worth much more than vinyl, especially in a bathroom.
posted by H21 at 3:25 PM on October 16, 2017 [8 favorites]

I have a very small bathroom like yours and used roll vinyl. It's ok, but over the last few years it has shown wear, and someone spilled something that dyed a spot blue around the toilet.

I wish I had done tile. If you have just a small area to re-do the tile around a floor grate, I would do that with maybe a frame around the grate in a complimentary color to the main tile.

I plan to do a penny floor in my bathroom when I have time but that's not something I would undertake if I was selling it soon.
posted by IpsoFacto at 3:29 PM on October 16, 2017

We inherited a rather gorgeous vinyl-floored bathroom from the people who formerly owned our home. It's a deep blue with small multicolored chips embedded throughout. It's very functional, easy to clean, and the colors really pop. The only downside are places where small cuts that began as invisible blemishes (i.e. the abrasions left behind when something sharp-edged and heavy is dragged) have opened up over time, as surfaces repeatedly exposed to water are wont to do. When those spots become unmanageable, we'll replace the vinyl with tile.

I would not use vinyl directly over existing tile. Even if you level it out, there's no leveling material I can think of that won't gradually separate from glazed tile when combined with time, water, and use. I agree with the suggestion above to simply cut out the cement and damaged tiles and find reasonably matching tile to fill in the gap. Most bathroom tiles are pretty hard-working standard shapes and colors that are meant to be matched and replaced over time.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 4:24 PM on October 16, 2017

Response by poster: Existing floor is in decent shape, but we hate the color and have already changed the wall color to something more pleasing, so it would be best to get a new floor in.

Sounds like I should pull up the tile?

My hesitation on the vinyl tiles was that they would separate or have other issue on the seems over time given that it is a bathroom and water is inevitable? That is what drew me to sheet vinyl?

I think I will have a pro do the vinyl as even after watching some videos I dont think I will get perfect cuts where there are more than right angles?
posted by silsurf at 4:40 PM on October 16, 2017

There's sheet material made specifically for this to lay down over uneven subfloor surfaces.
posted by humboldt32 at 5:19 PM on October 16, 2017

I just had two bathroom floors redone. I selected a relatively new product line called Core tec Plus.
It comes in approximately 18" x 24" and is interlocking. There are so many patterns, colors, etc to chose from. I selected a "marble" look for the bathrooms. Also it has a cork under layer that totally makes no sound when walking on it. I am super happy with the product. It is more expensive than sheet tile or peel and stick 12" squares. It can be installed over any level floor. If the grout is in bad shape they can apply a product over the caulking to level it. I am not sure the regular homeowner can do it him/her self. I had a pro do it and am glad I did as one bathroom was out of square and they knew how to work around it.
posted by JayRwv at 5:21 PM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

We used vinyl planks with a faux wood look in both our bathroom (6 x 8) and laundry room (10x10). Been down for 5 years and no problems. Looks like wood with textured grain and everything. Floors get wet and also washed and no lifting or curling. Can't remember the manufacturer but I think they were German. PS cost for both rooms was about $600 installed.
posted by Zedcaster at 10:34 PM on October 16, 2017

I've put down some vinyl roll in bathroom and kitchen before that was somewhat squishy (padded) and around 1/4" thick. Uses the same glue as normal vinyl roll. We put it over the tiles and because it is squishy you can't see the outline of the grout lines or anything underneath. I went back to that location after about a year and it still looks just as good as the day i put it in. I didn't buy the product myself though so not sure what the brand name was.
posted by some loser at 6:41 AM on October 17, 2017

I just ordered a luxury vinyl plank floor from Home Depot to replace both carpet and roll vinyl in my home. It is cushioned and once installed, guaranteed 100% waterproof. It has a lifetime residential guarantee. I'll be putting it down over roll vinyl. If I had tile down instead, I would remove the tile first, mostly because leaving it would mean I'd need to cut down each door it passes under.
posted by summerstorm at 9:30 AM on October 17, 2017