If you want to do a weekend makeover, in many cases just a 6-8 hour makeover, and not spend a lot of money, I only spent $30--then this is a great project for you!
After we had moved into our home, I really grew to not like the white linoleum in the laundry room and the second bathroom. I was never a fan of white linoleum, but the more I looked at it the more I wanted to change it. The laundry room is downstairs, and is connected to the hall, where there is a very nice golden toned hard wood floor. So the white linoleum bumping up next to it did not look good. The second bathroom just seemed bland and lonely with the classic shiny white linoleum. But at the time I did not know how simple and cheap it could be to change these!
My mother had just recently put down vinyl tiles in my brother's home in Las Vegas, and that was the first time I had heard about the product. Cheap and easy (well pretty easy.) Just go to Home Depot or Lowes and see what they have. So I did. For about $30 a box, and depending on the price point, that could be 30 tiles, I could do a bathroom or laundry room for $30. Suppose I hate it 5 years down the road? Big deal, it cost me $30! I love price points that are not the least bit stressful, as well as projects that I can do and I don't need a professional. So I was sold!
There are many tiles to choose from, keep in mind there are also vinyl tiles that attach like ceramic tiles, and there are tons of those. I am talking about the stick on tiles, the easiest thing, and I found about a dozen or so to choose from at Home Depot. All about $30 a box for 30.
I would suggest thinking about the style you want and color--ie in the bathroom I went with tiles that look like marble tiles, and have grout lines. For the laundry room I went for a dark color that looks like slate. I love the laundry room tiles! Word to the wise--I definitely found the tiles with the grout lines much more of a challenge. You have to match the grout lines and make sure you don't have grout lines that would be placed oddly if it were real grout, and if you are going around a toilet like I did, that is a certain challenge. The tiles I put in the laundry room were so much easier, because there were no grout lines to deal with.
Determine how much you will need. Easy. Measure the room. Say it is 13 x 13, then you have an area of 169 square feet. The box will tell you how many square feet it covers. If you have any doubt, ask someone who works there (I always do!)
Of course then you choose your tile. Like anything, I think the more neutral or classy the better. But again, at such a tiny price, it is not a big deal if you don't like it later.
Before you begin to stick the tiles, you must have a very clean floor. Cleaner than you would normally do. Vacuum it first and then clean with a good cleanser. Make sure you get up all grime, grease, wax, debris. Let dry really well.
The great thing about these tiles is they can be put right on top of old floors!! Even concrete. Now that I know that, I am thinking what a great way to improve the garage!
Before you stick anything down, lay out the floor. This is important--again I learned this with the grout lines. You will definitely be cutting tiles, so you will want really good utility scissors. The glue on these things is sticky! Remember the Gilligan's Island episode when they made maple syrup, but it was so sticky they made glue out of it instead! Well this is like that, really sticky!! So be prepared to get glue on your hands, no matter how hard you try not to. And while I am the biggest proponent of rubber gloves, this task is very hard to do with gloves on..
Plan on a day, between buying, cleaning and installing and clean up. It might take you less, it most likely won't take you more. You will love the results. I still do! I have never been a fan of linoleum, but that is because I really had no idea what is out there. It is no longer your grandmother's, or even mom's linoleum. Happy flooring!
What you will need:
Linoleum tiles
Tape measure
Pencil
Rolling pin (to roll over tiles as you press down)
Clean rags
Sponge
Solvent cleaner
Utility scissors
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