8 Steps for Installing PVC Tiles/Slabs

Summary

– Laying PVC tiles: preparing the base

– Preparing to lay PVC tiles

– Calculating the number of PVC tiles

– PVC slab installation diagram

– Laying PVC slabs

– Cutting the slabs around the edges

PVC tiles are generally adhesive. Their back is coated with glue and then protected by a protective film that is removed at the time of installation:

– You do not need carpet glue.

– If your PVC tiles are not adhesive, you can lay them like carpet tiles on double-sided laying.

You can put them on the wall to make a fun and practical decoration, as an underlayment.

You can install the tiles on a staircase with a protective stair nosing; they are more suitable to maintain than the carpeted staircase.

Laying PVC tiles: preparing the base

Apply the baseboards so that they cover the tiles as much as possible.

The finish is better, preventing the PVC tiles from peeling off the sides over time.

The floor must be:

– Smooth: The surface must be flat. If it is not, flatten the surface with a leveling compound, locally or over the entire floor.

– Cleaned: polish the floor with a Saint-Marc detergent and rinse thoroughly. On cement screed, the application of a specific shampoo is recommended.

– Dry: all concrete and cement must be dry; to be sure, perform a moisture test. Allow 30 days drying time for concrete and cement.

– Minimally porous: Apply an adhesion primer to waterproof or overly permeable surfaces.

Preparing to install PVC tiles

Be sure to use tiles with an identical bath number: it allows you to have PVC tiles of the same color, depending on the packages. To do this, look at the packaging.

You should also take the tiles out of the packages and leave them for 24 hours in the room where you want to install them.

This allows the PVC tiles to adjust to the room’s temperature and not to expand after installation.

Allow 10% more tiles to cut around the room’s edges when laying in a checkerboard pattern and 20% more when laying in a diamond pattern.

Calculating the number of PVC tiles

If the room where you are laying your PVC tiles is regular, calculate the surface area in m² by multiplying the room’s length by the width.

If it is irregular, calculate by taking the width and length when the measurements are longest.

If you have closets that use up the room’s surface area, take this into account when you calculate the room’s surface area.

In any case, you should take the measurements, i.e., the length and width, that are longest.

PVC tile installation

Lay the PVC tiles starting with the door.

Be careful; there is a direction of installation. To observe the direction, look at the arrows on the back of the PVC tiles.

If you are doing a classic installation, the arrows will all be in the same direction. If you are doing a checkerboard installation, each tile must have an arrow perpendicular to the nearby tiles.

The first tile is placed along a virtual line in the middle of the door but parallels the wall.

The tiles form a “door to wall” line and then make a perpendicular to make a cross.

– Once you have made your cross, spread the cuts of the tiles along the edges.

– Stagger the cross so that you have equal cuts on each edge (A and B).

– If you have less than half a tile per side, you should place a whole tile on one edge. In this situation, choose the least conspicuous edge to apply the cut tile.

– When your two axes are applied, with the cuts marked, be careful: you must have a right angle at the intersection of the tiles. To check this, take a square.

– Draw the two axes on the ground, you start the installation at the intersection of the two axes.

Laying the PVC tiles

The material

You must have:

– a flat ruler, a cutter with new blades,

– a joint roller, a plastic spatula,

– a grease pencil and a threshold bar.

Installing PVC tiles in 8 steps

PVC Slab

Step 1

– Remove the film from the back of the tile.

– Apply tile 1 at the intersection of the two axes without pressing on it so that you can wiggle it until it is exactly right.

– Take the plastic spatula to make the PVC tile stick.

– Pass it from the center to the outside.

Step 2

– Apply the second tile to the right of the first.

– Press down well with the plastic spatula.

– Take a guide rule if you need it and place it above the first placed tile.

Step 3

– Apply the third tile below the first placed tile.

– Place the straight edge on the vertical of the first slab if needed to align the third slab underneath.

Step 4

Place the fourth tile in the corner formed by the other three tiles.

The fourth tile must fit precisely into the corner.

Step 5

Apply the fifth tile below the third tile, then apply down to meet the door and finish with a full tile.

Be careful each time that the tiles fit exactly together and align.

Step 6

Continue the installation to the wall by the first line.

– If you don’t have a complete tile at the end, you will have to cut again.

– Cut all the tiles when the installation of the floor is finished.

Step 7

Apply the other tiles one after the other, under the fourth and then to the right and back down and up…

Before attacking the other squares in the same way, finish this square at the bottom right.

Step 8

When you have finished laying, roll all the joints to smooth them.

Do not press too hard; make the joints adhere well and as little visible as possible.

Cutting the tiles around the edges

The cutting of the PVC tiles is done when you have finished the installation in the whole room:

– First, replace your board with a new one.

– Apply a slab on the very last slab that is located before the wall. This is the slab to be cut.

– Apply another slab on top of it, along the wall. This will serve as a ruler and will give you the part to cut.

– Draw a line on the slab to be cut, or the slab laid first.

– Carefully cut the tile and install it along the wall, cut side down.

– Finish the installation by putting back the sill bar.

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Read more:

How To Lay Adhesive PVC Tiles;

5 Steps to Glue PVC Tiles.

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