Self Stick Vinyl Tiles Installation & Maintenance Guide
The following information and instructions are a guide only. ScatterMats takes no responsibility regarding this guide.
Section 1: How Many Cartons Do You Need?
To determine how many cartons you may need to purchase, make a plan of your room on some graph paper and mark down the measurements of any and all walls, permanent fixtures, and entrances. Using these measurements, determine the amount of square metres you will need to cover and add 1 tile spare for every 2 square metres of floor space.
The number of tiles required to cover small areas is shown below:
For each tile of approximate size 30.5cm x 30.5cm (12in x 12in)
A carton contains 45 tiles covering approximately 4.2 square metres.
- 1.0m² = 11 tiles
- 2.0m² = 23 tiles
- 3.0m² = 34 tiles
- 4.2m² = 45 tiles
For each tile of approximate size 45.7cm x 45.7cm (18in x 18in)
A carton contains 16 tiles covering approximately 3.2 square metres.
- 1.04m² = 5 tiles
- 2.08m² = 10 tiles
- 3.13m² = 15 tiles
- 4.17m² = 20 tiles
Tools Necessary for Installation
- Tape measure, pencil and chalk line, straight edge, sharp utility knife
- Paper for making patterns
- Broom and vacuum cleaner
- Universal water-based sealing agent
- Vinyl flooring roller or heavy wooden rolling pin
Before You Start Your Installation
- Keep the tiles at 21°C for a period of 48 hours prior to, during, and for 48 hours after installation.
- For best results, remove the tiles from the carton and separate into small piles of 10–15 to ensure correct acclimatisation and subsequent proper adhesive.
- Inspect the tiles from each carton for any dye variations.
- Your finished floor can only be as smooth as the subfloor, so it must be rigid, smooth, level, dry, and free of any dust, holes, or cracks.
- After all preparatory work has been completed, it is essential to sweep and then vacuum the subfloor to ensure all dust and particles have been removed.
- All surfaces including concrete, cement levelling compounds, hardboard underlay, plywood underlay, and fibre cement underlay are to be primed using a dilute solution of a universal water-based sealing agent.
- Do not install the tiles in rooms with underfloor heating or on asphalt surfaces.
Section 2: For Installation Over Concrete
- It is essential that ground level concrete floors incorporate a damp-proof membrane.
- All concrete floors must have been dry for 3 months and be free of moisture, alkalinity, paint, plaster, grease, oil, or crayon markings.
- Holes, cracks, and hollows should be filled with non-shrinking levelling compound.
- Bumps should be levelled with a grinding stone.
For Installation Over Ceramic Tiles
- Fix any loose tiles and replace missing tiles.
- Sweep and clean the floor to remove any paint, plaster, grease, or oil.
- Fill in the grout lines and level the surface of textured or undulating tiles. Seek advice on a suitable ceramic tile surface primer, then apply a non-shrinking levelling compound.
For Installation Over Floor Boards and Chip/Particle-Board
- Re-nail, replace, or sand timber floor boards as required.
- The rigid and level timber floor boards or chip/particle-board should be overlaid with a flooring grade underlay of plywood, hardboard, or fibre cement sheet (smooth side up). Seek advice and direction on their installation separately. Alternatively, seek advice on covering timber floor boards with a non-shrinking levelling compound.
For Installation Over Existing Resilient Flooring
- Existing floors such as PVC vinyl tiles, vinyl composition tiles, non-cushioned sheet vinyl, and linoleum are acceptable subfloors, provided the top surface of the material is smooth.
- The existing material must be completely bonded to a rigid and structurally sound subfloor. It is necessary to thoroughly strip and clean the existing subfloor of all wax, polishes, paint, grease, or other foreign material prior to installation of tiles.
- Tiles installed over an existing tiled floor must be installed so that seams do not fall over existing seams.
Section 3: Plan the Layout
- Best results are obtained by installing the tile from the centre of the room and progressing out to the perimeter along two marked guide lines at right angles to each other, completing a segment of the room at a time.
- Determine the centre of the room. The first marked guide line determines the major room feature the tiles are to be aligned with, be it parallel to that feature or at a defined angle to it (e.g. the longest wall, an island bench). From the centre of the room, mark a second guide line at right angles to the first. (A right angle can be determined by creating a triangle measuring 3 units base, 4 units length, and 5 units diagonal.)
- To establish the best-balanced width of tiles to be laid up to each opposing wall, lay a row of tiles along the guide lines starting from the room's marked centre and progress outwards. (Do not remove the release paper backing at this stage.)
- It is preferable to have cut tiles of more or less the same size all around the perimeter, trying to avoid awkward corners or narrow slivers. If required, reposition and mark a new centre and "best fit" guide lines to use for the installation.
- Placing a hand cut edge against a factory cut edge will not look realistic or natural. Therefore, when making a cut, place the hand cut edge along a wall. The cut edge perimeter of the room can be covered later with a skirting board or quarter-round timber trim.
Section 4: Installation – Laying the Tile
- The tiles should be installed in a pyramid style fashion.
- To start, peel off the release paper backing from the tile and carefully position it in the first segment's "room centre" corner of the "best fit" guide lines. Ensure that it is correctly positioned along each of the guide lines and then apply firm pressure all over the tile surface to achieve complete contact.
Note: Tiles should be butted together closely, but not forced together.