
Allison Young
- Hometalker
- Canada
Peel N' Stick Luxury Vinyl Tile Floors
We weren’t initially planning on putting down a new floor, since the existing one was in really great shape, however after we updated the rest of the bathroom, the floor really stuck out like a sore thumb!
I measured the floor space and did the math on how much tile I would need. Just multiply the length of the room by the width, and that is your answer. Add on a little extra to allow for cut waste, etc. The tiles I chose are 12″ x 24″, so I had to cut them into 6 tiles measuring 4″ x 12″ each in order to get the look I wanted.
I chose Luxury Vinyl Tile because of its durability and the ease of installation and you can grout it, which I think instantly ups how “expensive” the floor looks. I opted for a nice slate gray, and they came in at $2.29 per square foot. Not the cheapest, but definitely not the priciest, either.
Measure, score, snap; measure, score, snap. I did a half row using my tetanus-laden square to start off. After I was sure I liked the placement/it was relatively straight, I peeled the backing off the tiles and stuck them on, pushing down really hard. After the first few, I just went from there, sometimes using tile spacers and sometimes not, peeling and sticking as I went. As you can see I stuck them directly on top of the old floor because it was in great condition.
Obviously cutting the tiles by hand like this is not going to yield perfectly even, equal tiles which means you’ll have to improvise for some areas and adjust accordingly (or you could just be a lot more careful and precise than I was. Your call
.)

When I came to an edge, I used a template tile cut out of paper then put the paper tile stencil on top of the real tile and used a straight edge to cut it.
Once all the tiles were down, I grouted little areas at a time and then wiped off the excess with a damp sponge.
After I finished grouting, it was time for the unpleasant task of wiping off all the grout haze from the tiles. As you can imagine, because I used a very contrasting color of grout, this was not fun. I used Windex, as recommended by an LVT manufacturer’s website, and even still it did not come off easily.
It was well worth the effort, as the floors turned out better than I hoped. I sealed the grout and even after a year it still looks fresh and white, and I have not had any issues with the tiles shifting or lifting. Those suckers are stuck down hard! You can find the blog post here for more info.
Resources for this project:
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page. More info
Popular Project Book
Join the conversation
2 of 116 comments
- Ask Handyman Bruceon Dec 10, 2018
Nice job! My only concern would be durability, so I'm glad to hear that it's holding up well. Look great!
One tip on removing the haze, is that the ease of the process is tied directly timing. You want to allow it to haze over after the 3rd sponging and then buff it off. Don't let it set too long. Just after it dries.
- Victoria Zepedaon Jan 3, 2019
Thank you for your input I think I will try and do this, hopefully I can get it as good as others I have seen, again Thank you
Have a question about this project?
Did you have to remove the toilet & the old ding?D
In one of the pics you can see that the toilet was removed for the install. I will assume it makes it look more seamless when the new tile extends under the toilet.
Did the old linoleum pattern ghost through? Because it is not smooth.
can you put tile squares on a floor that has linoleum? cause I am having a hard time removing the linoleum.
Yes as long as the linoleum has been glued down.