Flooring question

[texasprairierose]

After many months of research, I think I have finally found the flooring that I want to use in the rooms that currently have wood laminate...but I have a couple of questions.

The flooring that I think I am going to go with is a luxury vinyl tile that is made by Cryntel and sold at Lowe's; it comes in two sizes, 12"x12" and 18"x18" and has a limited lifetime residential warranty. It can be laid like regular peel and stick tile or it can be grouted with a special acrylic grout.

Is anyone familiar with this tile? Has anyone grouted a vinyl tile in their mobile home? Do you think the acrylic grout will crack like regular grout being on a pier and beam foundation? I have done some research on acrylic grout and it is supposed to be flexible, I'm just not sure how flexible.

Also, I need help deciding what size tile to use in my laundry room and 2nd bathroom. My laundry room is 10' x 6' so I think that the 18" x 18" tile will look fine; but the area in the 2nd bathroom that will be tiled is only 7' x 5' (can't tile under the bathtub). The bathroom is wide enough to lay 2 1/2 of the 18" x 18" tiles. Would it look better to go with the smaller tile? Or will the smaller tile make the room look smaller and busier? I can't remember the rule of thumb that I have heard in regards to the size of tile verses the size of the room.

Thanks

[Yanita]

Hi Texas,

I am not at all familiar with you the product you mention. So can not say one way or the other. Do you have a link to this product that we could review.

Personally I am not big on being the first to try a new product.

In my opinion as well as many others here peel and stick products are not recommended for wet areas..kitchen and baths. We recommend full sheet vinyl in these areas.

Please keep us posted on this, always neat to learn about new products.

Yanita

[Trudi]

Texas, I searched the Lowe's site, and they all said peel and stick installation. I didn't see any that mentioned acrylic grout. Sounds interesting though; be sure to post if you find more info about it.

[texasprairierose]

Yanita and Trudi,

I called Cryntel and asked them about the acrylic grout and they said that it is flexible and would work well on a pier and beam foundation.

Trudi, I can't find anything on Lowe's website about the grout either...I couldn't even find the 18" x 18" Cryntel tile on Lowe's website, but one of the Lowe's we have in town had a display of it that showed it grouted and not grouted.

I really think that I am going to go with it. I have put the two pieces I bought through the wringer...I have been toting them from room to room trying different things with them. I have walked on then with wet feet, I have dripped water and coffee on them, I have sprayed hairspray on them and they don't show anything.

We will probably be putting it down in our laundry room within the next couple of weeks so I will post a picture once we do that.

Thanks

[DavidW]

Two years ago I started redoing this mobile home (14 x 70).

I selected the Cryntel EuroStone in Sand Stone color from Lowes.

I didn't do any grouting.

The peel-off vinyl tile is the way to go on a low budget. I was getting quotes of $800 - $1,000 just for labor to do the kitchen/dining area, the bathroom and the hall. I did the whole job for about $225.

Two years later, the tile still looks new. No wear showing up yet.

Here is the technique I used:

1. The original vinyl flooring was not in bad shape, just looked cheapy. It was glued down all over. That's why the labor from the flooring company quotes was so high. They wanted to pull it up. I left it down, since it wasn't worn out.

2. I thoroughly cleaned the old vinyl and rinsed several times.

3. On my computer, I layed out each area to be tiled using exact dimensions. Then I layed the tile on the computer, starting from the center of each room and working my way to the walls. I knew where the starting points. I printed out the drawings and went to work.

4. Just before I got ready to put down a row of tile, I cleaned the old vinyl one more time using isoprophol alcohol and then drying it.

5. Each tile was squared up and put down and pressed into place.
The Cryntel adhesive seems to stick better than other tiles I experimented with. After two years, no problem with tiles coming up at all.

It took me several days in my spare time, but the effort was worth it. The EuroStone is a very nice semi-gloss tile. I'd pick the same again.

I had some tiles left over. So I unscrewed the sink in the bathroom, made a template of the counter top, cut the tiles to fit around the odd shaped sink and bingo: EuroStone counter top in the bathroom.

I have to admit, it adds a lot of class to the room, along with the new tile on the floor.

I got carried away then.

I had a new heavy duty shower installed (threw out the old tub and kit). It was a little shorter height-wise than the tub kit. So I installed a border of cut-down EuroStone peel off tile all around the entire new shower. Then I trimmed it off with water-proof plastic moulding in medium oak all around the edges of the tile border.

I finished it off with clear silicone sealer along all the tile seams (did the same on the counter top) and al around the new shower.

New shower curtains and rods and the bathroom never looked better.

[Yanita]

Hi,

Well peel and stick tiles have come a long ways...but, we generally advise that full sheet vinyl is the way to go in bathrooms and kitchens. Typically if you have a plumbing leak these are the areas effected. With tiles you have 4 seams for water to seep under, opposed to full sheet vinyl.

The choice is yours, just letting you know.

Yanita

[DavidW]

Hi,

I still have the original cheapy full sheet vinyl under the tiles. So far the tiles are doing very well.

I see your point, though.

If I had put the tiles down on the bare plywood, I would have had to do extra preparation.

The tile looks good. Way better than the original vinyl.

If I have trouble in the future, I'll post it.

Thanks for the feed-back.

[texasprairierose]

David,

Thanks for letting me know that you have used the vinyl tile from Cryntel and have not had any problems with it.

We are going to take up the laminate that is down now and put the vinyl tiles directly on the one piece vinyl that was laid at the factory, so that should eliminate any problems with leaks; I hadn't thought about that until you mentioned it.

Did you seal the tiles on your countertop with anything? I am asking because we have a garden tub that has ceramic tile around the ledge and the step. We are getting ready to replace all of the ceramic tile countertops in our house with Wilsonart HD laminate but were in a quandary as to what to do with the step and ledge...but you may have solved that issue also!

Do you have any pictures that you could post?

Thanks,

Diane

[DavidW]

Hi Diane,

I sealed the tiles on the counter top with the best clear silicone sealer/adhesive I could find.

I put down a very small bead along each seam, then worked it flush with the tile using my fingers. I let it dry and cure 48 hours before using the top.

So far, no problems with that.

I supoose there are clear epoxy type sealers that would harden, and work just as well.

(I found a clear gas tank sealer in a tube at the local parts store. I've been using it as a sealer and adhesive for various jobs and I like the way it sticks and hardens and it's very clear.)

I have a couple of photos posted in my gallery/profile of the job I did around the new shower. I'll post a photo of the sink counter top asap.

I'm planning on doing the sides of the vanity in the bathroom with the same tile to match the counter top. I'll post photos when that is done.

[texasprairierose]

David,

Thanks for the info. How interesting...the tiles around the shower...I had a hard time visualizing what you were talking about until I saw the pictures!

Looking forward to seeing the pictures of the countertop.

Diane

[DavidW]

Diana,

I posted a photo of the counter top in the "My Gallery".

Back to the flooring, the original vinyl in my m.h. was pretty smooth and featureless. That made it easy to make sure the Cryntel adhesive had maximum surface to bond to.

If the old vinyl has a pattern that includes grooves or deep texture, additional adhesive or preparation may be necessary.

Consult an experienced floor installer.

What I'm posting is just what I did.

[texasprairierose]

David,

Thanks for the picture! It looks like stone!

Diane

[Yanita]

Hi

Thanks for the pics David, everything looks good. Having the original sheet vinyl under your tiles is the only way that I would install any peel and stick. I am not familiar with the brand that you are using but I have used the Novalis from Lowe's and was great!

I do need to say a few more things though. LOL, Being a Moderator I need to make sure that the pros and cons of some applications are presented.

As I said your bathroom looks nice and I certainly like the looks of that tile. BUT, I need to caution any of the ladies choosing this application as a counter surface. I know you said yours a re sealed, and about anything that is sealed will need to be redone over time. Also ladies if you use curling irons or other hot hair curling devices be sure that you have protection on the counters.

Did I read someone was thinking of this in the kitchen as well...if not fine, if yes then again, be sure to have protection from hot pans, and plenty of cutting boards available.

One more thing. As David said if your orginal sheet vinyl has texture in it, instead of using extra adhesive you should use a quick drying floor leveling compound to smooth it out. Adding extra adhesive will simply ooze out from under and eventually the texture from below will bleed through into the new tile.

JMO,

Yanita

[texasprairierose]

Yanita,

Thank you for the tips! I will keep them in mind when we start our project.

Diane

[DavidW]

Yanita,

Thanks again for the feedback and the perspective. No curling irons or blow driers in this m.h., LOL.

I'll scrounge up a blow drier and put a scrap piece of the tile to a test.

The tile may not do well with hair coloring, dyes, chemicals, etc.