PVC floor tiles: types, pros, cons, installation

Choosing a floor covering is a difficult task. It must be reliable, wear-resistant, beautiful, non-slip, durable. It is also desirable that it is easy to fit. All these conditions are met by PVC floor tiles. 

What is PVC (vinyl) floor tiles

Not so long ago, another type of PVC coating appeared on the market – vinyl tile. It is somewhat similar to good linoleum (hence another name – linoleum), but the production technology is different, as is the form of release. This material is cut into rectangles or squares, it can be with or without an adhesive base. It has more than one name – LVT tile (LVT) – an abbreviation of the English name Luxury Vinyl Tile. Design or art tiles – this is also understandable – author’s floor coverings are created from squares or rectangles.

The release form turned out to be so convenient that it quickly conquers the market. It is easier to fit, more economical. Not in terms of price – it is just high (at the level of commercial class linoleum), but in the sense that there is a minimum of scraps – much less than when using linoleum. This, and excellent performance, is the secret of its growing popularity.

PVC floor tiles consist of vinyl and resin, to which stabilizers, plasticizers, and sometimes fillers are added (to give specific properties or a special appearance). The heated mixture is pressed. The resulting material has a high density, but remains flexible and ductile.

PVC tile consists of several layers:

• Two base layers.
• Film with a pattern.
• Protective layer of transparent PVC.
• Wear-resistant polyurethane layer.
  

According to the composition, there are two types of linoleum tiles: vinyl and quartz vinyl (vinyl quartz). The second option is more expensive, but also more dense, with increased wear resistance.

Types and varieties

According to the installation method, there is a PVC floor tile on a self-adhesive basis, there is a regular one (glue is required for installation of the second type). Finishing material for this type of floor is glued end-to-end on a flat, clean base. With this method of installation, the floor covering forms a monolith with the base.

There are tiles with locks – mechanical and adhesive. The elements are interconnected using these locks, and the coating itself is obtained unrelated to the base. This option is called a “floating” floor.

Like linoleum, PVC floor tiles are classified according to the degree of load:

• Class 23-31 is suitable for rooms with a small number of visitors. It can also be called domestic. Linoleum tiles of this class are the cheapest, have a thickness of up to 2 mm and a not very thick protective layer. On such a coating, furniture on wheels cannot be used.
  

• Class 32-42 PVC floor tiles are designed for rooms with intensive use. Its thickness is from 2 mm to 2,5 mm, the thickness of the protective layer is sufficient to withstand any furniture, including those on wheels. This class is optimal for apartments and private houses, and the thickness of the protective layer should be from 0,3 mm (more is better, but also more expensive).
• Grade 43 is a super abrasion resistant coating that can even withstand traffic. Scope – workshops and industrial premises.

In any of the classes, the choice of color and texture is very wide. There is an imitation of natural materials – wood, various types of stone, etc., there are plain ones, with and without decorative additives. Most often there is a rectangular shape, and with different side lengths, there are squares. Rectangles are most often made “under the tree”, imitate parquet or wooden floor, but squares are more often plain. They collect interesting panels.

When choosing at the same time as the class, you need to look at the thickness of the protective coating. The thicker it is, the more durable the coating will be. The optimal choice for houses and apartments is the thickness of the tile is 3 mm, the thickness of the protective layer is 0,3 mm.

Advantages and disadvantages

We have collected the main properties of vinyl floor tiles from the reviews of the owners (and hostesses) of such a floor covering. She has many advantages:

• Easy installation. PVC floor tiles of any type are easy to install, even those that are glued. During laying, there is no need to remove all the furniture from the room, as when laying linoleum. You can move one half, then transfer everything to the already laid one.
• High coating strength. Out of 10 reviews, only one said that small cracks appeared on the surface (when the refrigerator was brought in and in the place where the dining table stands).
• Tightness and ease of care. Do not be afraid that water has spilled – with proper installation, the floor covering is airtight. You can wash by any means. The only thing that was noted was that relief tiles (which imitate not only the pattern of wood, but also its texture) should be washed along the relief. Otherwise, dust will get into the grooves. But at the same time, it was noted that caring for PVC floor tiles is much easier than for laminate and linoleum (dust “sticks” less).
  

• Nice to walk. Vinyl floor tiles are non-slip even when wet. Even in the cold season, it feels like “warm”. She was laid in a bath instead of ceramic tiles. The foundation was the same, but the sensations are much nicer.
• She is “quiet”. PVC floor tiles are laid without a substrate – directly on the base, but at the same time it has good soundproofing properties. It is not booming, it is cozy in a room with such flooring, and the neighbors below do not complain.
• When falling sharp and heavy objects, no traces remain (quartz vinyl tile).

By and large, almost everyone unanimously declares that PVC floor tiles are the best they have had so far. Moreover, “before” there were laminate, linoleum, ceramic tiles, someone even had parquet. Disadvantages were also collected from reviews. There weren’t many of them:

• The coating is new, so it is not clear how it will behave in the long term. The oldest review is 5 years old.
• Quartz vinyl tiles with a good protective coating cost a lot.
• The finish is still unnatural.
  

As you can see, this is a really good option. Suitable for any premises – technical, residential, with difficult operating conditions.

Stacking

Actually laying vinyl tiles is not a very complicated process, but it requires precision. Pay special attention to laying the first two rows, on which all the rest then rely. There is also a difference in the technique of gluing vinyl tiles with glue, laying self-adhesive or with locks. But there are also general requirements. Let’s consider all the questions in more detail.

What tools are needed

To work, you will need a decent set of tools, but they are all inexpensive, many are on the farm. So, you will need:

• Meter steel ruler. Glue a few pieces of double-sided tape to the back of it. This is necessary so that she “does not go.” And so that the tape is not very sticky, sprinkle it with dust, gis, etc.
• Stationery knife with replaceable blade. The knife should be good and comfortable, the blade holders should be steel, the blades themselves should be strong and sharp.
• If a linoleum floor tile is selected to be glued, a fine-toothed notched trowel is required. A tool for laying ceramic tiles will not work – the “tooth” should be triangular and a few millimeters high. If you don’t find this, buy a regular one, make the necessary cuts with a file on the blade – 1-2 mm.
  

• Roulette.
• Wide paper tape – 5 cm, several rolls. It is needed if the vinyl tile will be laid on the adhesive.
• Lapping block – a wooden block, upholstered with felt, carpet, two or three layers of hard fabric.

It would also be nice to have a building hair dryer. In difficult places – when bypassing pipes – it is more convenient to cut the tile when it is heated. Then it’s no more difficult than cutting household linoleum. And you can warm it up only with a building hair dryer. You cut the heated tile, wrap it around the pipe, cut off the excess.

How to cut pvc tiles

Although linoleum tiles are dense, they are easy to cut in a straight line. If you need a cut that won’t meet the edge of the tile, it’s easier to work with. Pass the blade along the front side with force, bend it at the cut point, cut the rest with a knife along the fold line.

If the cut needs to be even – to join with the next tile, you will need a ruler on adhesive tape – so that it does not move. In this case, you will have to cut through everything from the front side. This cannot be done at one time, but since the ruler will not move, it will be possible to draw with the blade two or three times.

Substrate preparation

You can lay vinyl tiles on the floor yourself. It is only important that the base is properly prepared. It should be smooth, clean, dry and hard. PVC floor tiles can be laid on concrete, any type of screed, plywood, fiberboard, OBP, GVL and other similar materials.

With a concrete floor and screed there is one caveat. The screed from the DSP is too loose and not rigid enough. Under vinyl tiles, it is better to level it with a self-levelling gypsum-based mixture. It is not difficult and not very expensive, but the result will be excellent.

When laying vinyl tiles on a wooden floor, it is leveled with plywood 12-15 mm thick. You can use GVL or OSB. All fasteners must be recessed, the holes are puttied. The joints between the sheets are also puttied (do not forget to lay the plates in a run-up and leave seams of 2-3 mm – to compensate for thermal expansion). For puttying joints, it is better to use acrylic putty – it is more elastic and smooth, adhesive tiles adhere better to it. In general, it is better to lay not adhesive tiles on wooden floors, but floating tiles with locks of any type (mechanical or adhesive). There is less chance that the coating will swell somewhere due to the difference in the amount of thermal expansion.

The last step in preparing the base is impregnation with a suitable soil. The base will become even stronger, the absorbency will decrease and even out, and the consumption of glue will decrease.

It is also very important that the base is dry. Its humidity should not exceed 5%. It is measured using a special device, but it is not in the household. So you have to do with improvised means. We take a piece of polyethylene without holes and masking tape. We tightly glue the polyethylene with adhesive tape to the base (along the edge in several layers) and leave it for a day. After a day, peel off and feel from the inside. If there is no condensation, everything is fine – the floor is dry enough to start laying PVC tiles.

Ways of laying and marking

If the laying of PVC tiles will be done by hand and you use “boards” that imitate wood, there is no experience with such material, it is better to start with the simplest scheme – with an offset. For this method of laying, it is better if the offset is arbitrary – no joints are visible. When using this scheme, it is only important that the joints of the “boards” are spaced at least 15 cm apart. This laying method is also economical – a cut piece from the last element in a row can serve as a starting plate in the next (or after one, if the joint is closer than after 15 cm). Other common offset options are 1/3 and 1/2 board lengths. In this case, the pattern is more regular and the joints stand out more.

With this layout method, the planks are usually placed along the long wall of the room. When using lockless PVC tiles, the layout starts from the middle. To determine the location of the starting strip, find the middle of the room. Then a line is drawn through it, parallel to the walls. Do this with a paint cord or a ruler and a pencil. This line is guided when laying the first two rows of vinyl tiles, combining the edges of the tiles with it. With other layout methods, everything is more difficult – you have to calculate, draw, and this is not so simple.

Adhesive for vinyl tiles

Glue is used special – for gluing PVC coatings. There are two types of compositions: glue and fixation. Everyone knows what glue is, but so far, few are aware of fixations. This composition differs in that it does not dry to a solid state. When it dries, a sticky substance remains on the surface, similar to the one that is on the adhesive tape. This method is good in that the glued coating can be peeled off several times. In this, it is also similar to the sticky composition of scotch tape. PVC tiles are peeled off on fixation without difficulty, and even after a considerable period of time (several years or decades). At the same time, it will not be possible to move the coating planted on fixation: lateral displacements are excluded. It comes off only if you pull the edge of the tile up.

It doesn’t matter what type of adhesive you choose. It is important that it is suitable for gluing PVC coatings, and not expired.

Laying pvc tiles on glue

The adhesive is applied in an even layer on a dry and clean substrate along the strip drawn on the floor. The width of the adhesive strip is for laying two tiles, if they are long and narrow, the length is to the end of the room. Applying glue, it is distributed with a spatula with a fine tooth. There should be no bald spots or puddles. It is necessary to achieve an even distribution. If, according to the instructions for the glue, it must be given time to dry – we wait. If not, you can put it right away.

We put the first row, aligning one edge strictly along the drawn line. When applying glue, try not to lubricate it, otherwise you can lay it crooked. They laid the first tile, ironed it with their hands, expelling air from under the material. We step on the laid tile with our foot, put the next one, tightly adjusting the joint. We glue a piece of masking tape about 10 cm long to the newly laid plank. We glue about half of the tile to be laid, pull it tightly to the laid one and fix the adhesive tape. So the tile has no chance to move. Having fixed it, we iron it, expelling the air. We repeat with the next one. When laying the second row, we also fix it from the sides using 3 strips of adhesive tape.

Having laid two rows, we take a pressure bar and rub the laid coating well with it. So we expel the air completely. According to the technology, it is necessary to use a pressure roller weighing 50 kg, with which a freshly laid coating is rolled. At home, it is not there, you have to get by with a replacement. There is another way to glue linoleum tiles well: after laying, tap it well with a rubber mallet.

Next, lay two rows on the other side of the strip. After the laying order is no longer so important, but it is very desirable to remove air in one of the ways.

Why do I need fixation with adhesive tape, because it is rarely used? So that the already laid tiles do not move, and this is possible, since the period of complete drying of the glue is 72 hours.

Self-adhesive

Self-adhesive PVC floor tiles are also mounted. The difference is that you don’t need to apply glue. Before installing the tiles, the protective layer is removed, the tiles are laid in place, smoothed. The rest of the procedure is the same.

In this case, the strips do not need to be fixed with adhesive tape, since the substance on the wrong side is sticky enough to keep the coating from shifting immediately after gluing. An important nuance – you must first press the tiles to the side surface, holding the bar in weight. When the edge is docked, gradually lower the cover, trying to leave as little air as possible.

Laying pvc tiles with a lock

The lock on vinyl tiles can be mechanical and adhesive. The difference is only in the principle of fixation. The rest of the rules are the same.

The main difference is that the laying of the castle vinyl tiles starts from the wall. The slats are arranged so that the locks “look” into the room. The first row is laid back from the wall a few millimeters – to compensate for thermal expansion. This gap can be provided by installing pieces of material of suitable thickness or by finding thick crosses for tiles.

When laying PVC tiles with an adhesive lock, you must first join the end, combining the edges of the planks. Then the lock is joined along the long side and, only after that, the slats are already lowered completely. The edges are ironed, checking the tightness of the entry of the mechanical lock.

The following video demonstrates how PVC tiles are laid on a floor with a mechanical lock. Usually, the material comes with instructions with pictures, but watching the video is also useful.

The process of laying vinyl tiles with a self-adhesive lock is shown in this video. The connection is no less reliable, and the assembly of the cover is even easier.