Kitchen Floor Project

Here is a pic of my new linoleum kitchen floor tiled with easy-to-install linoleum tiles. It was a $100 project, give or take, for my small kitchen.

The toughest job was preparing the floor by removing the old linoleum. The top layer of linoleum peeled off fairly easily. However, the paper backing and the glue remained "stuck" on the concrete surface. That required scraping. I found that soaking the residual paper backing and glue with some water and a rag, allowing it sit about a minute and then scraping assisted in getting rid of all that gunk.

There was also some effort in clearing away the old caulk along the baseboards. After that was cleaned I prepared the floor by painting on a primer designed to help with the adhesion of the self-stick tiles. It was Henry brand 336 Bond Enhancer - Self Stick Tile Primer. It is described as "A specialized Liquid Latex Primer for preparing surfaces for self-stick tile and flooring adhesives." I found it at the nearby Lowe's. It was watery milky stuff. Not too bad to apply, though. The package recommended a roller. Since it was a small room, I just painted it on with a brush. (Make sure you have your windows open for proper ventilation.)

Laying the tile was the fun part. The tile linoleum product is from Home Depot: 12" tiles by Traffic Master (Home Depot's in-house brand). The color is "Beige Slate." Since my kitchen is small (only about 60 sq ft needed for the tile-able area.). I only needed two boxes of 30 tiles, plus a few spare, which are sold individually for 99 cents at my local Home Depot.

I first mapped out the tile pattern on the living room carpet so I was sure not to repeat any patterned tiles. The room is an odd shape with angled cabinets and a nook for the refrigerator and stove so I had to use my best judgment when determining where to work from. The tile manufacturer recommends making a chalk line of the center intersection point of the room. I ended up lining up one of the tiles with the edge of the cabinet that is just to the left of where you enter this small kitchen.