Vinyl tiles were originally made as an alternative to linoleum for installing in laundry rooms and bathrooms. The 12 inch by 12 inch tiles come in a variety of colors and styles, so you can create different patterns on your floor. Installing vinyl tiles provides resilient flooring that you can clean easily. Vinyl tiling is still a great substitute for linoleum or ceramic tile. Installing vinyl tile is an easy DIY task. The tips below will guide you through the process of installing vinyl tiles.

1. First calculate the area of the room. Measure the room you plan to install vinyl flooring from one wall to the opposite wall with a tape measure. Measure the distance of the opposing wall to each other. Multiplying these figures will give you the total square foot area of the room you want to set vinyl tiles in.

2. Select the vinyl flooring tile. Vinyl tiles come either unglued or pre-glued. Setting pre-glued vinyl tiles takes less time and work, but may not last as long. Calculate how many boxes you need by dividing the total area of the room you are installing vinyl tiles in by the area the box covers. For example, if a box contain 45 pieces of 12" x 12" tile, there is 45 square feet of tile in the box.

3. Prepare the floor by removing shoe molding from around the perimeter of the room. If there is old carpet, cut it into pieces with a utility knife and rip it out. Remove the carpet nailing strips of wood that held the carpet in.

4. Apply a thin layer of leveling compound along plywood or linoleum seams with a putty knife before you install vinyl flooring. Sand the seams with 100-grit sandpaper.

5. If necessary, trim the door casings with a flush-cut dovetail saw before you install vinyl flooring. Measure the height of the cut by laying a tile, upside down to prevent marring it, by the door. Hold the saw on top of the tile and cut the casing carefully.

6. Sweep or vacuum the floor.

7. Lay out the room by finding the center of the room by snapping a line from corner to corner on the four corners. Where the two line intersect is the center of the room. This marks the point where you will begin installing vinyl tiles by lining up the edges with the X.

8. Install pre-glued tiles by peeling off the backing sheet from the first tile. Pre-glued vinyl tiles do not need additional adhesive.

9. Set vinyl tiles by pushing them firmly to the floor with a floor roller.

10.Set unglued tiles by first painting the back of the tile with a thin layer of vinyl adhesive.

11.Push the tile on to the floor and roll it with a floor roller.

12.Cover the entire floor. Work out toward all four walls of the room, installing vinyl tiles by pressing them into position while lining up the edge of the new tile to the edge of the installed tile.

13.When you install vinyl flooring, the last tiles usually won't fit perfectly. Measure the distance between the last full tile and the wall, then mark that distance on the backside of the tile. Use a utility knife to cut the measured tiles to size, and then finish installing vinyl tiles.

That is all there is to it!

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