I couldn't have done this without Todd's help. Thanks Todd!

With the tile all laid the next step it the grout.  I used a hard epoxy grout float, some large sponges, and TONS of clean water.  I also used a special grout made specifically for this type of tile.  It is more flexible than traditional grout so it can better handle the stresses of the floor flexing since it is not a rigid covering.

As you can see, I only spread the grout directly over the grout lines.  This was to eliminate the amount of cleaning needed.  If it is not cleaned well enough, the grout will leave a haze over the surface of the tile.  This normally isn’t a problem for ceramic tile since it can easily be taken off with haze removing products.  It is harder to get haze off a vinyl tile and the haze removal products aren’t approved for use on vinyl, so it was better to be conservative with the grout and to make sure that the tiles were immediately cleaned.

I let the grout cure for 24 hours, then I used a spray-on sealer to seal the grout.  I’m not sure how well it will work, but to combat stains I also used a dark grey grout color so if stains do occur, they may not show up very well.

The floor is finished, but there are some extra things I will cover in the last installment of this series. So almost done, but not quite yet.

The time has come to lay the tile.  First I had to find the exact center of the floor.  I won’t go over the details here since you can find instructions for that all over the net.  After I found the center, I had to plan the tile layout so I had a decent amount of tile showing around the perimeter of the room as well as around the cabinets.  The general guideline is that you want at least 4 inches of tile showing around the perimeter of a room.  Anything less and it might look funny or even worse, the tile may not stay stuck down with such a small surface area for adhesion.  It really worked out well for me, but I would say it was 25% planned and about 75% luck that it ended up looking so good.

My tiles were peel-and-stick — stick being the operative word here.  I pretty much only had one shot to get them down correctly, because with the primer on the floor, the adhesive backing would grab instantly as soon as I put the tile down.  There was no way to get it back up without destroying the tile.  I still used the little spacers you buy for ceramic tile to create a uniform space between each tile.  I didn’t want too big of a grout line so if I remember correctly, I used 3/16″ for the spacers.  I laid the first tile as perfectly as I could then I built the rest of the floor out from that 1 tile. My carpenter’s square was invaluable to me during this part of the project, especially laying down the first row. It also helped me make sure I was still square over the course of the whole process.  When I reached a wall, I would custom cut each tile on the spot.  These tiles are rigid, but still can easily be scored with a utility knife.  What I would do is score the finished surface of the tile with the knife, then bend the tile toward the cut and it would break cleanly along the score line.

Laying the tile took two nights to do.  I had some nice knee pads and I know they saved my knees, but I remember my back was killing me after being on my hands and knees two nights in a row.  I was pretty amped up at this point because I could see the light at the end of the tunnel for this project and everything was looking so good.

Next time I will cover the grouting process.

Custom cuts had to be made around corners and inside the nooks and crannies around the cabinets.  I made sure the first piece of luan laid down was as square as it could be.  That made the custom cuts a lot easier to do.  Even then, I still had to make little adjustments here and there since the cabinets weren’t very square to the walls.

The luan by itself looks really nice.  It is almost a shame I will be covering it up soon.

Before I could finish, I had to figure out how to do the transition between the tile and the carpet.  I found a great metal transition at Home depot that looked like it would work well.  Since it was designed for conventional tile it had a lip that would warp my vinyl.  I decided to put the luan on top of the transition to smooth out the dip that would be created otherwise.

I nailed the transition down, stapled the luan over it and the tile butted up perfectly to the edge.  It almost looks like it was supposed to be installed that way.

I read online about a primer you can use with self-stick tiles that helps them adhere better to porous materials such as wood, so I decided to give it a try.  The application couldn’t have been easier.  I rolled it on with a paint roller and waited for it to dry.  The primer dried clear, almost like a varnish on the luan, again making me almost regret covering it up.  I’m just a sucker for good looking wood, I guess.

Now that the underlayment is down, the transition is installed, and the surface is primed, I will be ready to lay tile.  That is exactly what I will cover in the next installment of this series.  See you then!

When I got the underlayment up, I was surprised to find termite damage.  Recent termite damage.  So recent that the termites were still scattering when I got the above picture.  You may be able to see them if you look closely enough.

Anyway, this was completely unexpected.  I had to call the exterminator and also see what the damage was.  The bug guy looked at the damage and figured they hadn’t been there longer than a year.  I poked around at the surrounding structure and was really surprised that the termites only chewed on the OSB subfloor and the house sheathing.  The studs, floor joists, and even the luan that the termites were running around on were left unharmed.

So the challenge was to extract the affected wood and replace it with new.  My brother-in-law and his dad came by and lent a hand, so it didn’t take as long as it could have and the result can be seen below.  I would have to say the hardest part was getting the vent hole to line up with the existing ductwork.  In the next installment I actually get back to putting in the new floor.

Languagesja>en YahooCE

been

Tool time!  Since the kitchen cabinets were installed over the existing subfloor and also since there is a transition between the kitchen and living room on the same level, I will need to cut away the subfloor from the edges of the cabinets and from the floor transition.  Otherwise I would have to remove the cabinets and peel back the carpeting to find the seams.  I used a circular saw and an oscillating multitool to do the work (check the pictures).

The oscillating multitool had a flush-cut blade so I could get right in there along the edge of the cabinets and cut away the underlayment.  It requires a lot of patience since the tool doesn’t cut that fast, but it eventually gets the job done.

The transition to the carpet was a bit trickier.  I had to remove the original transition and track from the laminate floor which left behind the unfinished carpet edge attached to the tackstrip.  I made a guide (out of the old laminate I just removed – recycling!) and ran the saw right along the edge of the carpet.

Once the underlayment has been cut away, it just takes a bit of muscle to pull it up from the subfloor.  Luckily, mine wasn’t glued down.  I don’t know if that is a common practice, but it was still difficult since there were like 1,000,000 staples holding it down

Stay tuned for the next installment.  I will cover some of the surprises and joys that come with home ownership and home improvement.  I will also get to the purpose of this whole exercise which is installing luxury vinyl tile on my kitchen floor.

The kids playing “Dead Man”

The kids playing a balloon game

The Kids playing balloon tag 

Singing Happy Birthday

Opening the gifts

Shara’s family came to attend the baby blessing – well they tried to at least.  They were traveling by van and ended up hitting a deer in Missouri right by the Nebraska border.  It put a big damper on things to say the least.  They eventually made it and we all had a really good time.

We ended up all buying tickets to the Cardinals game.  We were in the bleachers and it was Whitney’s first baseball game.  I was afraid she was going to be bored, but she actually held up pretty well.  We ended up taking Ethan along as well.  He was a perfect angel amidst all the heat and noise.

So Rasmus and Pujols both hit home runs.  The Rasmus one got close to our section and Whitney was disappointed that she didn’t get to catch the ball.  I guess she kinda expected it.  Below is Whitney’s reaction to the Pujols homer, then I handed her the camera for the commentary.  Be forewarned:  the girl can talk.  So, naturally, the second video is much longer than the first.  Enjoy: