Installation of PVC tiles on the floor, its types, selection and characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, preparation of the base and technologies for laying various types of material. PVC floor tiles are, in fact, a very high-quality linoleum, modernized and cut into separate elements. It has long established itself as an attractive and inexpensive solution for flooring in public and residential areas. As a result of reading this article, you will learn how to lay PVC tiles.
Structure of pvc floor tiles
PVC floor tiles are made from high quality PVC plastic granules by hot casting. The molten material is injected into the mold, and after cooling is removed from it and cut off. The tiles are pressed under high pressure, due to which they receive the required shape and relief.
Quite high requirements are imposed on PVC tiles. It must be chemically and oil-and-petrol-resistant, withstand high loads, have anti-slip and dielectric effect, and have an aesthetic appearance.
After quality control of the resulting tiles in terms of size, shape, surface structure, color and the presence of shrinkage, they are laid for laying. After a certain time, the products are checked for mutual docking and packed in boxes.
Modern PVC tiles are multilayer. Such a structure of the material makes it possible to create floor coverings adapted to work in premises of a wide variety of purposes, since each layer of it performs its own function.
The multilayer structure of PVC floor tiles includes:
- Adhesive base;
- A layer of material in contact with the prepared floor surface with glue;
- The main part of the tile, made of polyvinyl chloride, which has the necessary strength, resistance to external influences and perceives the main loads;
- Balance layer of material, which ensures the prevention of thermal deformations and smooth distribution of the load;
- Decorative interlayer with a pattern or image;
- A protective coating that protects the material from external damage and UV radiation.
The main varieties of PVC floor tiles
By the type of fastening, PVC tiles are divided into the following types:
- Self-adhesive tiles … This material does not require any additional fasteners. On the reverse side, the tile has a special layer with which it is easily fixed to the base.
- Adhesive tiles … To fix it, a special mixture is used, which is diluted with water in accordance with the proportions indicated on the product packaging.
- Modular tiles … In this case, the installation of the coating is carried out using lock joints between its elements. Such fasteners have special spikes and grooves that make it easy to assemble the cover and disassemble it if necessary. Modular PVC floor tiles are not attached to the base.
PVC tiles have a rich color range and a large number of textures. The coating can imitate various natural materials, which allows for affordable means to lay tiles similar in surface pattern to marble, limestone, wood, ceramics or parquet. Cladding elements can be in the form of long rectangles with a width of 150 mm or squares with dimensions from 300x300 mm to 600x600 mm.
Due to its popularity, soft tiles have received many names: PVC, plastic, linoleum, vinyl and modular.
Advantages and disadvantages of PVC tiles
The advantages of PVC tiles are very significant. These include:
- Versatility. The material can be used for flooring in any room.
- Acceptable cost. Despite this, you should not buy the cheapest tile, since it will not be particularly durable.
- Convenient transportation. The material is difficult to damage during transportation.
- Fast and easy installation. Floor cladding with PVC tiles can be done by hand.
- Security. PVC tiles are not slippery materials, so they are perfect for cladding, for example, kitchen floors.
- Variety of shades. When buying a tile, you always have the opportunity to choose it according to the color that is in harmony with the background of the interior.
- Strength and elasticity of the material.
- Resistant to moisture, corrosion and decay.
- Good sound insulation properties.
- Uncomplicated repair. If any tile is damaged, there is no need to change the entire coating.
- Environmental Safety.
- Ease of material handling. Trimming can be done with a regular knife.
- Fire resistance and chemical resistance.
There are fewer disadvantages of such a tile, but they are still there:
- It cannot be called environmentally friendly, since it is made of synthetic materials.
- Despite the assurances of manufacturers about the durability of PVC tiles, its service life is up to 10 years.
- Stains from tiles must not be removed with strong solvents, they can damage the coating.
Features of the choice of PVC floor tiles
The criteria for choosing vinyl PVC floor tiles are its quality and cost. When buying material, you should look at its labeling. With its help, manufacturers indicate many important parameters of products: the level of surface abrasion, product dimensions, base material, tile thickness, the presence of additional protective layers, the availability of certificates and a guaranteed service life of the coating.
According to the class of wear resistance, the tiles are marked as follows: PVC tiles with the marking 21-23 are suitable for home use, 31-33 for public premises, and 41-43 for industrial premises.
According to the degree of abrasion during the operation of the coating, PVC tiles are divided into groups P, T, M and F. The most resistant material belongs to group T.
If you choose a tile for wear resistance of a class higher than necessary, its price will increase by 1.5-2 times - such a nuance should be taken into account when buying a material. The dimensions and thickness of the tiles determine the appearance and method of laying the PVC coating.
An equally important indicator is the cost of vinyl products. It depends on the quality of raw materials for tiles, the linear dimensions of the cladding elements and three more factors:
- The presence of additional components of raw materials, to which many manufacturers add various synthetic and plasticizing components to improve the physical and mechanical properties of the finished PVC tile.
- Type of material stacking. Adhesive-based synthetic tiles are not cheap, but even more expensive is a product with a lock type of joining to each other.
- Tile thickness. With its increase, the service life of the coating is extended, which is of undoubted value. Therefore, thicker tiles are more expensive.
Analyzing the offers of leading manufacturers of PVC tiles, you can determine the average price for their products. It is $ 7-45 per 1 m2 cover.
The question of where to buy such a tile is not urgent in our time, it has not been in short supply for a long time. Another thing is who has it. Among the bona fide and world famous manufacturers are the following companies:
- VINILAM … It is a brand from Belgium, its products are distinguished by the excellent realistic texture of the surface of the tiles, imitating natural materials. It allows you to create an unusual cladding design by combining different types of stone or wood.
- TARKETT … The tile products of this international company are distinguished by high quality and long service life. This is due to the application of a sufficient number of protective layers to the products during their production, which prevent rapid wear of the finished floor surface.
- Lg … PVC tiles of this famous Korean brand are superior in quality to many models of world famous European manufacturers. Its structure includes an "indestructible" protective polyurethane layer, which ensures the service life of the coating at least 25 years.
In addition to the above manufacturers, you can safely use products from other companies, including LINO THERMOFIX and IVS STEPPER.
Preparation of the subfloor for PVC tiles
PVC tiles of any kind can only be laid on dry, level and clean floors. To prepare it for cladding, several procedures must be performed sequentially:
- Remove the old coating, if any. In this case, ceramic tiles can not be removed, but you should still check the strength of such a cladding. Its unusable elements can be removed, and the irregularities left after them can be repaired with putty.
- Remove debris, oil or paint stains from the substrate. In this case, it is advisable not to use chemicals, a good scraper will be enough.
- Fill up all cracks and knock down the beads of concrete or dried mortar with a chisel.
- Level the base of the floor. If it is wooden, this can be done by covering the floor with thick plywood, which must be attached to the logs with nails or screws. The concrete surface of the floor must be poured with a self-leveling screed and wait until it dries. After a few days, its moisture can be checked with a regular napkin, which must be placed on the base, covered with foil and secured with tape. From above, the film should be pressed down with a load and left in this position for twelve hours. If, after this time, the napkin remains dry, the tiles can be installed.
- Treat the base with a primer. This will increase the adhesion of the adhesive on which the tiles will be fixed to the surface of the concrete floor. When laying tiles with interlocking connections, this procedure is not necessary.
The cladding material should also be prepared for installation. To do this, it must be unfolded and kept in a horizontal position for at least 24 hours at an air temperature in the room to be repaired not less than 24 ° C.
Methods for laying PVC tiles on the floor
Like ceramic tiles, PVC floor tiles can be installed in a variety of ways. We bring to your attention some of them:
- Installation of tiles "deck" … This method involves laying PVC tiles in the perpendicular direction of the rows relative to any short wall of the room. Each of them is shifted by a third along the previous row.
- Installation of herringbone tiles … With this arrangement, work begins in the middle of the room. Each strip of coverage is made up of a set of tiles of one to four elements.
- Installation of tiles using the "squares" method … With this method of laying PVC floor tiles, the covering elements are mounted in sections with equal sides. Each subsequent one is located at right angles to the previous one. The sides of the squares can be located along the diagonals of the room or parallel to its walls.
When facing the floor with PVC tiles, you can combine elements in various color combinations, achieving an expressive pattern on the flooring. The huge range of colors of the material allows you to perform smooth play from light shades to dark ones and vice versa. Such solutions are possible both for individual areas and for the entire flooring of a room.
Technologies for mounting PVC tiles on the floor
For adhesive, interlocking and self-adhesive tiles, there are specific installation features. Let's consider each of them separately.
Laying PVC adhesive tiles
For this method of installing PVC floor tiles, you will need: a pencil and a tape measure for marking the floor under the tiles, a container for preparing glue, a drill with a mixer nozzle, a notched trowel, a construction knife for cutting tiles, a sponge, a roller for rolling tiles and removing air from -under the cladding.
Work should start by marking the floor. To do this, it is necessary to connect the middle of the opposite walls of the room with lines along the floor. It will be quite easy to apply them with the help of a paint cord. The tiles should be started on one side of the centerline.
After preparing the glue, it must be applied to the base with a notched trowel, leveled over an area of no more than 1 m2 and attach tiles to it. It must be handled with care, so try to work so that the glue does not get on the face of the material.
Laying PVC tiles must be done without gaps and displacements. After placing each cladding element on the base, the surface of the material must be rolled with a roller to remove the air gap between the planes of the floor and tiles. Excess glue from the outer surface should be quickly removed with a damp sponge.
When trimming tiles, markings should be made on the face of the tile. Processing the material with a knife does not require much effort. After finishing the laying of all the tiles, you can walk on the finished coating in a day.
Furniture must be installed on it carefully. It is recommended to pre-stick felt pads on the bases of the legs of heavy cabinets. This will help protect the surface of the new floor from damage.
Fastening of PVC interlocking tiles
The fastening system of the PVC interlocking tiles for the floor is identical to that used for joining the panels when assembling the laminate flooring. Thanks to the “thorn-groove” connection, PVC-coating elements can be laid without the use of adhesive, and then simply framing them around the perimeter of the room with skirting boards. The resulting "floating" coating can be disassembled and reassembled several times.
To implement this possibility, a gap of 0.5 cm should be left between the wall and the tiles. If you want to make PVC coverings in a room that has a length or width of more than 20 m, you should leave a centimeter expansion joint, which can then be covered with a simple one-level sill.
When laying PVC panels on a relatively flat surface, warm them up a little with a hairdryer. This will give the material more flexibility to adhere to the surface. If there is a need to bend around pipes or other asymmetrical planes, use templates that can be cut from cardboard.
The laying of the interlocking tiles should be started from the corner of the room, placing it against the wall with the groove side, and working from left to right, when the ridge of the tile is directed towards the artist. On the tiles of the first row abutting against the wall, it is necessary to cut off the lower protrusion of the groove with a knife.
In the process of laying the first row of tiles in a straight line, their ends snap into place. To optimize this procedure, a rubber mallet can be used to prevent damage to the tile edge.
Having reached almost the wall in the first row, you will need to report the cut tiles. This is done as follows: the tile must be turned upside down, put it near the last mounted element and mark the required distance for cutting with a pencil on the back of the material. The marked fragment should be cut off and placed at the end of the row. When cutting a tile with a knife, you must first cut its outer layer, and only then break it.
The remaining piece of PVC tile should be used as the first piece of the next row. Its length must be at least 1/3 of the length of the first panel located in the first row. When installing the second and all subsequent rows, except for the last, the whole process is completely repeated.
The last row of slabs may not fit into the rest of the floor space, so they will need to be trimmed. This is done like this: the slab must be laid on the previous row from above, and, moreover, the groove must be placed towards the wall. Then the next upside down slab should be laid to the edge of the wall and put a mark with a pencil on the panel that is below. After that, the selected area should be removed and the plate should be installed in place.
Fixing self-adhesive PVC tiles
To work with such a tile, you will need a minimum number of tools: a wallpaper roller, a stationery knife, a pencil, a tape measure, a ruler and a square. Self-adhesive elements are laid from any corner of the intersection of the lines connecting the midpoints of opposite walls along the floor.
Before installing each self-adhesive PVC floor tile, you need to remove a special protective film from it, which covers the adhesive layer of the material. The tiles laid along the markings must be rolled several times with a roller to remove air from under it. If there was an arrow on the protective film indicating the direction of laying, the tiles should be placed in this direction.
The tile is laid end-to-end, and at the walls it is trimmed with a knife. It is necessary to leave a gap of 5-6 mm between the covering and the wall, the so-called "expansion joint". It is necessary to compensate for the thermal expansion of the material during a hot period. Such a seam can be easily hidden with a baseboard.
How to lay PVC tiles on the floor - watch the video:
PVC tiles are a beautiful and practical material. As a floor covering, it can serve you for a long time. To do this, it is quite enough to properly lay it down and periodically take care of the floor during dry or wet cleaning of the room. Good luck!
