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Powder Room Floor

5K views 26 replies 10 participants last post by  perpetual98 
#1 ·
Ok, kitchen remodel on hold whilst I wait for electrician to come and do some work that I could probably do myself, but not sleep very well thinking my house may burn down around me while I sleep.....:huh:

On to the powder room. 30 square feet (5' X 6').

I already tore down the hardwired 80's lighted medicine cabinet and replaced with new light fixture and mirror.

I chose paint and painted (Dolphin Cove). And I have purchased MDF beadboard, baseboard and chair rail to install 4' high white beadboard .

But before I do that, I needed to settle on flooring.
I currently have old 80's what I refer to as Yellow Brick Road linoleum in there. It is in very good shape (just one little old lady lived here for 15 years prior to me).

I am really looking for fast, inexpensive, and novice level. Soooooooo, against what many of you have posted around the forum, I think I am going to go with groutable vinyl 12" X 12" tile....either Trafficmaster Ceramica or perhaps Cryntel and there is one other brand at Lowe's that is groutable.

This is a pretty low traffic area, with the exception of the one square foot in front of the toilet :laughing:.

My question(s) is(are) this...and I will post pictures. Should I go through the trouble of removing the vanity? Will this make the floor install easier?
I am also thinking of removing the vanity top and replacing with new sink and counter before putting up beadboard (since the laminate counter extends all the way to the wall for no real reason that I can see.
What recommendations do you have for leveling the linoleum pattern? Any particular embossing leveler brand or quality? Also the best technique for application of leveler? Just a trowel?
Would I install beadboard behind the vanity while I have it out or just cut around it later? (I know this isn't a flooring question, but realated to the order in which I should do things to make the flooring project successful)
And, finally, if they are self stick and groutable, is it really necessary or overkill to prime floor with a self-adhesive primer apparently used by some to increase adhesion?
 

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#4 ·
Thanks for posting to my passive aggressive bump of this thread! :laughing:

I reeeeeeaaaaalllly do not want to remove the old lino....condo built in mid 80's...asbestos concerns as well as sweat equity and cost concerns....

Thanks for the tip about the new wax ring...might as well while its out of there....and a good idea anyway....

I am NOT wanting to put in a wall to wall vanity....it seems silly in this small space...not sure why the builder did it in the first place. I liked the extra counter space, but rarely used it for anything more than just a pile of hand towels....Having the sink off center seems to throw the whole ergonomcs of in a way...but I posted a new thread regarding this...since it deviated from "flooring".....
http://www.diychatroom.com/f80/vanity-my-favorite-sin-93503/

Back to flooring....IF I tear up that lino I am most likely going to find plywood, yes? Then what to prepare it for groutable self-stick? I'm looking for the least amount of steps, the highest visual impact and longevity? well...to be honest 5 years tops...probably selling in 3 years....I live alone so there will not be tremendous wear and tear to consider......

I want to upgrade....to sell...not upgrade to my dream home....or else I would invest more monetarily , etc.....

thank you again for your thoughts.
 
#7 ·
allbymyself said:
No, I am planning on using the existing vanity and either vinyl tiling around it OR removing it and tiling and replacing it.........

What say you on this?
If it is not to complicated it would make the rest of the project easier by removing the vanity, and for the floor if the old floor is in good shape and not loose and chipping you can skim coat it with a floor patching cement and stick the new tile to that.
 
#8 ·
Thank you...the more I examine that bathroom, the better it will be to just remove the vanity to do the floor AND the beadboard.....the old floor is is near perfect shape....no gauges, no chips, no peeling...not even around the edges of the floor vent....

So, floor patching cement...does it have to be specific for over linoleum? Or if I march into big box and say "point me to the floor patching cement" I'll be okay?
 
#9 ·
allbymyself said:
Thank you...the more I examine that bathroom, the better it will be to just remove the vanity to do the floor AND the beadboard.....the old floor is is near perfect shape....no gauges, no chips, no peeling...not even around the edges of the floor vent....

So, floor patching cement...does it have to be specific for over linoleum? Or if I march into big box and say "point me to the floor patching cement" I'll be okay?
Yes you should be ok, there is different qualities we use parabond brand little more exspensive then some and i don't know if big box carries it.
 
#14 ·
thanks, rusty...I know that this goes against your grain...the peel and stick stuff, etc.....but I appreciate you weighing in.....

gypsum-based is just for over wood and concrete/cement, yes?
I will stay away from that patch....

I'm going to travel to a few specialized flooring places tomorrow (not big box) and test their know-how regarding this......and see if they have better products for leveling lino than big box....

So, just a skim coat should do the Yellow Brick Road? :laughing:

That's good...had visions of all sorts of extra considerations.....
 
#13 ·
Why does everyone keep calling it linoleum?:whistling2: It's sheet vinyl and in this case I'm pretty sure it's Armstrong's Designer Solarian. You can bet the backing contains some asbestos, but so what? It's likely glued to 1/4" underlayment, and so if it is removed, both come up in one operation. No asbestos exposed.

I will bet that by the time you remove the top and sink etc....the vanity is likely to fall apart and you may reconsider keeping it.

Jaz
 
#15 · (Edited)
Ummmm, wow...thanks, Jaz?

I am calling it linoleum because it is old-ass "sheet vinyl"...and back in my day we called in linoleum....really these days I call it Yellow Brick Road.....and don't care if Armstrong or somebody's mother made it...it is ugly and it has gots to go....or in this case, be covered up....

Not removing it...so...what is your next best advice

Edited to add....that vanity is not falling apart any time soon....it is solid as a rock......

Also, edited to add...you're right it is Armstrong Designer Solarian...popular in the 60's!!!!!!!!!! Even more reason to get it out of my house! Lino (ahem, excuse please) sheet vinyl from the 60's put in a condo in the 80's that I am just now getting around to replacing in 2011!!!!! F*&^ing peel & stick groutable vinyl tiles are 100 steps up from this! No matter the opinion on them.....
 
#16 ·
kudos to the OP for keeping me chuckling while reading this.
My experience with Peel-n-stick is this: put some in the master bath in our house, this was the cheaper stuff at Lowe's, made my Cryntel, grouted with Cryntel's premixed grout. Cleaned the original sheet vinyl with DSP (I think that's the name) and tiled directly over it. No pattern coming through, and the floor has held up remakably well over the past 2.5 years, very happy with it, other than the "waxy" look it has.

In our secondary bathroom, removed the vinyl, due to a leaking toilet, took it down to the OSB subfloor. Put a layer of .25" ply on top of that, a self sealing primer, then used the Trafficmaster (I guess it's ceramica, I don't recall it having that name, but it's much thicker and nicer looking/feeling than the Cryntel). Kept the gaps at 1/8", again used the Cryntel premixed grout. Caulked around the perimeter with a silicone caulk. This floor is GREAT looking. I couldn't be happier. Granted it's only about 30ft², but the flooring has been in for 18 months, and I absolutely love it. Looks and feels like real tile (minus the cold) and the surface is tough, tough, tough. I'm now struggling with whether or not to place in my kitchen, some of the 12x24" tiles. I'd probably do the same install method.
 
#17 ·
Yes I know everyone calls it linoleum, no big deal. The reason I brought it up is that there is still such a thing as linoleum. Different animal. It's kinda like Kleenex. You say Kleenex and someone hands you Puffs. Same thing except to Kleenex.:laughing:

That floor is probably not from the '60's, but that doesn't matter either. The only reason dates make a difference is when people are trying to figure if it may contain asbestos. Those sheet vinyls generally contained asbestos 'til the '80's.

Follow all the directions for your new floor. Vinyl squares have a tendency to slide or shrink a bit and those seams become visible.

Jaz
 
#19 ·
N


No worries Jaz. I was just teasin'
I'm a little defensive, too because everyone seems so down on the peel & stick around this place. I have really weighed my benefits/costs and I think it is a very viable option for a lot of people for certain projects. I don't have a showroom house. Nor can I afford to have one. It's a small bathroom, sink and loo. Very little chance of any standing water, low traffic area...for the $50 investment, I think I'll give it a whirl tomorrow. I have bought more expensive shoes and debated less about it....lol.
Tomorrow is the day. I'll let you all know how it turns out
 
#18 ·
okay, so I removed the sink and the countertop today.....




Then tackled removing the vanity itself:


This pic gives you and idea of where I am heading with this project (the beadboard isn't up yet and the tile I just laid out to get a visual on color scheme, etc)


I'm actually pretty excited about the Cryntel peel & stick. I got the 18X18 in Graphite with Saddle Grey acrylic grout.

It's really starting to come together...it helps to tear it all apart to get that blank canvas.
 
#23 ·
Laying that very first tile was intense! I had measured out the center of the room but needed to adjust for the floor vent......but once I laid that first tile it all went pretty much as planned.

I had spread out all the tiles and numbered them (because there was a little bit of a repeated pattern on some of the tiles and I wanted to be sure the final layout didn't have weird consistencies that wouldn't occur with stone.

That is what the painter's tape is....the labels.

I had less trouble with the toilet flange than I thought.....and more trouble with the floor vent and toilet main water feed than I thought.....but all and all, fairly easy.

The tile just needed a score line for any cut and I could bend and snap it...even curved lines....

I love how it looks!
I used a grey gout....and after I was done, I crawled all over the floor inspecting the grout lines at a very close range and I ended up going over a few areas...and I went over the intersections of tiles twice.....for reinforcement....

It is important that experienced tile grouters do NOT grout like normal with these tiles....just putty knife the acrylic grout in and sponge off....I used a regular kitchen sponge (even though I had purchased the big grouting sponges...I ended up using them as knee pads....lol!)
 
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