Adhesive Tile Installation
- 1). Remove the existing flooring with an electric tile knife scraper. These are available for rent at local home improvement stores. Cut a piece of the tile and use the power scraper to push under the existing tile. For existing flooring that is already loose, work a putty knife under it to scrape the parts still stuck to the floor.
- 2). Clean the sub flooring thoroughly by first sweeping every inch of the floor. Sweep the corners and along baseboards to remove every trace of dirt. Then, mop the floor with warm soapy water. Allow the floor to dry thoroughly before moving on to the next step.
- 3). Apply a floor leveler to any dents, dips or dings in the floor with a putty knife. Allow the mixture to dry entirely, according to the package directions.
- 4). Measure to the midpoint of one wall. Lay a chalk line from the center point of that wall to the center point of the opposite wall. Move to the adjacent wall, find the center point and snap another chalk line to the center point of the wall directly opposite. This will divide the area into four sections or quadrants and provides a starting point for the room.
- 5). Peel the back of one tile and line it up to the intersection of the chalk lines. Carefully lay the tile in place. Peel-and-stick tiles do not come up easily once placed, so take care to set it correctly.
- 6). Peel the back of another tile and line the edge of the tile along the chalk line. Then, place the tile so the edge meets the tile already in place. Once both line up, place the tile. Continue laying tiles along the chalk line until reaching the point where tiles have to be cut to fit.
- 7). Return to the intersection of the chalk lines and start placing tiles at a 90-degree angle from the first tile placed. If the first row was horizontal, place the following tiles out toward the wall in a vertical line. Continue until reaching the point where tiles have to be cut to fit.
- 8). Return to the intersection and repeat the previous steps until there are four lines of placed tiles going out in each direction. Fill in each quadrant with tiles, taking care to match sides to a tile that has already been placed. Continue until all the full tiles are down.
- 9). Lay a free tile over the last full tile laid, and push until the tile reaches the wall. Place a straight edge to draw a line on the loose tile where the two tile overlap. Use the permanent marker to draw a line and cut the tile with a utility knife.
- 10
Continue cutting tiles to fit around the perimeter of the wall. Use scrap paper or cardboard to create templates of more difficult cuts and trace around the template onto the tile. Use the utility knife to cut around the line from the template.
Source...