How to Lay Vinyl Floor Tiles Around an Island Kitchen
- 1). Make sure the floor is dry before you begin. Spread leveling compound on cracks, seams and protrusions. Sand it flat with a belt sander when it dries. Vacuum the dust and wipe the floor with a damp cloth.
- 2). Mark a line around the outside of the floor to indicate the distance of the kitchen cabinet toe-kicks from the wall. Set the straightedge along the toe kicks and extend the line across doorways and alcoves.
- 3). Set one side of a carpenter's square along one of the longer sides of the island. Mark a perpendicular line that extends from each of the corners toward the wall. Extend these lines to the line you drew marking the position of the cabinet toe-kicks. Make similar lines on the other side of the island.
- 4). Find the midpoints of these lines with a tape measure and draw perpendicular lines from these to the two other lines marking the cabinet positions. Measure and mark the midpoints of these lines and draw crosses on the marks. When you have finished, you will have marked four 90-degree crosses on the floor.
- 5). Set four tiles on each cross so that their corners touch on the cross. Use these tiles as templates to lay the rest of the tiles in the room. Don't glue the tiles down yet.
- 6). Lay all the tiles in the room, cutting tiles to fit near walls and cabinets with a tile cutter or utility knife. To cut tiles with a utility knife, score them on the face with a straightedge as a guide and break them off. Cut curves in the tiles with a coping saw.
- 7). Glue the template tiles in place, and then glue the rest of the tiles. Remove each tile in turn. Spread adhesive on the floor with a trowel. Set the tile into the adhesive. Apply pressure to seat it.
- 8). Roll the floor to remove bubbles in the adhesive.
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