Vinyl Plank Flooring Over Tile
Vinyl Plank Flooring Over Tile – If you are considering luxury vinyl tile or plank for your bathroom flooring, there are a few things to consider before making your purchase. In this guide, I cover everything you need to know about selecting and installing LVT specifically for a bathroom application…
Four years ago, during my old 1980s bathroom remodel, I installed fancy click-and-lock vinyl tile directly on top of unsightly ceramic tile.
Vinyl Plank Flooring Over Tile
While at the time, installing such new technology in such an unorthodox manner (without even demolishing the existing sub-floor) seemed very risky, looking back years later, I can proudly say that it was a risk that paid off.
Ceramic Tile Vs Vinyl Plank Flooring
The new LVT flooring not only dramatically transformed a once stale space, but the technology proved to live up to its claims of being waterproof and durable in high-traffic areas.
Even better, since the click and lock installation feature lends this product to beginner/intermediate level DIYers, my husband and I saved a significant portion of our remodeling budget by not having to hire a professional remodel installer. floors. Not only that, we also save time and hassle by not having to demo unsightly pre-existing stone tiles.
By sharing all the knowledge I gained during my initial research, purchase, and installation process, I hope this guide will help you decide for yourself if LVT is the best option for your unique needs.
One of the main reasons I went with luxury vinyl over traditional stone or ceramic tile (aside from the budget mentioned above) was the fact that most (not all) click and lock options don’t require grout.
How To Install Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring
As far as I’m concerned, grout (at least the lighter colored grout) is just an eyesore waiting to happen.
Not only do I think the grout lines surrounding the 12×24 and 12×12 tiles may be too busy for my minimalist-leaning aesthetic, being a mom and pet owner, grout alone has proven to be a pain in the ass. $$ for me in all my past experiences (as if I needed one more damn thing to clean off my to-do list).
Once I determined that I didn’t want to mess with grout, I was directed to a variety of grout-free options including sheet vinyl, hardwood, and laminate flooring. But since hardwood and laminate aren’t entirely waterproof, vinyl seemed like the safest choice for my bathroom, which would be exposed to a lot of spills in the tub, shower, toilet, and sink.
While most sheet vinyl is marketed as waterproof, since I wanted a more elevated feel in my master suite, I decided luxury vinyl tile flooring was the best option.
Diy Pros: Luxury Vinyl Plank Over Existing Floors
But… while all vinyl is waterproof, for a bathroom application, you need to make sure that if you go with any type of LVT or LVP that has a bonded base, that the base itself is suitable for wet environments and wet.
Since I wanted to install my luxury vinyl tile directly over the existing tile flooring, I needed to select a variety of luxury vinyl with a thick enough backing to prevent old grout lines from surfacing through the new flooring. .
Tip: To avoid the telegraphic effect, I suggest choosing a tile thickness of at least 7.5 to 8 millimeters.
For your shopping convenience, this post contains affiliate links. As a Reward Style and Amazon affiliate, I earn commission on sales at no additional cost to you.
How To Prepare A Vinyl Floor For Ceramic Tile
To be completely cautious, I decided to go with this mosaic from Mannington which was designed using Microban technology.
Bottom line: Before you buy LVT for your bathroom, I suggest selecting one that has “antimicrobial” listed in the product specifications. After all, in humid and steamy conditions, you don’t want your bathroom floors to act as a breeding ground for mold or mildew!
While I have a detailed step-by-step tutorial in this separate post, How to Install Luxury Vinyl Tile, I wanted to give you some helpful tips to consider specifically for a bathroom installation.
To make cuts in the LVT for the vents and toilet flange, my husband found a jig saw with a fine tooth blade that worked best for the flex core product we used.
Luxury Vinyl Tile Vs. Luxury Vinyl Plank Floors: A Professional Flooring Installer’s Expert Tips Before You Try Luxury Vinyl Flooring For The First Time!
Since he’ll need to remove the toilet before installing his new flooring, he’ll need to be familiar with basic plumbing. Fear not, this helpful tutorial on how to remove a toilet bowl should be just what you need.
To make precise cutouts for the toilet plumbing, my husband used some painter’s tape we had lying around.
As shown below, simply line up the tile or plank next to the toilet flange and mark the width with masking tape. Next, align the tile to mark the depth of the toilet flange.
The tape will create a grid pattern, and the square that forms will be the place to cut the hole for the cable tie.
The Best Vinyl Plank Flooring Guide
Good to know: Once you reinstall the toilet on top of the new floor, it will now be further away from the drain opening. As a result, a wax seal (even an extra thick one) may not be able to make an airtight seal. For that situation, we had to use this toilet flange extender kit.
Where the LVT meets the shower and/or tub base, you want to make the cuts as precise as possible! The more precise the cut, the less caulk will be needed to ensure that dripping water from the person getting out of the shower does not go under the LVT.
If an exposed connecting edge will meet the base, remove the exposed edge with a utility knife. This will ensure that there is no excess caulk.
While there are so many positives to LVT and LVP—waterproof, affordable, low-maintenance, durable, more comfortable to stand on, and easy to install, just to name a few—this flooring option may not be for everyone.
Luxury Vinyl Tile Installation (diy)
If you’re a very tactile person who loves the feel and feel of real stone or ceramic tile, LVT won’t fool you. Sure…it looks real, but it’s definitely not that hard underfoot.
While the attached subfloor is certainly more comfortable to stand on and warmer to the touch, there’s no question that it feels (and sounds) different when walking on compared to other solid surfaces like porcelain tile or stone.
However, I wanted to add that while this flooring material is not as tactile as more traditional options, LVT is becoming increasingly popular as a design option.
When it came time to sell our beloved spruce-up top, our renovated bathroom was a lauded feature and our resale value was very impressive (even though our kitchen, laundry room, and bathrooms had LVT and LVP flooring).
Fawn Oak 6 In. X 36 In. Rigid Core Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring
Having said that, I don’t think the ‘feel’ of this flooring would stop us with buyers, but if you’re a fan of sensory stuff, you might want to go to a showroom and try this material out for yourself.
Now that I’ve discussed the basics of luxury vinyl flooring in a bathroom setting, I thought I’d select some affordable LVT and LVP picks below.
If you’d like to replicate the look of my bathroom, the flooring I used is labeled “j” below…
Given my extensive experience using luxury vinyl tile (I installed it in nearly every applicable room in my previous home renovation), it’s safe to say that this new advancement in technology has truly been a game changer, especially for weekend warriors like my husband and I.
Msi Bayshore Hickory Ridge 6 In. X 48 In. Glue Down Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring (36 Sq. Ft. / Case)
If you’d like to read more articles on LVT flooring, be sure to check out the following links to my other blog posts:
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It’s like having your very own interior designer, life coach (and drinking buddy) for FREE. Living fabulously AF- on a tight budget. All the supplies and steps you need to do-it-yourself laminate vinyl flooring over old tile for a temporary solution.
Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring For Bartram Park Condo
Favorite project ALWAYS! Okay, I say probably about 50% of all the projects we do here, but this one definitely makes the list of the most transformative for the least amount of money.
If you’ve been following our master bathroom update, Robert and I had painted the walls, trim, and cabinet until last weekend. But the ceramic tile floor still looked like this:
Even though we’ve salvaged ceramic tile in our kitchen and hall bathroom with a grout pen in the past, this floor looked a bit older. And since we’d be sticking with the existing countertop and shower for now (until a real remodel/renovation is done later on), I wanted a floor that would modernize the ’80s beige a bit better.
Except I wanted to get away from the tile painting and stenciling route like a lot of DIYers here have been doing lately. With a 3-month-old baby in the house, I didn’t like the idea of fumes and wanted this job
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