I have recently ripped up the carpet in my living room. I don’t want to put down more carpet because my cats will just destroy it again. I was thinking of installing those DIY sticky tiles.
Since it is now down to the plywood floor, do I need to do anything to it before I install the sticky tiles? Will the tiles stick to this okay? Or do I need to seal it with something first?
I just wanted something quick, cheap and easy. Sticky tiles was my solution. Is this the quickest, cheapest and easiest solution? I’m comfortable installing the tiles because I watched my folks do it to thier house. I don’t know how hard/expensive it would be to put down vinyl myself. Any ideas?
Vinyl tiles - don’t go there - I used them in kitchen & 2 baths, and they have “shrunk” - don’t know why, but the perfectly-placed-on-sealed-new-sub-floor things (which were not all that cheap) now have noticable cracks between the tiles.
Yes, you will need to apply a sealant to the plywood before using any kind of adhesive - the wood will “suck” the adhesive from the flooring, and the flooring will warp, curl, and generally die.
You will also need to use an adhesive specifically designed for your flooring - I had to return a bunch of adhesive when I found read the label (hint: don’t assume the guy in the “floors-r-us” store knows what he’s talking about) and found it was incompatible with the wood tiles he sold me. The manager was not happy about that sale/return.
So - since I will never recommend de-clawing a cat (for those who disagree, try this - rip out your nails with a pair of pliers, then let us know how you feel about it (heathen steps off soapbox)), you can:
a)find another home for cat, and replace carpet
b) find carpet the cat can’t destroy (think $)
c)use sheet goods (I would not even think about that as a DIY project)
d) use wood - conventional (oak) or tiles/strips (I have seen products which, once installed, are supposed to look like wood flooring - have not looked into it)
e) use ceramic tiles/stone
quick/cheap - vinyl on absolutely clean, smooth, sealed surface.
good for 10 years - something else (unless somebody’s come up with a much better tile than I found).
Well, getting rid of the cats is not an option. I’ve had them all their life and I love the little guys. Declawing or putting them outside is not an option either. Not good for kitties. And to continue this cat hijack in my own thread…
I wish all they did was claw up the carpet. Nope, I have sprayers. Wonderful, lovable, nuetered sprayers and pissers. My lover hates it and wanted them booted outside. So as a comprimise, I built a screen wall to wall off the living room and I’m turning it into a little cat heaven. As soon as the floor is in, I get to build kitty jungle gyms.
Back to the flooring subject…
Could the sticky tiles you installed have shrunk because they were installed before they had time to adjust to the temperature in your house? Or is that not a problem with sticky tiles? (I’ve heard you have to let wood flooring adjust before installation for that reason)
Since it’s just a big, square room, could I buy a big sheet of vinyl at Lowes and install that myself? How hard would that be? (I’m about ready to just paint the damn floor and leave it at that!)
If you are going to turn the LR over to the cats, a hard (read: NOT latex) coating might be a good idea - talk to people who use the term “coating”, not “paint” - look around.
As to sheet goods (BTW, my experience was 15 yrs ago, technology undoubtly has progressed):
it comes in 12’ widths - if any dimension is greater than 12’, you are looking at a splice. Not fun - check a video before proceeding.
It will expand/contract with temp. - the proper thing is to remove the baseboards, install the covering about 1/8" short of the wall, then install the baseboards above the covering.
The adhesive must be even, and you will have a hell of a time repositioning the sheet if you don’t get it right the first time - I don’t remember all the steps involved - get a video.
And no, the temp of the tiles was not an issue - they were installed in an existing house (heated) and never have seen temps below 55 F or above 80 F.
Another idea - since the cats have limited lifespans (sorry): if you expect to stay there longer than the cats will survive, do a really sloppy install of the tiles and let them peel - they will come up easily when you are ready to go back to carpet.
You could also paint the floor and put down an area rug - easy to remove, but still warm underfoot.
Is your living room upstairs or are you in a pier-and-beam house? Just curious, doesn’t really affect the answer. happyheathen is right, I think: vinyl tiles are not the way to go. Ceramic tile might be better. It’s easy to install and relatively cheap, but it’s extremely hard and can cause your room to echo. And it can seem “cold.”
I like the laminate wood products that are out now – Pergo, et al. They “float,” so there’s no attachment to the substrate, and they will give some what to match humps and dips in the plywood. They’re fairly easy to install, but can be very expensive compared to carpet or tile. You’ll want to use a sound-absorbing underlayment because Pergo will echo as well.
Sheet laminate is also a good choice. Very affordable. As happyheathen pointed out, you might want to look at professional installation. Good news is that even with that, it’s still not all that bad; cheaper than DIY Pergo, I would guess.