Patrick Madden

With the kitchen behind us, it was time to move on to a few smaller house projects that could be completed in less than a weekend. One of the fun things about being married is the ability to disagree on nearly everything, including the tiniest, most insignificant things in life. Our house was no exception. In general, the things that bother me and that I want to fix are completely different than the things on my wife’s list.

Take our bathroom floor. It was a puke-blue colored* linoleum that – if I had to guess – was original to the 1970′s house. I hated it as much as anything in the house. On the other hand, it didn’t seem to bother my wife all that much. At least in relation to all the other things she wanted to fix.

But since it was a relatively easy project, I decided I was going to update the floor. I should have gotten a good picture of the old floor, but all I have is the out of focus one below.

I could have, and maybe should have, replaced the floor with ceramic tile. But I was a hesitant because I’ve never done tile before, so I instead went with vinyl floor tiles that mimic the look of ceramic tile. On the positive side, they are inexpensive, easy to install and look pretty good out of the box.

According to this old house, vinyl tiles come in two varieties: glue-down tiles, which are set into a bed of mastic, and self-adhesive tiles which are a peel-and-stick. I bought the peel-and-stick kind which literally meant peel off the backing and then stick to the floor. There were a few tricky cuts around the edges of the room, but the tiles can easily be cut with a razorblade, so even a non-flooring expert like me had the entire floor down in less than a couple hours. It really was one of the easiest things I had done to the house.

Here is what the finished floor looked like.

While my decision to go with vinyl tile was primarily based on 1) ease of installation, and 2) cost, one of the nicer things about vinyl compared to ceramic tile that I’ve grown to like is that it has a slightly warmer, softer feel under your feet (which is a very good thing during cold, Maine winters). It was very easy to install and in the 3+ years since we’ve put it down, it was been very durable.

Since installation, the largest negative thing about the tiles is that they have yellowed over time (well, all except one tile, which makes the floor look even stranger. So my slate colored floor now has a distinct yellow hue to it. I’m not a fan of the color change, but it still looks way better than the old puke-blue stuff.

Overall, I’d recommend vinyl tile. It’s not going to fool anyone into thinking you have actual tile on your floor, but I personally think the look is step up from traditional linoleum sheets. I’m not sure what’s up with the staining of my tiles – maybe it’s the brand or maybe I should try cleaning up after myself once in a while – but it’s not so bad that it’s a deal breaker.

*Puke-blue: It’s a royal blue base with flecks of brown, silver and orange in it, like someone puked all over a royal blue floor…. coming soon to a Crayola box near you soon.