An email from Traci: I am trying to cover up some horrible vinyl tiles in my apartment's Kitchen. The kitchen is approx. 100 sq. ft. My limitations are CHEAP, VERY CHEAP and NO MORE VINYL! I am looking for the Cheapest, Greenest, Easiest solution possible.
Any ideas?
Hi Traci, we share your pain, as we too live in an apartment that originally came sporting some of the most stomach-churning faux brick vinyl tiles we’d ever laid eyes upon (imagine a brick wall that had fallen flat onto the floor, complete with the dirt and grime of several years embedded into it), alongside some fugly cream vinyl flooring in both the bathroom and kitchen.
We required the same budget constraints you’ve mentioned, so we first resorted to purchasing plain white self-adhesive vinyl tiles from Home Depot (89 cents/square) and covering ontop of the previous flooring after cleaning the surface thoroughly for proper adhesion. It made a world of difference, was affordable and fairly easy, providing a neutral-modern finish that could work by itself or partnered with some FLOR carpet tiles or a runner/rug. Plus we didn’t have to resort to ripping apart our flooring, which as renters, is rarely advisable.
We’re also currently considering the more involved proposition of sanding down the kitchen vinyl flooring, priming/painting it with floor paint, and then sealing it with several applications of clear finish as mentioned on several other sites. Note, this might possibly involve the use of some VOC-emitting chemicals during the deglossing step if your vinyl is shiny.
Any other ideas out there about improving Traci's vinyl floor dilemma?
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I wouldn't bother with all that dusty and smell sanding and painting crap.
I would look on craislist and try to fins someone who is selling extra flooring. You can get those cheap tiles at home depot, but that still may be more than you want to spend. sometimes home depot has tiles with tiny defects that may be a bit cheaper.
i would look on craistlist or ebay and try to get someone to sell you some cheap tiles for like 25 cents per tile.
We nailed down thin sheets of plywood over existing floor in our small kitchen area. Pick a ply whose outer layer is a hardwood. Follow with stain + several coats of polyurethane. Not particularly long-lasting but should serve for a couple years. Current floor (mercanti facing--not so green) looks okay if a little worn after 4 years. Previous incarnation (pine) looked okay for 2 years.
I have a very ugly vinyl bathroom floor with white-ish vinyl. Since I rent and wanted a cheap cover up, I used oil cloth. It's cheap and comes in many interesting patterns. I cut out holes to create a snug fit around the feet of the tub, the toilet and the sink and used carpet tape to fix it in place. It lasted a year and I just pulled it up to replace it with a different version of the same thing (mainly due to my boredom, not it's aging). I think I might try to create a tiled effect this time around.
Just don't try to rip the floor out. Some vinyl flooring dated pre-1980's have the possibilty of having asbestos underneath. Put another layer on top; cork flooring is affordable and easy to install.(those click system ones) I think Ikea has some engineered wood flooring that's also cheap and easy to install.
Put down a durable rug (seagrass) and call it a day.
Since you dont own the place, why spend the money?
How much do those rubber mats restaurants use in their kitchens cost? Do they come in colors other than black? They'd certainly be more comfortable to stand on than ugly tile. I'd assume you could buy a large one and cut it to fit.
What about those rubber mats some buildings put down at the entrance when it rains? Would those work?
You could always go to Ikea and stock up on bathmats. Cut to size and knit a bunch of them together to create a very cheap washable rug. Not sure if I'd want them in a room where they'd be exposed to open flame, though.
Marmoleum is said to be greenish - although it needs to be glued down and what's in the glue. Your kitchen isn't big, I don't know the costs per sq ft.
www.forbo-flooring.com/framework/DesktopDefault.aspx?menu_id=3073
Somewhere there is floorplanner but you have to unblock popups
I had a disgusting kitchen floor in my apartment when I moved in and couldn't take it. I went to Home Depot and got new floor tiles for cheap. They are still vinyl, so this may not be an option for you, but I got ones that looked like sandstone with white grout in between them (no grouting required, it's part of the design). The tiles are self-adhesive. Scrub your current tiles with a strong abrasive (I actually used a steel brush) and then just pull the backing off the tile and put it down. You'll have to do some cutting with a box cutter and be sure to push the tiles together as hard as you can when you are laying them to make sure they stay in a grid pattern. I redid my whole kitchen (approx 80 sq ft.) for less than $80 bucks (the tiles are less than $1 a piece and come in a lot of varieties). I didn't even ask my apartment manager for permission because it raised the value of the apartment anyway.
I once used Astroturf in a kitchen. My friends loved it and the girl who bought my place insisted that I leave it.
Thank you all for these suggestions. Forbo is great & Green. So is Marmoleum (Forbo). Unfortunatly they cost more than i can affoard.
I have decided to try screwing down 2'x2' squares of OSB stained & urethaned with low VOC content (AFM Safecoat brand). The whole floor (if by some miracle it works) will cost under $2 square foot. The OSB by itself, cut and everything, came out to about $0.30 a square foot. I may look into the oil cloth as well for my bathroom floor. I was contemplating doing a river stone finish with stones from the beach (instead of the ones on square backings that cost likie $20 sqft).
Thanks again, and i would still love any further suggestions!
Hi there Traci - sorry I'm late to the party. It may be a shot in the dark but perhaps you can talk your way into a very green linoleum floor by speaking to an installer who will more than likely have remnants left over from previous jobs. It may be a hodgepodge but it works with carpet installers, why not other flooring.
Oh, also, I hate to be a pain but I am 99% sure that OSB has some off-gassing which may blow your green concept out of the water. There are other things out there. Check out this months DWELL for green flooring ideas. They test drive a few.
Good luck - DC