susanb34•2mo agoMost Upvoted

Can we talk about those peel and stick floor tiles for a bathroom?

I was sure they were a cheap trick that would lift in a week, but my sister put them in her guest bath over a year ago. She used the kind from a big box store, the ones that cost about $2 a square foot. They're still flat, no curling at the edges, and handle the steam from showers fine. I was wrong to dismiss them without trying. Has anyone else had a good run with these for a longer period, like two years or more?

4 comments

4 Comments

kim.jake2mo ago

Wasn't I the guy saying those were just a temporary fix? Totally changed my mind after helping a friend put some in her laundry room. That floor gets soaked from wet boots and overflows sometimes. Three years later, the tiles are still stuck down tight. It's all about prepping the floor right, making it super clean. I wouldn't put them over old vinyl that's lifting, but on a solid floor, they can really last.

blair_taylor3224d ago

Drives me crazy how much of life is just secret prep work nobody tells you about until you mess up. It's like that old saying about painting taking 90% prep and 10% actual painting, applies to everything from floors to cooking.

vera_robinson362mo ago

Yeah, I read a whole article about that exact thing. It said the peel and stick tiles get a bad rap because people skip the prep work. You can't just slap them on a dirty floor and hope they hold. The article stressed cleaning it like crazy, even using a degreaser, and making sure the floor is totally flat. It made sense, because that adhesive needs a perfect surface to grab onto. What kind of cleaner did your friend use before putting them down?

sage_green2mo ago

Ugh, why does every DIY project have a secret prep step that nobody talks about? It's like the universe's rule. You buy the thing, you're all excited, then bam, surprise three hours of scrubbing and leveling. My cousin put peel and stick in her entryway and they bubbled up in a month because she just swept. Had to rip it all up and start over with this intense concrete cleaner. Total pain.