Vinyl Plank Flooring Over Tile – Today I’m going to share how we installed new vinyl plank flooring over our existing ceramic tile flooring with just a few simple steps to ensure it was properly level. We used Golden Select vinyl plank Smokey Barrel.
When things suddenly and drastically changed this spring with the pandemic and our spring break was canceled, we decided to jump in and tackle some home projects. We hadn’t decided whether to replace all the tiles in our basement because it seemed like a huge job since the ceramic tile was placed directly on top of the concrete base. But we also knew we really wanted to change and freshen up the look of the basement and create a more cohesive selection of flooring throughout the space. The old tile was uneven, difficult to clean, hard on the feet and cold in winter. It wasn’t exactly our style or color choice either.
Vinyl Plank Flooring Over Tile
In January I repainted all the walls white and we had added a wall of wallpaper. I had also purchased some area rugs to cover the heavy tile and warm up this room, which definitely worked as a temporary measure.
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But once we decided to redo the family room, updating the ceiling, flooring and trim, the project included all the basement common areas and hallways.
We went to Costco right before the pandemic blew up and bought enough boxes of Golden Select Vinyl Plank Flooring (Smokey Barrel) to cover the entire basement floor except for the three bedrooms which were in pretty good shape (and keep warmer in the winter). . We could have also ordered the Golden Select from Costco online, but we were anxious to get started!
Before we started, we removed the baseboards from the walls and thoroughly vacuumed and cleaned the floors.
I purchased this premium floor patch mix from my local hardware store and mixed it according to the package directions. Since our tiles had a faux slate texture, we wanted to smooth it out before installing the vinyl over the top.
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I used a wide putty knife to apply the mixture to the grout joints and any low areas, spreading it evenly and scraping off the excess product.
Since we had already put vinyl plank in the family room, we lined up the floorboards with this doorway so the line would continue. We first laid it out walking back from the family room door to determine how wide our first piece should be.
Below you can see where the door is open in the top left corner of the picture, how we lined up the boards so they were in a straight line and flowed from the hallway to the basement family room. We later used a transition strip because the two rooms were slightly different, but we still wanted the boards to be straight between the two rooms.
The installation went much faster than we expected, considering that we had to make some small cuts.
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We ran into some uneven spots, so it was important to patch the floor with patch compound to make sure the vinyl plank was installed on a level surface. We had to do this where the flooring stopped before entering the furnace/mechanical room in the basement.
We were very pleased with how easy it was to install this vinyl plank floor (read this post for details and installation tips).
You can also watch the video I made with our tips – the process is the same, making sure your flooring is completely level (and patched as needed) when walking directly over the old tile floor!
No matter how much white paint I used on the walls and how much I pre-cleaned the floor, it always felt dirty and old. A uniform, easy to clean, beautiful plank floor downstairs completely transformed the basement area!
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In this post we shared how we installed this same flooring right over the concrete floor in our family room.
You can find Golden Select at Costco and it comes in several beautiful color options. We love the Smokey Barrel color, but I would love to use Antique Oak in our new build!
Happy Housie is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. If you click on a link that takes you to Amazon, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Thank you for your support! Scroll up All the materials and steps needed to install vinyl flooring over old tile yourself as a temporary fix.
Favorite project EVER! Well, I’d say probably about 50% of all the projects we do here, but this one is definitely the most transformative for the least amount of money.
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If you’ve been following along with our master bathroom refresh, Robert and I had painted the walls, trim, and cabinetry by last weekend. But the ceramic tile floor still looked like this:
Although we had previously salvaged ceramic tile in our kitchen and hallway bathroom using a grout pen, this floor seemed a bit further. And since we’re sticking with the existing countertop and shower for now (until a real gut/renovation), I wanted a floor that would modernize the 80’s beige a little better.
Except I wanted to avoid going the tile paint and stenciling route as many DIYers have been doing lately. With a 3 month old living in the house I didn’t like the idea of smoke and wanted this job to be quick and installed in an hour or two.
Generally, if you are doing a major renovation, I would NOT recommend putting vinyl flooring over tile. I think a permanent floor should do it “right”. But for a quick Phase 1 fix, it’s a great DIY solution to tide you over until you’re ready for the messy work of a contractor.
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So if you’re looking to do the same to some of your existing tile floors that have seen better days, here’s how we did it.
2. After the grout has dried in about 24-48 hours, you can sand down any rough areas with medium grit sandpaper.
3. Mop the floor and clean up any debris with a dustpan as you don’t want to trap anything under the sheet vinyl floor.
4. Use a crowbar and a mallet or hammer to remove the quarter circle and baseboards. Here’s a post to help you out if you’ve never done it before. Set the quarter round trim and baseboards aside to be reinstalled after the vinyl sheet is installed (assuming they are in good condition).
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5. Measure all the sides of the room and draw a diagram of your room on a piece of paper using these measurements. There’s never a dull moment with this guy, even for routine measuring jobs. 😉
Also include measurements of obstacles in the room. We removed our old toilet beforehand (this is a great video for removing a toilet with a good tip so water doesn’t drip everywhere) so we measured where to cut a hole in our sheet vinyl for that too.
7. Roll out the vinyl sheet and take a nap. Just kidding. 😉 Well… if you do, we won’t blame you. But at least roll out the vinyl sheet (DO NOT turn it upside down to measure/cut in the next step).
8. Use your chart as a reference to mark the measurements using the tape measure on the edges of the vinyl sheet to create the template.
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10. And cut the vinyl sheet with sharp scissors or a knife. Once the floor is cut, wipe off the remaining chalk line (Mr. Clean Magic Erasers work great).
11. Pull your cut vinyl sheet into the room and roll it out. If necessary, trim the remaining areas with a knife, placing it in the room.
12. Reinstall baseboards and trim with a nail gun to hold the floor edges. (This was according to our manufacturer’s instructions for our particular vinyl floor, but your floor manufacturer may require you to apply the adhesive first.)
13. Next, apply white silicone caulk to fill the cracks on the reinstalled trim. And attach the sheet vinyl trim to the shower/tub/door sill as well.
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But with the mix of warm and cool tones in this floor, I think it brings the blue and beige together.
So now the next thing on the agenda is to patch up with a little paint touch up and install a new toilet (because the old one really needed to be pulled out for good).
This week I will be painting the door with Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron to match the rest of the doors in the house which are already such a deep charcoal color.
And I hung the window
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