VCT tile question before final decision

[silverbeauty]

Hi all
Thank you for your great info on my earler posting "retro tiles". I have contacted several distributors for samples from your suggestions.

I have a few questions regarding VCT tiles that I would like to know before making a final decision. I am attracted to these because they are cheap, ( 50 cents a foot at a local discount store)I can install them myself and because they come in a variety of colours for the retro look I want, but am confused because:

Most people recommend a floating floor because of movement causing buckling and heaving of tiles, and since VCT tiles are traditionally glued down, how would I install them? I have heard mixed reviews about gluing anything down directly to the floor. Should I install a thinner subfloor over the existing floor and glue the tiles to the new subfloor? I have also been told to lay down the tiles without any adhesive at all, but am concerned that they will gap or pop out. Should I just glue them (I have heard not to quite a bit on this forum)I would appreciate any advice about VCT tiles that I can get! Thank you in advance for your help!

[InsideOut]

Vintage trailers had tiles glued down...if your floor is solid, glue down new tiles. I have had glued down linoleum sheet (alot of people around here discourage it too) installed for 7 years and over 30,000 miles. No problem.

Shari

[Ed Emerick]

We have used VCT in the 68, see the attached photo. They have been on the floor for about 10 years or so. Here is the good the bad and the ugly:

Good- they look really cool very retro, can get any color (USA spelling), when waxed look great, sweeps up well, even dog, cat and teenage girl hair, not too hard to install, easy to cut, the good.

The bad: The subfloor must be clean of anything that could cause a dimple such as a screw head, dust, filler, seam in the sub, dirt. It is COLD, I have had to lie down on it at 2 AM at 40 degrees to relight the furnace, that's cold, really really COLD, you need to keep it waxed to make it look good, sand will remove the wax, dog feet will remove the wax, sunlight will yellow it, dust will remove the wax, water will mar the wax. The wax has to be stripped before you can rewax, can you say blisters on my knees? It will crack over time, I'm looking to do a reflooring job on it soon, but its been ten years of kids dogs and miles and miles of travel.

Ugly? Nothing looks better when that floor is clean, new and waxed, its soooooooo cool!

My suggestion, get the subfloor smooth and clean, GLUE IT, I have had some unglued pieces show up all over the trailer after a short trip. I just don't see how it would stay on the floor without glue.

I like it, but I will say that I HATE the stripping and waxing each year, that's a job that I try to get Sandy to do but it's not happening!

Funny, we just spent the day looking for flooring for the 88, avoided VCT, not the same as the 68. We put a rubber floor in the 59 and that is the way we want to go in the 88, 100 sqft, at $9/sqft is a bit pricy!

good luck, I like the look!

[63Silver]

We used the VCT tiles in the bathroom and they look great. They look great but require a little up keep in the waxing and yes they get cold!! I would glue them down with a recommended heavy duty adhesive.

63silver

[cameront120]

Glue them down! My only recommendation would be to line up your tile seams with the joints in the plywood sub-floor. If you lay the tiles over top of the subloor joint, that joint will become visible in the tiles over time. And over time, these tiles will probably crack. Easy to avoid if the tiles are layed with the sub-floor joints in mind.

[markdoane]

I would recommend you use an underlayment on top of the subfloor.

1. Use filler to level the subfloor, and knock down seams with a belt sander.

2. Apply 1/4" plywood underlayment. I would staple it down without glue - you might want to remove it someday. I used 3/4" staples. Offset seams at least 8" from the subfloor seams.

3. Apply the tile with a premium grade tile adhesive.

I sealed the perimeter with Vulkum sealant.

[DeamArt]

We laid down a 3/8" subfloor and glued Quartzite tile. 7 coats of comercial polish. Should hold up well we hope. 1958 Flying Cloud. TV 1958 Cadillac.
Dick and Judy
"DeamArt"

[goransons]

wow looks great. Can't wait for us to get to that stage but its gonna be awhile. We put down engineered hardwoods in our 69 but are going the tile in the 63. Love the look though! Has anyone ever cut these new tiles down to 8x8 with any success?

[gypsygirl1]

Here's a pic of our floor -- We used Flextile, have used them in two trailers -- the first pic is our 52 Royal Spartanette, and the second pic is our 59 Tradewind. We are very happy with the tile. Tiles are laid over new subfloor, of course.

[silverleeper]

Originally Posted by Ed Emerick

We put a rubber floor in the 59

Hi Ed, Curiosity has the best of me. Do you have any pictures of the rubber floor in the 59?
We cut the tiles down in the 67 and apparently have similar taste to Ed. It's Armstrong tile.

[BIGED52]

We are going to use a combination of flooring materials in our trailer. A no seam rubber product for the bathroom floor in mingled blue/aqua to compliment the aqua tub and wall panels. A mix of aqua and tan VCT tiles (cut down to 9" x 9") from the bathroom door thru the galley. For the front end from the galley thru the dinette area a low pile blue aqua mix wall to wall carpet. It will replace the Asbestos aqua and yellow tiles and the ugly green low pile carpet (matched the upholstery material under and on the goucho and twin bed cushions) that were in the trailer from the factory. It is a bit more involved than a totally tiled floor but I'm hoping it will give a classic look to the interior when done. Ed

[Ed Emerick]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

Hi Ed, Curiosity has the best of me. Do you have any pictures of the rubber floor in the 59?
We cut the tiles down in the 67 and apparently have similar taste to Ed. It's Armstrong tile.

Here ya go, we have been looking for more but it has gotten costly.

[silverleeper]

Hi Ed, Thanks for the photos. That is a neat look and one I never even thought of. I like where you put the kitty door as well. It looks like your 59 has the revere layout of our 60 and you have done allot of polishing on the inside. Makes my arms hurt just looking at it. Nice!

[Ed Emerick]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

Hi Ed, Thanks for the photos. That is a neat look and one I never even thought of. I like where you put the kitty door as well. It looks like your 59 has the revere layout of our 60 and you have done allot of polishing on the inside. Makes my arms hurt just looking at it. Nice!

Thanks we like it, polishing the inside kept me out of the tavern for the month of January! the Kitty Door, well that cat was the kids' and the wife's idea, me I like cats, they taste like chicken.

[rv-n]

being a floorcovering installer the vct has to have a nice clean leval surface to lay properly as your talking sounds like what you have in mind is the pill and stick vct which in my opinion will not stay down or together for a long period now they have other vct which is a direct glue down which means you have to use glue to put the vct down which in long term if you ever decide to take vct up i can almost promise you that the wood will come up to.in my opion nothing beats a old school shag carpet with some 3/8 6 pound pad.hope this helps.