Fixing tears in vinyl tile flooring

When you look around your bath or kitchen, do you see imperfections in the vinyl tile? A gouge perhaps? Maybe a rip? The following is an easy way to replace and repair these tiles, to return your floor to its original state. ( or close to it) The hardest part will probably be finding a tile that matches your existing tile. If you can't find an exact match, but are determined to get rid of those rips and tears, find a tile in a comparable pattern and color. While you are at the hard ware store, you will need the following items:putty knife, utility knife, chisel, clothes iron and whatever adhesive is recommended for the tile you have purchased.

To lift the offending tile, place a rag over it and iron on medium high. Be sure not to iron the surrounding tiles or you will be spending a lot more time glueing those back down! After ironing, try to wedge a putty knife under a corner and lift. Be careful! If you lever the putty knife against the tile next to it you will cause damage to that one too! If you cannot pry up a portion of the tile, heat again and give it another go. If you STILL can't pry it up use the chisel from the rip out to the edges.

Once your tile is up, scrape away any left over adhesive. This could interfere with the replacement of the tile later. Place your new tile in the balnk space making sure it will fit. If it does not, mark and cut off the excess with the utility knife. Next, apply the glue, in the recommended methods. Most adhesives are spread with a serrated spreader, but a piece of cardboard does the trick nicely!

Iron the new tile to soften slightly, this helps the adhesive to stick better. Drop in the new tile to the empty space. Do not slide it in or you will disturb the even surface of the adhesive. Place a heavy object over the new tiles to weigh it down for at least 24 hours.