Laying PVC or quartz vinyl tiles on the floor: installation process and tools. Laying quartz vinyl tiles Types of adhesive suitable for PVC tiles

Foundation preparation

The following materials can be used as a base for PVC tiles:

  • Cement-sand (cement) screed
  • Various mixtures specially designed for leveling floors
  • Plywood of increased moisture resistance (FSF marking)
  • Bulk, dry bases (Knauf Superpol)
  • Existing coatings: tile, porcelain tile, vinyl tile

· The base for laying PVC tiles should be prepared in exactly the same way as for ANY other floor covering. The base must comply with the requirements of SNiP 3.04.01-87 and SNiP 2.03.13-88 and be sufficient:

  • Clean: the surface must be free of sand, dust, grease, paint and other foreign matter
  • durable
  • stable
  • Dry
  • Rovny

Determination of the laying direction of quartz-vinyl tiles

· Before starting work, it is necessary to determine the direction of laying the tiles. Remember that diagonal laying increases tile consumption due to more undercutting.

  • Aesthetic considerations: neatly decorated entrance to the room, adjoining tiles to visible walls and other designs.
  • Convenience of the laying process: minimal labor costs, the possibility of simultaneous laying by several workers.
  • At diagonal laying, the beacon row is usually the longest row, which sets the angle of adjunction of vinyl tiles to walls and structures

Tool for laying quartz-vinyl tiles

· Before laying tiles, make sure you have the right tools. For fast and quality styling You will need:

Line punching tool. It can be either a professional chopping cord, or a “right and lo "(or another, sufficiently long object), with which you can draw a straight line.

  • Roulette
  • Square.
  • Rubber mallet.
  • Knife. It is better to use professional construction knives, but a regular clerical knife will do.
  • Notched trowel. The choice of spatula is extremely important for the correct pvc laying coatings. When choosing a spatula, pay attention to the fact that:
  • When laying PVC tiles, use ONLY a notched trowel.
  • For laying vinyl tiles, a dosing spatula of 300 - 400 g/m2 is used. The use of a spatula with b O Excessive consumption of adhesive composition can adversely affect the quality of installation. Do not use a trowel to lay tiles.

The process of laying quartz-vinyl tiles

· Before starting work, carefully read the instructions for using glue or mastic.

Before applying mastic or glue, the base is recommended to be primed

· Apply adhesive to the BASE at the rate of several (3 - 4) rows of tiles. Apply adhesive to an area that can be tiled in 20 to 30 minutes. Depending on the skill of the stacker and the configuration of the room, this area may be different.

· Next, you should wait for the time required for the release of excess (transport) moisture from the adhesive (gumming time). This time, depending on the characteristics of the adhesive and the climatic conditions in the room, usually varies from 15 to 40 minutes.

· For complete confidence in the readiness of the adhesive to work, it is necessary to conduct a “finger test”. If the glue is not yet ready to work, then when you touch it, it will leave marks on your finger. If the finger sticks to the adhesive layer, but there are no traces of glue left, then you can start laying the coating.

· Lay the beacon rows. Remember that the first row is especially important. The following rows will adjoin it. Carelessly (unevenly) glued tiles of the first row will create difficulties for laying subsequent rows.

· Install the rest of the vinyl tiles. Laying of each next row can be done from the already laid tiles.

· ATTENTION: on products of some manufacturers, on back side there are arrows indicating the recommended direction of tiling. We advise you to arrange the tiles in accordance with the direction of the arrows.

End of work

· ATTENTION: do not cover the laid tiles with any covering materials within 72 hours.

Depending on the type of room and the configuration of the pattern, a specialist lays from 80 to 150 sq.m of material on the prepared floor surface in 8 hours of work.

Laying technology does not provide for sealing seams(as for linoleum or porcelain stoneware), the tiles are glued to the base of the floor butt to each other. And since there are no seams, the quartz-vinyl tile floor looks like a single seamless canvas. This protects the floor from dirt and when driving over the tiles of shopping and warehouse trolleys, the floor does not "noise".

Coatings from must be laid on an even, clean (without traces of sand, dust, grease, oils, polishes, paints) and always a dry base.

It's important to know! Coatings do not allow moisture to pass through, so if you stick them on an insufficiently dry base, then moisture will accumulate under the material, destroy the coating and glue from the inside.

The first stage is the preparation of the subfloor for laying quartz vinyl tiles

The base of the floor can be:

  • concrete floors with cement screed.
  • asphalt floors
  • ceramic floors
  • wooden floors
  • metal floors

You can learn more about the preparation and types of floor bases in a special section of our website.

  • Before starting laying work it is necessary to measure the moisture content of the screed.
  • The readiness for the next stage of work is determined in accordance with the indicator of residual moisture, it should be no more than 2.0%.
  • On the concrete base floors of the first floors, entrance groups and during wet rooms(kitchen, bathroom) waterproofing is required.
  • Further surface is primed The primer has a high penetrating ability, serves to increase the adhesion of repair masses, as well as to strengthen and waterproof. It binds surface dust, reduces the absorbency of the base, protecting it from the moisture of leveling compounds and glue.
  • Then you need apply leveling compound, which is designed to create a leveling layer. The grade of the leveling mass is selected according to the compressive strength, i.e. according to the degree of load in the room. The thickness of the leveling layer depends on the quality of the screed, but necessary minimum is 1.0-2.0 mm.

The second stage is the preparation of quartz vinyl tiles for laying

The tile must be kept in place in its original packaging for 48 hours.

When laying floor coverings with underfloor heating heating must be on for at least 10 days prior to laying.

During the application and drying of the adhesive, the heating must be adjusted in such a way that the temperature of the substrate is maintained at + 18 ° C. The temperature must be maintained at this level for at least 3 days after laying the coating.

Necessary tools and materials:

Knife with interchangeable blades: trapezoidal blades for pre-cutting, and C-shaped blades for final cutting

  • notched trowel A2-AZ
  • metal ruler
  • square
  • pencil
  • styling adhesive
  • roller (rollers) 65-70 kg for laying floor coverings

The third stage - laying quartz vinyl tiles

  • Quartz- vinyl tiles should be glued completely, avoiding the ingress of air.
  • For gluing use > glue for laying PVC coatings
  • It is not recommended to lay the material close to the walls - it is necessary to leave a small gap of 5-10 mm.
  • It is necessary to roll the floor covering with special heavy (65-75 kg) rollers to remove air bubbles and secure adhesion.
  • Professionals start at the main doorway, as the first impression of a room is the most important.
  • However, it is possible to start from the middle of the room, and laying out the tiles loosely for checking purposes will provide a good appearance work after completion. This is especially important where drawings are laid out, with which you can hide visual defects, highlight separate zones rooms or just decorate the floor. For example, stripes along the room make it visually wider.

Getting Started

  • Measure the room to be installed in all directions, including niches, ledges, etc.
  • Draw the central line A-B at right angles to the wall in which the doorway is located.
  • draw line C-D at a right angle and in the center of the line A~B
  • Laying starts from the center of the room.


After that, using the "pyramid" method, lay several incomplete layers of tiles.


Then, using the "layer by layer" method, full ranks tiles. Further, using the “pyramid” method, several more incomplete layers are laid out, and so on stage by stage.


Pay Attention When Laying Quartz Vinyl Tile

It's important to know!On the back of each tilethere is an arrow indicating the direction, in which all tiles must fit. If the tiles are not laid in the same direction, the reflection of light will disturb the planned optical image.If the tiles are stacked randomly, you should not pay attention to the arrows.

Cutting tiles near the walls of the room and "obstacles" is carried out with a trapezoidal knife: the upper (protective) layer is cut, then along the cut line the tile is broken and cut with reverse side C-shaped knife. If the “obstacle” has a very complex shape (for example, a column, steps complex shape, pipe, etc.) cutting tiles should be done according to pre-made patterns.

Tell me, what kind of quartz vinyl tile is SPC tile?

SPC material is the so-called stone-polymer composite, which many manufacturers and sellers call a kind of castle quartz vinyl tile. In fact, there is little in common between them. polymer composite- SPC tiles are rigid sheets of plastic with rather fragile locking systems that do not bend at all during laying and can easily break if handled carelessly. For this reason, this flooring is much more demanding on the preparation of the base than 5mm thick interlocking quartz vinyl tiles. In this regard, some manufacturers glue a 2mm underlay to the mounting side of SPC tiles to avoid problems with its hum and crackle (brittleness) during operation, and thereby claim a total tile thickness of up to 6mm, while the actual thickness of the tile itself is about 3 .2 - 4 mm. With such a thickness of the tile, given its fragility, there are problems with locking joints - they often break even during transportation (during transportation in transport companies). The locking system requires careful handling during installation. One awkward move damages the lock. For this reason, the dismantling of this flooring is problematic. Some sellers, faced with this problem, claim that a partial breakdown of the locking system is not a marriage and tiles can be laid with such locks.
Concerning real reviews operation of this polymer tile, then consumers recognize its rigidity, relative to quartz-vinyl coatings, not considering this its advantage. Wear resistance and tactile sensations also suffer due to this rigidity. There is no cushioning underfoot even with underlays. When laying quartz vinyl, an underlay is not necessary, but with SPC tiles it is simply necessary. Acoustic comfort suffers greatly due to rigidity. To find desired substrate under SPC tiles, it is necessary to approach the matter competently - not every substrate is suitable for laying. We need a dense - a certain cork or other substrate, but with high density. If you are using a simple laminate foam backing, then lock system under the pressure of furniture and other local loads, it will quickly become unusable, and the tiles will stand up at their junctions.
Thus, summarizing the advantages of this material presented by Chinese manufacturers, we come to the conclusion that these, in comparison with interlocking quartz vinyl tiles, are rather disadvantages, due to which this tile is inferior in practicality, convenience, and wear resistance. Quartz vinyl tiles in operation are softer (“more pleasant to the ears and feet”), do not require substrates, can be dismantled and laid in another place, thicker and warmer, easier to transport, not as slippery as this plastic. The wear resistance of quartz vinyl is higher due to the ability to withstand point impacts - the fall of heavy objects, which easily leave chips on SPC composite tiles.
And most importantly - the environmental side of the issue. You need to think carefully before purchasing polymer-plastic composites from China, or allegedly from Belgium, Germany, Korea. Often, sellers and manufacturers themselves confuse consumers in this in order to hide real place production of this material, knowing that China has always been "famous" for cheap production from recycled materials with all the ensuing consequences...

Tell me how to apply glue, is it necessary to prime the surface and what kind of glue is suitable for quartz vinyl tiles?

It is not necessary to prime the surface, it is enough to remove dust, clean with wet cleaning and allow to dry. The glue is applied with an A2 spatula with a fine tooth (we give such a spatula when buying a tile) directly on the base or on the base + tile (depending on the installation method and type of surface).
Quartz vinyl tiles are laid on contact adhesive or dispersion. Dispersion is more often used for all absorbent substrates. Contact is suitable for laying both on absorbent and non-absorbent substrates (linoleum, metal, tiles, painted surfaces, PVC coatings), vertical surfaces, ceilings.
When using a dispersion adhesive, it is applied only to the base; in this case, it is not necessary to apply adhesive to the tile.
When laying with a contact method on vertical surfaces and the ceiling, we smear both the tile and the base, let the glue dry (about 20-30 minutes) and then glue it.
From contact adhesives (for gluing to walls, ceilings and non-absorbent substrates), we recommend KIILTO 2 PLUS (KIILTO TWO PLUS), for small volumes it is sold in containers of 1.4 kg, from dispersion adhesives - for absorbent substrates - KIILTO PLUS (KIILTO PLUS). Supplied in containers 1.4; four; 18kg.
Glue for household linoleum not suitable for gluing quartz vinyl. Also, make sure that on the bank itself in the instructions it is written that it is suitable for installing quartz vinyl tiles. Many builders use adhesives that are not always suitable for the installation of these coatings, without going into instructions for the purpose of the adhesive.

What do you think about the environmental friendliness of this material? I heard such an opinion that these tiles, like industrial linoleum, emit harmful substances and are recommended in well-ventilated rooms ONLY ... all sorts of passions have been said ... but the same laminate is also not natural !!! full of rubbish...

Quartz vinyl tiles are developed by Japanese specialists and are produced in South Korea. Japanese and Korean companies give top priority to the environmental safety of their products. Emission level harmful substances into the atmosphere allows the use of this floor design tiles pvc in in public places, houses, children's, educational and medical institutions. The opinion about industrial linoleum is erroneous, since completely different technologies and materials are used in the production of this tile, in particular quartz sand, calcite, which are environmentally friendly. clean materials, these components are connected with another main component - vinyl, which is inert material. At present, a lot of items are made from it (water bottles, food containers and films, etc.) used in everyday life. At the same time, PVC tiles have both mandatory and voluntary examination certificates, which confirmed the absence of harmful emissions in environment and suitability for the use of tiles in preschool and other institutions.

Can underfloor heating be used under quartz tiles?

Yes. During heating - cooling, the material does not undergo temperature changes in size, due to its balanced structure and the presence of quartz sand in the composition.

Can tiles be glued to the wall?

Yes, walls / ceilings can also be finished with quartz vinyl tiles, the only thing you need to use is contact adhesives, for example, KIILTO 2 PLUS glue (KIILTO 2 PLUS), which is applied to both surfaces to be glued, wait time (5-10min) and press against each other with force. It is allowed to apply glue and only on the wall, depending on the type of surfaces on which the installation is taking place. Some small areas can also be glued with Moment glue. Avoid getting glue "Moment" on the front surface of the tile, in case of contact, immediately remove it!

How much is quartz vinyl tile cold material? Does it need underfloor heating?

Quartz vinyl tile has low thermal conductivity, due to this it does not transfer cold from the base well, and its surface acquires the temperature of your room. It is not necessary to make a warm floor under it, it is needed only if there is no heating in the room, and it will be used in the cold season ( country houses, balconies).

How is your tile different from self-adhesive?

Quartz vinyl tiles are installed using a special adhesive for vinyl tiles, which ensures reliable adhesion of the tiles to the base, in addition, it is an excellent waterproofing and does not collapse over time. Self-adhesive tiles have adhesive base like double-sided adhesive tape, which loses its properties over time, is strongly affected by temperature changes and if the base is not sufficiently dust-free, the tile simply will not stick. You also need to take into account if you started laying the tiles incorrectly (there is a gap between the tiles), then it will not be possible to re-glue it, you must either leave it as it is, which will not look aesthetically pleasing and during operation dirt will get into this gap, or tear off this tiles and glue a new one, because the adhesive layer will already be broken on the old one, and it must also be taken into account that during dismantling, part of the base may come off, which will entail additional labor costs for leveling the base. Unlike self-adhesive tiles, when laying Quartz vinyl tiles, the adhesive is applied to the base and allows you to adjust the position of the tile, moving it in the right direction, without losing the strength of the base and the quality of the tile.
In addition, the composition of the Quartz vinyl tile contains crushed particles of superhard natural minerals silicon carbide, corundum and quartz, which guarantees dimensional stability, provides excellent absorbent and spring properties, gives a special comfort when walking. Well, to everything else, Quartz vinyl tiles have a minimum wear resistance class of 34, in contrast to self-adhesive tiles, which have a wear resistance class of 22. Pay attention also to the fact that the "self-adhesive" has a total thickness of about 2 mm (together with a layer of glue), is thin, requires more careful preparation base, when laid on concrete, it will be a fairly hard floor. At present, all self-adhesive tiles are supplied from China under the guise of Belgian ones, and the smell distinguishes Chinese tiles from quality tiles. And of course there is no quartz sand there.

Can you tell me if it is possible to lay tiles on a concrete floor? The apartment is new, renovated by developers, now there is linoleum on the floor, like the floors are even.

If you mean a concrete screed under a concrete floor, then you can’t lay it on it! This base is not strong and, moreover, not even enough. Such a base must be filled with a finishing leveler for the floor, wait for it to dry and glue the quartz vinyl tile.

Tell me, what is your tile laid on, what are the requirements for the base?

Good afternoon, PVC quartz vinyl tiles are laid on any even, durable and smooth base. It could be finishing leveler poured over an existing concrete floor or plywood, GVL slab or OSB board with puttied (acrylic wood putty is used) recessed self-tapping screws and puttied sheet joints around the perimeter. At the same time, it should be noted that old coatings, such as free-lying linoleum and laminate, are not enough solid foundations.

I always considered such a tile an ordinary subspecies of linoleum, but I see it quite interesting material. Gonna do minor repairs in the kitchen and in the toilet, perhaps I will lay PVC tiles. What happens if water gets on it?

Quartz vinyl tiles are absolutely inert to water, that is, they are not afraid of moisture getting on the coating, moreover, in case of flooding, it will serve as a kind of waterproofing layer and will not let water through. Within reason, of course.

We looked at Tarkett PVC tiles in the store, did not understand its differences from chopped linoleum, what is the difference explain?

On the modern market PVC tiles began to be called all vinyl tiles, but in fact it is different and not all PVC tiles are Quartz vinyl tiles. It's perfect different materials, both in composition, production technology, and appearance and performance characteristics. Including tactile sensations - quartz-vinyl tiles are hard to distinguish from wood to the touch, which cannot be said about cheaper analogues.

You say that your tile has a high wear resistance, but sharp object it can be pierced anyway, what to do in this case? Are there any repair kits?

One of the advantages of our tiles is their maintainability. If the tile is still damaged during operation, it can be locally replaced. To do this, the damaged tile is thoroughly heated. building hair dryer, in the place of the seam, gently “pick up” with a knife and cut it out. After that, the base is cleaned from the remnants of glue and the tile from the repair stock is glued (it is better to take the tile with a margin).

And after what time on the glued pvc tile can you walk?

The time it takes for the floor to be ready for active use depends on the temperature in the room. Under normal room temperature and right choice glue for the base - after 18 hours you can carefully move around the floor, not forgetting that the glue has not yet “grabbed” enough, the final drying of the adhesive compositions occurs within 72 hours from the moment of laying. Then you can arrange the furniture.

There is a castle PVC tile, is it more convenient? And we also saw in the program about repairs a tile with an adhesive edge, glued overlapping edge to edge. What's this?

Interlocking PVC tiles (PVC tiles with the CLICK system) are produced more and more often with a thickness of 3-4 mm, which if more ordinary tiles(glued to the base using glue for PVC coatings), then only 1-1.5 mm, while it is just as flexible, and therefore you need absolutely the same even, dry, clean base under it as under the adhesive one. The lock of such a tile, if of course you can call it a lock, is a “thorn-groove branch” made of PVC with a thickness of about 0.3-0.5 mm. If the coating is laid on an uneven base, then this “lock” will not withstand the normal load that the flooring is subjected to - the locks will bend, tear over time and the tile will disperse. The seam will be exposed. Over time, moisture, dust, dirt will get into non-glued seams, which will continue to “grow” the resulting gap. Also, significant disadvantages include the lack of maintainability of the coating, because it cannot be cut (one damaged tile) and pasted, as is the case with glued PVC tiles. You will have to disassemble the entire floor (similar to repairing a laminate), and a second high-quality installation, given the appearance of the “locks”, will probably not work. The same aspects of operation and installation can be attributed to tiles with so-called adhesive tapes around the perimeter. None even the strongest double sided tape it will not withstand the mechanical, temperature effects that any floor covering is subjected to, and it will also not withstand moisture, which will always penetrate inside this structure and destroy it. Nothing at this time can qualitatively replace a layer of adhesive composition, which provides strong adhesion to the base. In any case, the base must be even. Savings on the preparation of the base in order to purchase an expensive castle cover, or coatings with adhesive tape around the edges - will not give the desired economic effect. We advise you not to save on the preparation of the base, to buy the appropriate floor covering, the operation of which has been tested over the years at many sites, and to stick it to the base, so that later it would not be a shame for the unprepared base, and for the significantly larger funds spent on the purchase of the coating, which initially bribed its ease of installation, beautiful advertising. Well, if you still don’t want to “mess around” with glue, and are ready to spend money on a lock, then choose a tile with a thickness of at least 4.3 mm (it has a stronger lock connection), and no more than one meter long ( optimal size for a lock tile, in which there is no shrinkage along its length, as is often the case with large longitudinal dimensions - the end connection diverges, dirt gets there). Also pay attention to the dimensions of the tile - many manufacturers add 2-3 mm of the lock to the total length and width, but in fact it is not a usable area, and on decent volumes the buyer pays "for air", as a result, there are not enough tiles, because no one takes these millimeters into account, but in fact they turn into square meters hidden in lock connections. Demand a calculus" usable area", excluding interlocks!

What is more profitable to lay - linoleum or quartz vinyl tiles?

What do we have by purchasing linoleum? It is inexpensive, it is easier to lay it (which is not always the case, by the way). Here, its advantages probably end, because when purchasing linoleum, we encounter problems that are not with quartz vinyl tiles: dents from furniture and high-heeled shoes remain on it (this topic does not particularly concern people until the moment when it is purchased New furniture, or it was decided to change the situation in the house), linoleum is slippery, wear-resistant linoleums - commercial ones have a “non-home-office” appearance. Linoleum is more difficult to transport; linoleum does not convey the texture of wood, as is the case with quartz vinyl tiles, but behind linoleum, which has a similarity wooden surface with a porous surface it is very difficult to care for, dirt gets into the pores, it is very problematic to clean them; linoleum is not repairable (patches are visible and do not restore the previous appearance). The appearance of linoleums also leaves much to be desired. There is no feeling of good sex. Therefore, if we consider in more detail the costs of operating the floor covering in the future (per long term), then it would definitely be more profitable and wiser to purchase and glue quartz vinyl tiles one-time than to buy and re-lay linoleum 2 times instead, taking all the furniture out of the rooms, and having other related problems.

Now there is a PVC tile with a thickness of 3 mm and with a protective layer of 0.7 mm, only it is Russian, not Korean. Is it better in performance?

From the fact that PVC tiles began to have a thickness of 3mm and a protective layer of 0.7mm, this did not add significant changes to its structure from the previous 2mm thickness. There is no quartz sand, other superhard minerals present in quartz vinyl. It is these components that provide the tile with density and hardness. In turn, the density and hardness ensure that the tile will not be subject to stretching, shrinkage, changes in its linear dimensions during operation, and will not bend (press through) under the influence of heels, furniture legs, and, therefore, the load on the protective layer will be minimal, and it will last longer. In the case of just PVC tiles with a large protective layer, this is similar to putting on a heroic helmet on a thin hero, will the hero withstand the blow ... If there is no dense base under the helmet? In this flooring all indicators play a role, and not just the size of the upper protective layer. After all, a commercial linoleum with a protective layer of 0.7 mm has already been invented, but after a while, “paths” still appear on it in places where people constantly walk. it soft material. Here are the main differences. Ask for tiles in your hands, feel, compare, make sure.

There are many options finishing floor surface. One of the recently appeared materials are vinyl cladding plates or their improved version - quartz vinyl, where the polymer structure is supplemented and reinforced with fine quartz sand. Laying PVC tiles is not a difficult process from a professional point of view. If there is a desire to veneer the floor on your own, you can’t do without knowing some of the nuances.

Features of polymer tiles

In order to experience a minimum of difficulties when laying PVC tiles on the floor, it is important to understand the specifics of this type of coating. The material is polymeric, while multilayer. front side the plates are covered with a strong transparent polyurethane film, which gives the material wear resistance, therefore, durability. Further down, the structure of the synthetic lining is as follows:

  • a layer of decor responsible for the formation of a pattern and texture;
  • carrier base, consisting of polyvinyl chloride and quartz sand;
  • a stabilizing layer formed by glass fiber, giving the plates a constant geometry and dimensions;
  • mounting vinyl base.

Despite its synthetic nature, quartz vinyl cladding very naturally conveys the appearance of various natural materials, which are more often wood, ceramics, wild stone. Vinyl covering not afraid of the floor wet cleaning, impact household chemicals. The moisture resistance of polymer finishing plates allows them to be used for cladding not only in ordinary rooms but also in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet. The advantage of the material, which makes it competitive with laminate and floor tiles, is elasticity and resilience. Quartz vinyl is much more pleasant tactilely, it dampens sounds well due to the porous, multi-layered structure.

Vinyl tile is often compared to quality linoleum. Polymer plates really resemble linoleum flooring in many technical parameters.

The advantages of quartz vinyl are obvious:

  • much more convenient in transportation and lifting to the floors;
  • much less waste, especially in rooms of non-standard geometry;
  • laying PVC tiles on the floor of great difficulty does not represent either floating or adhesive method.

The disadvantage of the material in question is only its cost, which approximately corresponds to commercial grade linoleum. But the advantages of quartz vinyl plates outweigh this disadvantage of polymer cladding in the eyes of many consumers.

Differences of PVC tiles by installation method

Manufacturers have provided two main ways of laying quartz vinyl tiles on a mounting base:

  • adhesive;
  • floating (castle).

The first technology involves gluing each element of the polymer cladding to the base of the floor. You can stick the finishing plates using a special adhesive for quartz vinyl tiles. Some manufacturers make it easy by applying a sticky substance to the back. facing material and making vinyl tiles self-adhesive.

Laying the finishing floor tiles in a floating way is possible if the tiles are equipped with mating locks. More common is quartz vinyl with glue locks, less often with latches, like those that are joined parquet board or laminate.

Subfloor Requirements

More often, the mounting base for laying synthetic plates is a properly prepared screed made of cement-containing materials, which can be:

  • concrete;
  • self-prepared cement-sand mortars;
  • ready-packed mixtures for screeding (levelers);
  • self-levelling solutions.

Whatever building material is used to level the floor base, the result should be a surface that meets the following requirements:

  • strength and integrity (the presence of large cracks, exfoliating fragments is excluded);
  • evenness (the curvature of the surface should not exceed 2-3 mm per 2 linear meters);
  • absence on working surface particulate matter that can damage the material during further operation (it is necessary to carry out a thorough cleaning);
  • sufficient adhesion with a moderate ability to absorb moisture, which is especially important when installing PVC tiles with an adhesive method (achieved by treating the cement screed with a primer);
  • moderate humidity (after pouring the screed or repairing it, you need to let the material dry).

You can check whether the cement screed has dried sufficiently in this way. A fragment is laid on the surface polyethylene film and pressed along the edges. If at room temperature condensation is found under the film after 3 hours, the subfloor has not dried sufficiently.

It is better not to use forced drying of the screed in any way. This will drastically reduce the strength of the floor substrate and may lead to delamination and cracking.

Laying PVC tiles on plywood or pressed particle boards (OSB) is less common. Plates usually level existing wooden floors, or mount plywood on logs, creating a surface for laying polymer facing tiles. to plywood mounting base practically the same requirements are imposed as for a cement screed. It should be smooth, without sharp drops. Joints between sheets of plywood or OSB must be puttied before floating or gluing PVC tiles. When laying on glue, the dried putty is primed. Rest of the surface board material does not require primer treatment, - the surface of OSB boards and plywood meets the necessary requirements in terms of moisture absorption and adhesion.

You will learn how to glue PVC tiles on the floor a little later. Now about what is needed for the successful implementation of the installation process.

We prepare the tool and purchase materials

For laying PVC or quartz vinyl tiles on glue, you will need general construction and special tools. From the usual tools will come in handy:

  • construction tape measure (meter);
  • knife with replaceable blades;
  • drill with a spiral mixer nozzle;
  • two spatulas (wide and narrow);
  • construction square;
  • rubber ramming hammer.

Special tools are notched plastic spatula and pressure roller. The usual spatula-comb, which is used if you need to lay tiles, will not work in our case, since the formed layer of glue will be redundant. It's not that there will be an overspending of glue for quartz vinyl tiles, the price of which is 6-10 dollars per kilogram. It will be problematic to simply stick PVC tiles on a thick adhesive layer with high quality, so you need special tool with small triangular teeth.

The second specialized tool is a metal roller for uniform pressing of polymer plates to the mounting base. The weight of such a tool is about 50 kg and professionals prefer to “tamp” vinyl tiles to the floor with just such a roller. You can replace a heavy metal roller with a conventional one used for wallpapering, but then you will have to spend a lot of physical energy pressing the roller to the floor with force when rolling each quartz vinyl tile.

Of the materials that will be needed in the work, you need the polymer tile itself and glue for its installation. Before acquiring the necessary, you need to correctly calculate the amount of both. There will be no problems with glue - on each package (hermetically sealed plastic buckets of various sizes), the manufacturer indicates the average consumption per m2. You just need to know the floor area in the room to determine required amount glue.

The number of tiles is a little more difficult to calculate. It is necessary to initially imagine how the installation will be done (along or across the floor). Knowing the width and length of the room, the required number of facing units is calculated. The width of the room is divided by the width of the plates, the length of the room by the length of the tiles. Niches under radiators, entrances to the doorway are taken into account.

It is not necessary to make a large margin when buying quartz vinyl, since the plates are stacked with a minimum amount of material waste.

Having calculated and acquired the required amount of material, and having at hand essential tool, it's time to find out how PVC tiles are usually glued to the floor.

The process of mounting quartz vinyl on glue

After preparing the base, you can proceed to installation work, which do not differ at all when laid on cement screed and plywood. First, the surface is marked for laying the first row, which is usually done from the far wall to the entrance to the room. Sometimes, with complex or irregular floor geometry, it is necessary to lay tiles from the middle of the room. In this case, the center must be determined by repulsing the diagonals and finding the point of their intersection. It is convenient to lay square plates from the middle of the floor - this way they will find symmetry themselves. It is more convenient to start laying oblong tiles from the wall. If necessary, the plates of the coating of the first row are cut along their long size so as not to go to the opposite wall with a too narrow strip.

Square polymer tiles mainly lay the seam in the seam, that is, like a regular tile. Rectangular plates are easier and more economical to lay like a laminate (laying a row begins with a whole fragment, the next strip of coating starts with a cut cut). The plates are glued back to back with the formation of a minimum seam between adjacent tiles. The master's task is to join the individual cladding elements as tightly as possible, while reliably gluing them, especially in the places where the plates join, where they most often peel off during the operation of the coating.

Glue the tiles to the floor like this.

  1. The adhesive mass (must be thoroughly mixed with a construction mixer before use) is distributed over the surface of the screed or plywood base slightly wider than the element to be glued.
  2. A plastic spatula forms a uniform layer of adhesive mass. After applying some types of glue, it must be allowed to stand for up to 10 minutes (carefully read the manufacturer's recommendations).
  3. The plate is applied close to the adjacent, already laid tiles and pressed against the floor with the entire area.
  4. After the initial landing of the tile on the glue, it must first be gently tapped with a mallet (rubber hammer), then rolled with a pressure roller. As a result, glue squeezed out from under the plate may appear in the seams, which is immediately removed with a damp cloth or sponge.

If the tile is self-adhesive, then the task is facilitated. It is necessary to remove the protective adhesive layer from the back surface of the plates and glue the tiles to the floor base. It is necessary to roll the self-adhesive tile with a roller.

Laying quartz vinyl tiles and PVC plates provides for their trimming at the walls to required dimensions. cut polymer material simple - with a construction knife. After measurements, a mark is made on the front surface of the tile with a pencil or marker. A building square is combined with the mark, forming a perpendicular to the length of the facing element. An incision is made along the ruler with pressure of medium intensity with a knife blade, after which the plate is folded and broken. It is not recommended to use a grinder for cutting tiles - the material melts when heated, and the smell is not the most pleasant.

In a floating way, quartz vinyl tiles are laid very simply. Adjacent elements are joined using adhesive locks that protrude beyond the plates themselves from two adjacent sides. It is enough to remove from the castle joints protective film and very quickly dock adjacent tiles, making them a single floor covering.