Installing a PermaStone Modular Vinyl Tile Floor

Moving Out

Except for the front room, everything on the ground floor was moved into the garage. The green stuff on the right is what is left of the old carpet underlay. Installing the carpet and vinyl was going to take two days.

Fishing Trip

Even the fish had to move. This bucket was their temporary home for a few days. One of the fish jumped out on to the floor but Jake scooped him back up. I bet he felt like a fish out of water. We put a book over the top of the bucket to prevent any more escapes.

Midnight Snacks

Not long ago the front room had been carpeted so it was useful for storing items that were too big or heavy to move to the garage.

Our king size bed was too large to get into the basement so we threw the mattress down in the front room. We borrowed a neighbor’s dolly to move the refrigerator. The plan was to put it in the garage. The dolly wasn’t strong enough to take the refrigerator down the steps so we stored it in the front room. This turned out to be very handy. During the night when I wanted a snack, the refrigerator was right by my bedside. It was surprisingly quiet and didn’t disturb our sleep.

That is my son Paul laying on the bed.

Out With The Old

We tore out the old carpet and underlay. The linoleum stayed and the vinyl tiles will be installed on top. The hallway carpet was to be replaced with the tile. Here I am pulling up the old carpet fastening strips. I left the carpet strips in place in the bedrooms. The kitchen linoleum was scrubbed with bleach to remove any grease.

In With The New

This pile of boxes contains part of the new floor. At the Nafco website you can see the three sizes of tile that are in the box. The flooring has a natural texture and subtle coloration. The tiles come in three different sizes that fit seamlessly into stylish modular units. Each modular unit is comprised of two 16″x16″, three 8″x8″, and two 8″x16″ tiles.

Stick To It

The kitchen and dining area were the first to get a coat of adhesive. That’s the white stuff on the floor.

The installers had difficulty finding my home so had a late start. Nevertheless they finished the vinyl and started on the carpet. They stuck to the job until 8pm but couldn’t quite get finished. They completed the installation the next day.

A Pattern Emerges

Once the first tiles were laid the rest of the tiles were installed very quickly. This is perhaps a job I could do myself but the first time around I was content to watch how it was done. These two men worked hard all day and into the evening.

Henry’s

Here the installer is building upon the first few tiles that were laid in the center of the floor.

Henry’s was recommended to us by a friend. Here is Henry’s Floor Coverings blog. Henry Smith started the company in 1953 and it is now owned by his grandson, Nick Berry. Nick is the one who helped us select PermaStone for our floor.

A Module Unit Emerges

Do you recall the module units mentioned in In With The New? Here you can see the units emerging made up of two large squares, two rectangles, and three small squares. Then they repeat. You can clearly see two full modular units that are not covered by equipment.

Entranceway Under Construction

Here the carpet had to be lifted to install the tile. There was also a small area where the floor had settled. This was no problem for vinyl tile because of its flexibility. If I had chosen ceramic tile I may have had to level out the floor.

An interesting feature of these tiles is GroutFit that is only on two sides of the tile. When they are fitted together, you see a seamless floor. According to Erica Hubbard, the director of marketing for Nafco by Tarkett, “the grout feels amazingly real” without the headaches of real grout.

Hallway Under Construction

This is the hallway that originally was carpeted. Now it is tiled all the way to the three bedrooms. This is a better solution to reduce wear and tear that was very visible on our old carpet. On the subject of tears, consider how easy it is to replace a tile:

It is inevitable that a tile is going to be damaged during the lifetime of the floor. Perhaps it happens while redecorating, or moving furniture from room to room. Replacement takes just a few minutes. Using a heat gun and a utility knife, remove the damaged tile. Then apply adhesive to a new tile and replace it.

For this purpose I purchased an extra box of tiles to use as replacements.

PermaStone Closeup

This photograph shows the “grouting” in more detail. It looks like the real thing. Click on the photograph to get an enlarged view.

The pattern we chose is called Natural Slate (PMR-660) with the Dune color. There are other colors in the slate, namely Flint and River Rock. Of course there are several other patterns and colors to choose from.

Cornered

The corners had a great fit as you can see here. We retained the original baseboards. The tiles were fitted right up to them and a small amount of grout (real this time) finished the job. Perhaps it isn’t grout but something similar. Anyway the results are perfect.

Cut Around The Wires

The space behind my refrigerator is where I feed wires from the attic through to the basement. The installers neatly went around the wires. This part is always hidden from view once the refrigerator is returned.

Coving

The kitchen had 36 feet of coving that needed to be replaced. This was achieved by using the tile itself. I like how it came out. For the coving there was an additional $99 charge for labor which was in the original quote. I tore out the existing coving but it was not very difficult. Tearing things out is so much easier than putting stuff in!

Finished Entranceway

All done. It looks just like brand new. The carpet is back in place and the refrigerator has been moved back into the kitchen. No more midnight snacks without getting out of bed. You can see the modular units in the flooring except this time they are vertically oriented.

Finished Dining Area

There is my spare box of tiles that I hope I never have to use. This dining area looks clean enough to eat off. However, we did bring the dining table back in to the house. By the tile box is a roll of our new carpet that was installed.

Finished Kitchen

Now that is a fine looking kitchen floor. After 26 years the linoleum was finally replaced. And about time Jill said. So my wife is happy, so I’m happy, Henry’s is happy (they got paid) — even the fish are happy. It’s enough to make you want to smile.