How to Repair Vinyl Flooring: A DIY Guide to Fixing Kitchen Floor Tiles

By Philip Schmidt
Published on December 7, 2011
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Don’t let a few damaged kitchen floor tiles ruin the overall appeal of your home: Fix it! After you’ve fixed your vinyl kitchen flooring and learned how to replace tile, you’ll surely find other repairs around the house you are ready to tackle. “Upgrade Your House,” a book full of 100 DIY repairs and improvements, will help you get started. Plus, each project is a definite money-saver, estimated to each cost under $100. 
Don’t let a few damaged kitchen floor tiles ruin the overall appeal of your home: Fix it! After you’ve fixed your vinyl kitchen flooring and learned how to replace tile, you’ll surely find other repairs around the house you are ready to tackle. “Upgrade Your House,” a book full of 100 DIY repairs and improvements, will help you get started. Plus, each project is a definite money-saver, estimated to each cost under $100. 
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A kitchen floor that is out of date, in poor repair or both is an instant turnoff to new homeowners and potential buyers alike. 
A kitchen floor that is out of date, in poor repair or both is an instant turnoff to new homeowners and potential buyers alike. 
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Step One: Heat the damaged tile with a heat gun set on low or medium, or an iron on top of a dishtowel. When the tile and adhesive are soft enough, pry up the tile with a putty knife or a 5-in-1 painter’s tool. Let the adhesive cool and harden, then scrape it up so that the underlayment is clean and smooth.
Step One: Heat the damaged tile with a heat gun set on low or medium, or an iron on top of a dishtowel. When the tile and adhesive are soft enough, pry up the tile with a putty knife or a 5-in-1 painter’s tool. Let the adhesive cool and harden, then scrape it up so that the underlayment is clean and smooth.
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Step Two: Fill holes and depressions in the subfloor with floor patching compound. Apply tile adhesive to the clean subfloor, using a notched trowel. Set the new tile in place and press it flat. If necessary, add or remove adhesive so that the tile is flush with the neighboring tiles. 
Step Two: Fill holes and depressions in the subfloor with floor patching compound. Apply tile adhesive to the clean subfloor, using a notched trowel. Set the new tile in place and press it flat. If necessary, add or remove adhesive so that the tile is flush with the neighboring tiles. 
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Step Three: Roll the replacement tile with a J-roller, working from the center of the tile toward the seams to avoid trapping air bubbles. Clean up any excess glue that squeezes out at the seams. Let the adhesive cure completely before walking on the tile. 
Step Three: Roll the replacement tile with a J-roller, working from the center of the tile toward the seams to avoid trapping air bubbles. Clean up any excess glue that squeezes out at the seams. Let the adhesive cure completely before walking on the tile. 
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You don’t have to replace a tile that is just curling at one edge. You can simply re-adhere the part of the tile that has gone rogue.   
You don’t have to replace a tile that is just curling at one edge. You can simply re-adhere the part of the tile that has gone rogue.   

Need to know how to repair vinyl flooring? Have a few broken, peeling or damaged kitchen floor tiles? This excerpt, taken from Upgrade Your House (Creative Publishing International, 2010) by Philip Schmidt, has your solutions (with photos!). The following article comes from Chapter 1, “Updating the Kitchen.” 

A kitchen floor is generally judged on two counts: how it looks and how much maintenance it needs. If you’re selling the house, your kitchen floor should look more or less new. As with countertops, old scars and stains on a floor are not only unsightly but can also be unsanitary. If you think it might be time to replace your kitchen floor, consider installing sheet vinyl flooring, vinyl tiles or laminate planks. These all rank near the bottom of the price scale and are right at the top of the low-maintenance list.  

A kitchen floor that is out of date, in poor repair, or both is an instant turnoff to new homeowners and potential buyers alike. 

Vinyl Flooring Fixes

Vinyl flooring is the most popular type of resilient flooring (flat-surface flooring that is soft underfoot) thanks to its relatively low cost, superb water and stain resistance, and excellent durability. It’s also one of the easiest and cheapest types of flooring to install. 

There are two types of vinyl flooring: sheet vinyl, which comes in big rolls and is (ideally) laid in one continuous piece, and vinyl tiles or planks — individual pieces laid in a pattern and stuck to the subfloor with glue or self-adhesive backing. Sheet vinyl runs between 50 cents and $5 per square foot, depending on thickness, construction and complexity of the design. Vinyl tiles and planks range between 25 cents and $4.50 per square foot, depending on those same factors. 

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