Can I Lay Peel & Stick Tiles on Cement?
- Once the cement floor has been leveled, it must be cleaned thoroughly. Using a degreaser, if necessary, remove all grease or any oil-based stains. Sweep the floor, and then use a damp mop to remove all dust. Allow the floor to dry after damp moping.
- Use a paint roller to paint the cement floor with a special floor primer deigned for cement floors. This primer will fill in the millions of tiny pits that make up the surface of your cement, producing a smooth and hard surface for the peel-and-stick tiles to adhere to. Allow the primer to dry completely, following all manufacturer's instructions.
- Find the center of the room by laying out lines from the corners of the room so that the lines cross in the center of the room. Snap a chalk line perpendicular to the two widest walls, with the line going through the exact center of the room. After laying out your tiles along this line, start in the center of the room and work to the edges. Do not remove the paper backing yet.
- Start in the center of the room, removing the paper backing from one tile to reveal the sticky adhesive. Carefully lay this tile down along the chalk line. When the tile is exactly lined up so it is square with the walls of the room, use a tile roller or a kitchen rolling pin to press the tile down firmly to the cement. Do the same to the next tile and so forth, keeping all tiles exactly square to the chalk line and pressing each tile firmly to the floor with a tile roller or a kitchen rolling pin. You'll want to leave a space between each tile approximately 1/32 inch, the thickness of a 3-by-5 card. This space allows the tile a little room to spread out as it is pressed firmly to the floor.
- Use a tile cutter, available at hardware stores and home improvement centers or a flooring knife to cut the edge tiles to fit snugly along the edges of the room. Once all of the tiles have been firmly pressed to the underlying cement, add molding along the base of the walls to cover the cut edges of the tiles.
