Peel and Stick Floor Tile

Peel and stick floor tiles are a very affordable, easy way to update your floors on your own.

Laying peel and stick floor tiles, or self-adhesive vinyl floor tiles, is a DIY that anyone can do. It only requires a bit of measuring and a bit of cutting (with scissors!) and you have a whole new floor.

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How To Prepare the Floor for Peel and Stick Tiles

One of my favorite parts of this DIY job is that it requires minimal prep work.

Just vacuum or sweep the area, wash it down with a non-sudsing cleaner, and you’re done!

Even though this step is minimal work, be sure to clean the floor well. This will help to ensure good adhesion between the new tiles and the existing floor.

This is my favorite non-sudsing cleaner because it smells so good!

As an optional step, remove the quarter round from the floor.

This will give the floor a more finished look, and will help to keep the edges of your peel and stick tiles down.

To remove the quarter round, place on edge of a mini crowbar between the edge of the quarter round and the floor or the trim behind the quarter round. Give the mini crow bar a little tap with the hammer until it begins to separate the quarter round from the other surface. Move the mini crow bar back and forth to created a wider separation.

As the quarter round separates, move it down the quarter round to where the nails are still holding it firm to the other surface, and again begin to move the mini crow bar back and forth to separate the two surfaces.

Complete these steps down the whole strip of quarter round until it can be easily separated from the floor and trim. Leave the nails in, as you can use those to reattach the quarter round when you are finished with the peel and stick floor.

How to Lay Peel and Stick Tiles

Once your existing floor is clean, measure that width of the floor. Then divide the number in two to determine the midline of the floor. Next, take your tile and determine where the midline of the tile is by measuring the width and dividing by two again. Peel off the backing and place the midline of the tile on the midline of the floor.

This will make it so you have an even sized tile on the two edges of the floor, instead of a whole tile on one side of the floor and just a small tile on the other side.

See the examples of how to lay peel and stick tile correctly and incorrectly below.

In the example above, the center of the middle tile is right in the center of the floor (from left to right). This means that an even amount is cut off the two side tiles, making the floor centered.

In the example below, the tile was laid in the top left first. This makes it so that the floor is not centered, and that only the top right tile is cut.

Once you have your first tile laid, you can peel the backing off of the next tile and begin to place them one by one around your original tile. You want the tile to be as close the adjacent tiles as possible without letting it overlap at all.

When all of the whole tiles are place, you are ready to start cutting the tiles to fit your edges.

Cutting a peel and stick tile is really easy. I used the first pair of scissors I could find in my house, though you could probably also use a utility knife.

There are a few things to remember when cutting the tiles though. First, when you make a cut, you need to cut the wall side, not the side that touches the tile side. So, you will need to either measure the remaining space perfectly and then transfer the measurement to the tile, or you will need to turn the tile around to make a mark and cut it so that, when placed, the cut side is against the wall.

So for my tiles, I laid the tile (with the backing still on) on the floor against the wall. Then I made a mark where the new tile touched the already placed tile. I cut along that line, turned the tile around (so the cut side touched the wall), and removed the backing. Then I laid the tile.

Since I removed my quarter round, the cut line didn’t have to be perfect. It is hidden under the quarter round.

You can also easily cut notches out for different things, if needed. On my front corners, I had to cut a tiny strip off most of the tile, but leave a lip so it covered the area where the trim didn’t reach. It was easy to do.

Don’t mind the bad paint job on the walls and trim (and the scratched up closet door track). In addition to putting down peel and stick tiles, stay tuned for how I am freshening up this tired space with shiplap doors and new paint.

When all your tiles are placed, roll over the tile with a rolling pin. This will help the tiles stick well.

Last, reattach the quarter round.

To do this, line the nails up with the holes in the trim behind it. Gently tap the quarter round back in place with your hammer. Hit one nail a few times, then the next, and so on, until all nails are partially sunk. Then begin at the first nail again and tap it in further, again working down the quarter round until the quarter round is in place.

This was my first time laying peel and stick tile, and I wanted to make sure that the product was good. Someone gave me these tiles to try out, and I love the way they went down so easily. I plan to try this again in my laundry room, with a cute patterned tile.

Where to Get Peel and Stick Tiles

You can pick up peel and stick tiles are your local home improvement store, or have them delivered right to your house from Amazon.

Check out these cheap peel and stick tiles! They are a great price, and super cute! (Click on the picture for pricing info).

Thanks for sharing!