How to Fix a Bathroom Floor
A well-laid bathroom floor not only improves the room's look but protects the subfloor from water damage in a moisture-rich environment. Most floors require only minimal maintenance to last for years without damage, but bathroom flooring may need occasional repair. Broken or missing tiles, or rips in the vinyl sheeting, can quickly lead to trouble if left alone. Such damage can spread, or moisture can begin to eat away beneath the surface, causing damage to the floor beneath or weakening the bonds between the floor covering and the floor. Most floor repairs are small, and any homeowner with light familiarity with home repair can make the floor as good as new with a bit of work. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Mop
- Bucket
- Scrub brush
- Floor cleanser
- Pry bar
- Rotary tool with carbide grout blade
- Stiff bristled brush
- Floor tile
- Tile adhesive
- Steel trowel
- Grout
- Grout float
- Sponge
- Water
- Lint-free cloth
- Tile and grout sealant
- Brush
- Vinyl repair kit
- Sandpaper
- Utility knife
- Vinyl tiles or sheet vinyl
- Caulk
Instructions
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Clean the bathroom floor thoroughly with a floor cleanser specifically formulated for your floor material. Use a mop to clean general dirt deposits, and use a scrub brush for embedded dirt or dirt located in hard-to-reach areas. Make sure to clean any caulking at the base of fixtures as well. Allow the floor to dry completely before continuing.
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Inspect the floor for damage. Check for broken or cracked floor tiles and any rips in floor sheeting. Examine all grout lines for any missing or damaged grout between tiles or along the joints of the floor against the wall. Examine the bases of fixtures for missing or damaged caulk.
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Remove broken or cracked floor tiles using a small pry bar. Cut the grout from around the broken tile using a rotary tool equipped with a carbide grout blade. Cut the grout from the joints surrounding the tile with the tool until you reach the adhesive at the level of the bottom of the tile. Brush the grout away with a stiff bristled brush. Place the pry bar into the opened joint and apply pressure to the edge of the tile, lifting it from the surface. Use the rotary tool with a grout blade to remove the adhesive beneath the tile. Brush the area clean, disposing of the broken tile along with the grout and adhesive remains.
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Replace the broken tile with a new tile of the same tile type. Apply adhesive to the rear of the tile with a trowel, then place the tile into the cavity left by the broken tile. Press firmly on the tile to set it in place and allow it to dry overnight.
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Fill the joint around the edges of the tile with grout, pushing the grout into the joint with a grout float. Wipe away excess grout from the tile tops with a damp sponge within 15 minutes of grouting, and wait one hour for any remaining grout to begin to dry. Wipe the drying grout from the tile using a clean, lint-free cloth. Allow the grout to dry completely for 10 days to two weeks before sealing it with a tile and grout sealant, applying the sealant over the grout lines with a brush. Wait 24 hours before using the floor.
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Repair rips in sheet floor coverings by using a vinyl repair kit. Sand down the edges of the rip with sandpaper until the sides are smooth. Wipe the sanded area with a clean cloth to remove sanding residue. Fill the ripped area with the liquid seam sealer in the repair kit. Allow the sealer to dry overnight, completing the repair.
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Replace missing vinyl tiles or large damaged areas in vinyl sheeting with a matching floor piece. Cut through the vinyl on the floor surrounding the damaged area using a utility knife. Use a putty knife to pry up the damaged vinyl piece from the floor, then pry up the dried adhesive on the subfloor beneath the removed vinyl.
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Locate a matching piece of vinyl for the area of the flooring removed. Measure the missing area and cut a corresponding piece of the new vinyl. Apply adhesive to the rear of the vinyl piece and press it into the space on the floor. Cover the replacement area with wax paper and place several heavy books on top of the flooring piece to weigh it down. Wait 24 hours for the replacement piece to set before removing the books and using the surface.
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Replace missing grout or caulk on the floor. Fill grout joints where grout is missing using the same grouting method as that used to replace the grout surrounding damaged tiles. Replace missing caulk by placing a bead of caulk into the joint between the fixture and the floor. Smooth the caulk with a wet finger and allow it to dry for 48 hours before using.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit bathroom image by Mikhail Olykainen from Fotolia.com
