Unexpected Hexagon Flooring- FINISHED!

Hey Friends!  Remember a little while ago when I mentioned we were going with an unexpected flooring choice in our guest bedroom? Well. . . .



We finished laying the floor and we love the look! :)

If you remember, we opted to use an inexpensive VCT (Vinyl Composite Tile) option.  We really wanted to use a unique flooring option in the room and VCT tile gave us the ability to customize a fun pattern for the floor! (It also is inexpensive at .75/sqft and super easy to lay!)

The tiles come in 12X12 squares and tons of colors.  We special ordered our tile from Home Depot.



Once we decided on the pattern/shape, we cut the tiles down using a table saw and a chop saw.  BUT you can rent/buy a VCT tile cutter from Home Depot that almost works like a paper cutter.  This is a great option for people who don't have a bunch of saws or that are scared to use them!



So, after we cut all the tiles down, we had tons of beautiful hexagons!



Next, it was time to prepare the floor.  Before the tile could go down, the concrete needed to be level and free from old adhesive, dust, dirt, and grime.



It was obvious that our floor had previously had VCT tile on top of it because of the trowel marks that were left in the dried adhesive.  We thought it was fun that this room is coming full circle.  :)



Anyway, this adhesive had to be removed.  Not a fun job, but here's what I used to get it done:

- Henry Adhesive Remover
- Bucket to mix remover with water
- Scraper to remove the adhesive after it had softened
- And some heavy grit sandpaper to loosen those stubborn patches of adhesive
- Also, gloves are a great idea! :)



The instructions for using the adhesive remover are very easy.  You simply:

- Mix with water
- Sponge the mixture on the floor
- Wait and allow the remover to soak in and loosen the adhesive
- Use your scraper and remove all the gunk from the floor
- It may be necessary to repeat the process in some areas



You can see in the photo below how the center portion of the concrete has been scraped and is smooth compared to the rest of the floor that has not be cleaned/scraped.



After all the grime and adhesive had been removed, we needed to patch any divots and level any areas that were out of whack. We did that with none other than ARDEX.  ARDEX is kind of like our windex. We put it on everything! :) Haha.



Finally, it was time to lay the tiles.  I was a little nervous to get started because my research about laying VCT tile told me that I needed to wait for a while after putting the adhesive down before applying the tiles.  Luckily our good friend, Joel (who lays tile for a living) came over to ease my concerns.  I am here to tell you, it is super easy and you can definitely do it on your own.

So, first you need to buy:

- A VCT trowel with 1/16" notches and
- Tile Adhesive



Basically, you can pour a small amount of the adhesive out onto the floor and then use the trowel to spread it out.  Next is the tricky part.  Instead of immediately applying the tiles, you are supposed to wait until the adhesive turns clear.  This takes a good 30 minutes, so be patient! :) In the photos below you can see that the left photo was taken immediatley after we put the adhesive on and the right photo was taken after the adhesive had turned clear (and was ready for tile).



Once all the adhesive was clear, it was time to start applying the tiles.  Joel had snapped two chalk lines (before we put down adhesive) and he used those to place the first row of tiles. The chalk lines ensured that the tiles would be straight and not end up all wonky.

In order to lay the tile, you simply push the tile into the adhesive.  So easy!  Unlike laying tile with thin set, you can step on these tiles immediately.



The prep for this took a while, but actually laying the tile went super fast.



And pretty soon, we had this!



After you lay the tile, you should roll over the top of them with a 100# roller.  This really sets the tile in place. You can rent these rollers from Home Depot.

So, what do you think?  Do you like our new look?!  If this were a wide open room, the pattern might be to much. . . but I think the fact that a bed and dresser will be in the room (covering a lot of the pattern) means that this floor will be a super fun feature in the space without being overwhelming!  Yay!