Peel and Stick Floor Tile: Nail Heads Coming Through
Dear Dr. Penny Pincher,
Our bathroom floor has stick on tiles that were installed probably 10 of 15 years ago. Apparently they were installed directly onto the hardwood floor. Recently (this past year) several nail heads are appearing to raise up through the tile although none have penetrated the tile. Just the outline of the nail head can be seen.
What solution do you recommend to solve this nailhead problem short of installing a new floor.
Sincerely,
A True Penny Pincher Advocate
Dear Advocate,
The easiest and least expensive option would be to use low wattage (or low lumen) light bulbs in the bathroom so the floor problems would be less apparent. Plus this will save you money on electricity...
Another cheap option may be to put a small washable bathroom rug over the problem area. You can buy bathroom rugs for a few dollars at Target or Walmart. If the area is too big to cover with a rug, you could use a couple rugs, or use one very brightly colored rug to draw attention away from the problem.
If you are willing to put some work in, you could try to set the nails through the tiles, perhaps using a hammer and block of wood to avoid damaging the tiles. Stick-on tiles this old are probably pretty brittle, so it would be easy to damage them.
Another cheap option would be to use a nailset to set the nails right through the floor tiles. This would make a dimple at the spot of each nail head. After setting all of the nails that are coming through, use the nailset to make a pattern of dimples across the entire floor, sort of like a punched tin ceiling. I would try a random pattern. This would set the nails and may look like an intentional pattern on the floor.
Good luck!
DPP
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