Peel & Stick 'Hardwood' Floor

During this long Memorial Day weekend, and between chasing kids and going to Shiloh, hubby started my new kitchen floor!  Woo-hoo!

I like to refrain using the word 'hate', but I STRONGLY DISLIKED, our kitchen lineoleum.  It was nice and new when we originally walked through the house, before we bought it. But add 3 kids and a dog, well, you know how it goes.  It just got nasty, and I have been waiting a LONG time to cover up the white lineoleum, and this spot that happened in the middle of the kitchen...the week we moved in...that has been staring me in the face...everyday...for 5 years.

In my original Lipstick Kitchen post, I told you about this peel & stick vinyl flooring from Lowe's that looks like hardwood.  It's by Novalis, and the color is Gunstock.  One box = 30 sq. feet.  Right now, it's 98 cents/sq. foot.  I bought it on sale for 87 cents/sq. foot.  And of course after we bought it, I saw it on sale for only 78 cents/sq. foot.  It has only positive reviews on Lowes.com, and it got lots of rave reviews on the GardenWeb Forum.  This is a temporary, lipstick option until we win the lottery.

I bought 9 boxes, but over-bought by almost 2 boxes.  Like I said, one box = 30 sq. feet (or 30 4"x36" planks).  I'll keep my extra boxes.  If a plank gets damaged, we can still pull that one plank up and replace it.

So here is how how we hubby did it.

First he removed the quarter-round trim around the kitchen.

(sorry for the date stamps--my camera kicked the dust, so I used hubby's camera)

Since we were putting peel-and-stick vinyl on top of vinyl linoleum, we had to make sure the floor was clean, clean, clean.

We (ahem) Hubby used this product to clean the floors first. I picked it up at Home Depot. I'm sure Lowe's has a heavy-duty cleaner, too, but I was just closer to a HD.  He cleaned and prepped the floor for 4 hours.  He admits that he probably went the long way about it...but we just don't want the floor to start peeling b/c of dirt!  Plus, the current linoleum was peeling back a bit on the edges, so he cut those edges out, taking up more time as well.

While at HD, the flooring girl recommended an additional adhesive product for the edges, to prevent peeling.  (sidenote: why did I feel like I was cheating on Lowe's while I was at HD?)

Once he started laying the pieces, it didn't take too long.  But cutting around the doorways and door casings took up a lot of time.  But it's also very easy to cut.  You can use scissors, or a razor blade.

Here is another before shot...

During...

And after...

What do you think?

Total cost:

Approx $250 floor (If you don't count the extra 2 boxes, it really cost around $200)

$16 cleaner + adhesive

$266!

Shut the front door!

I totally recommend this product.  Google the heck out of 'Novalis Gunstock' and read, read, read.  Read through the reviews at Lowes.  A lot of the people who have posted comments also give good tips on laying the floor.  Most people lay the floor in a day.  It did take us longer, but only b/c hubby worked in increments over several days.

I also need to take this opportunity for a major shout-out to the hubby for this endeavor. In my simple mind, this was an easy, simple solution. But of course, it is never as easy as I think it will be. But I am sooo grateful for his need to do things right!! He endured a lot of physical pain putting this new floor down. If he wasn't on his hands and knees, or sitting for hours indian-style, with his ankle bones pressing into the floor, he was on his side, to relieve the pressure from his wrists, or his ankles, only to put pressure on his hips.

BLESS HIS HEART!

So thank you honey for doing this project!!!! 
143!

Linking up to:

Metamorphasis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Before & After Party at