I used to think peel and stick tile was fine, but after a job in Austin last summer I changed my mind

Back in 2021 I threw peel and stick in my own guest bath and it held up okay for a year. But in Austin the humidity made the edges curl up on a rental I was fixing, and the tenant sent me a photo of the mess three months in. Am I missing something or are these just not built for real bathrooms?

3 comments

3 Comments

leo_johnson5d ago

Did you try the cure time thing or just slap it on and hope?

kimw575d ago

Austin heat and humidity are brutal on peel and stick, especially in a bathroom. The issue isn't just cheap brands - even the better stuff like SmartTiles will lift if the subfloor isn't perfectly clean and dry before install. You gotta use a primer and let it cure for a full 24 hours before any moisture hits it, which most people skip in a rental flip. After that first failure I started spending the extra on a glue-down LVP for bathrooms, it's way more forgiving.

olivia_lopez985d ago

Actually SmartTiles recommends a 48-72 hour cure time for high moisture areas, not 24. I made that same mistake on my first bathroom install and had lifting within a month. Their website is pretty specific about it in the fine print.