Flooring

How do you renovate a floor without using adhesive in a building that is still in use?

Last updated: 18 October 2026

How to replace flooring in a space that isn’t enclosed: loose-lay rather than adhesive, which roll to use in a corridor and a hall, what to do with the old floo

The system at a glance

Solutions & Applications · Flooring · Installation Method

In a school, a hotel or an office that never closes, the renovation of the floor is not determined by the material but by the schedule: how many hours the space is out of use. Most of this time is not taken up by the flooring itself — it is taken up by the removal of the old flooring, the application of the adhesive and the waiting time for it to dry. Loose-lay vinyl flooring bypasses all three of these.

Why the adhesive is the problem

	Adhesive flooring	Loose-lay without adhesive
Existing flooring	Usually demolition, dust, noise, rubble	It remains in place underneath, provided it is sturdy, level and clean
Preparation	Complete levelling of the entire surface	Localised repairs where required
Substrate moisture	Critical — the adhesive fails, the flooring swells	Greater tolerance, according to the manufacturer
Odours & waiting time	Adhesive, drying time, ventilation	No adhesive required — the space is ready for use straight away
End of life	Dismantling and restoration of the substrate	It unrolls, the substrate remains intact, it is recycled

It is usually the adhesive that fails, not the flooring. Moisture in the subfloor leads to blistering and weeks of waiting for it to dry. When the flooring is not bonded, this risk is eliminated from the project.

Where is this method suitable?

Space	What are the benefits?
Schools	Room-by-room refurbishment, in the afternoons or on public holidays, with no odours the following day
Offices in operation	Zone by zone, with workstations being moved for a few hours rather than days
Hotels	Room by room or floor by floor, without taking rooms out of use for days on end
Leased premises	The flooring is removed by the tenant and the premises are returned with no damage to the subfloor
Buildings with damp sub-bases	Installation without waiting for the slab to dry

Which flooring for which location

Flooring	Features	Position
Acczent Excellence Genius 70	Compact roll, designed for loose-lay · class 34/43 · deflection 0.03 mm	Corridors, areas with wheeled furniture and heavy furniture
Tapiflex Excellence Genius 70	Loose-lay acoustic roll · ΔLw 19 dB · Class 34	Halls, rooms and offices situated above areas subject to disturbance
Tapiflex Essential 50 & 65	Acoustic roll · ΔLw 19 dB · adhesive-fixed or loose-lay with Genius Tape	Halls and rooms on a tighter budget
Acczent Essential Compact 80	Compact roll · 0.80 mm wear layer · adhesive or loose-lay installation with Genius Tape	Corridors and high-traffic areas
iD Square / iD Inspiration Loose-Lay	Tiles with a non-slip backing	Offices with raised floors, where access from below is required

ARGYNET Note

Identical designs in both compact and acoustic versions. Acczent Excellence Genius 70 and Tapiflex Excellence Genius 70 share the same 25 designs; the same applies to Acczent Essential Compact 80 and Tapiflex Essential. Thus, the corridor gets the compact version, which can withstand wheeled traffic, whilst the hall or room gets the acoustic version — creating a uniform look across the entire floor.

The substrate: what remains and what needs rectifying

Without adhesive, the flooring ‘mirrors’ whatever lies beneath it. Full levelling is not required, but a point-by-point check is necessary.

Existing flooring	Energy
Vinyl or linoleum, firmly bonded	Remains. Cleaning and removal of wax or residues
Tiles with deep joints	Apply Ceresit R 766 primer and fill with Ceresit DA to ensure that the joints do not ‘show through’
Broken or hollow tiles, cracks	Localised removal, primer and localised repair with Ceresit DA
Powdered cement mortar	Clean with an extractor and apply a primer before any repair work
Carpet	Always remove — a soft subfloor is not suitable for loose-lay

Ceresit DA is applied in a single layer with a thickness of 0.5 to 10 mm and sets quickly, so spot repairs do not add days to the schedule. It is for use in dry indoor environments only.

The sequence of works in an occupied building

Site survey: recording of the existing floor, repair points, thresholds and height differences at doorways.
Programme by zone: hall, room or section of a floor — each zone opens and closes on the same day.
Air conditioning: the roller shutters are left at room temperature before being opened, to prevent them from shifting after installation.
Localised repairs: primer and Ceresit DA only where necessary.
Installation: the roll is unrolled and cut to fit the perimeter; it is secured with Genius Tape at the joints and around the perimeter, as specified by the manufacturer.
Finishing touches: skirting, threshold profiles and furniture rebates — the space is immediately ready for use.

ARGYNET Note

‘Adhesive-free’ does not mean ‘rule-free’. Loose-lay flooring is held in place by its own weight, its flat backing and the tape at the joints. That is why the manufacturer sets limits: maximum single surface area, intense solar radiation behind glazing, large temperature fluctuations, very heavy point loads. Where these limits are exceeded, bonding is required in that specific area — not throughout the entire building.

At ARGYNET, we carry out a site survey of the substrate, recommend flooring by zone and calculate the quantities of flooring, membranes and repair materials per square metre.

At the end of the lease or period of use

This is where the method really proves its worth. The flooring is unrolled, the subfloor remains as it was, and the space is returned to its original state without the need for restoration work. Genius flooring is recycled through Tarkett’s ReStart programme — both the offcuts from installation and the flooring at the end of its life.

When it is not the right solution

Areas with a watertight, heat-sealed joint: operating theatres, wet areas, areas subject to continuous washing — full bonding is preferred in these cases.
Ramps and gradients, where the floor must be secured across the entire surface.
Soft substrates, such as carpet or loose-laid tiles, which are not removed.
Areas outside the manufacturer’s specifications regarding surface area, solar radiation or loads.