How to Replace a Kitchen Pebble Tech Floor

Remove any dirt or debris from the pebble tech floor by sweeping it clean with a push broom. Remove all baseboards or trim from the floor level. Pry the boards or trim from the wall with a pry bar and set aside. Cover all doorways and vents with plastic sheeting held in place with masking tape. Open all windows to increase room ventilation.

Examine the cleaned floor for any cracks in the material that could give you a starting point for the floor covering removal. If you cannot find any cracks, create your own with a hammer and chisel. Place the chisel point onto the flooring surface, angled about 40 degrees, and strike the head of the chisel with a hammer to break through the pebble tech covering to the subfloor below. Move the chisel over to extend the crack and drive it in a second time. Continue until you have a crack extending at least 12 inches. For existing cracks, extend them to the 12-inch length.

Slide the head of a floor scraper into the crack. Hold it steady, also at about a 40 degree angle, and push forward on the scraper handle, driving the scraper against the subfloor, beneath the pebble tech flooring. After 3 or 4 inches, apply upward pressure on the scraper, wedging a piece of the pebble flooring upward from the subfloor until it pops free. Pull up the freed piece and scrape and pry the remainder of the floor covering up from the surface.

Sweep the floor clear of any debris from the flooring removal.

Clear away any lingering adhesive from the floor with chemical adhesive stripper. Use a squeegee to spread the stripper over the cleared subfloor and wait 15 minutes for the stripper to penetrate. Remove both the adhesive and stripper by scraping them from the floor with the floor scraper.

Clean the subfloor with a pH-neutral cleanser and a mop. Rinse with clean water and allow the floor to dry before replacing the pebble tech flooring.

Combine the two-part epoxy primer in bucket, creating about 1/2-gallon worth of the primer mix. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for mixing ratios between the two primer components to ensure a proper bonding with your subfloor. Use an electric drill with paddle for mixing purposes.

Use a paint roller to spread the epoxy primer over the subfloor. The primer seals the floor, increasing its moisture resistance, while at the same time forming an intermediate bonding layer between the subfloor and the pebble tech mix.

Combine enough two-part epoxy resin to create a full gallon of resin mix in a large bucket. Add 100 pounds of the pebble tech pebbles to the epoxy mix, stirring the mixture with a spade until all you cover all of the pebbles with the epoxy. The ratio of a gallon of epoxy to 100 pounds of pebbles will give you enough mix to cover 50-square feet of floor surface.

Spread the pebbles over the kitchen floor with a steel trowel. Use the trowel to spread the mix in a layer that covers about 50-square feet of kitchen floor. Once you complete the 50-foot section mix another batch of flooring and cover another 50 square feet, continuing until you finish covering the kitchen floor with an even layer of the pebble mix. Wait 24 hours for the epoxy holding the pebbles in place to dry.

Examine the floor surface for any missed areas, noted by bald patches amidst the field of pebbles. If you find any areas, mix a small amount of the epoxy, about 1-cup, and spread it over the bald area. Drop pebbles onto the epoxy and then cover with a second layer of epoxy. Smooth the surface to blend in with the surrounding flooring using the trowel.

Remove any loose pebbles from the floor with a push broom. Mix a two-part component varnish and pour into a hand-held sprayer. Spray the surface of the floor with the varnish to seal the pebbles in place, and create a smoother surface. Wait seven days further drying time before making normal use of the floor.