Posted: 6/27/2010 3:22:57 AM EDT
|
Alright,
We're getting our kitchen floor and backsplash done. I'm on the fence as to what to have the floor done with. Should I go laminate or tile? We have two kids and a crazy assed Boston Terrier, so we need something durable. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Durable? Tile! Can the grout be sealed though to resist staining? YES. Tile is the best flooring if you want durability. The grout can be sealed. just two cautions. 1. don't go cheap like Home Depot. Get a good quality tile with a non slip finish and a good installer. 2. Make sure the sub floor is solid! 5/8" is the min and needs to be screw nailed at least every 8" both directions. If you can make the sub floor thicker that 5/8" Walk all over the floor and make sure there are NO squeaks. If you find any they need to be fixed. Any movement in the sub floor could lead to cracked tiles in the future. Also be sure to purchase extra tile to keep for future repairs. You may not be able to find/match the tile in the future. EBR666 |
|
Laminate is a no go. Tile can be more water resistant, but this is an example of water damage under tile in a kitchen. Moral of the story is to repair any leaks as soon as you see them.   Yes thats mold under the old tile, and there was even more mold under that. I installed this bamboo in a kitchen. The customer soaked it in water for a week to test its resiliance, and it didnt swell at all. It was fairly hard, and low priced, but coming from china in foam lined and plastic wrapped boxes, i would hardly call it green.  Here is the bruce dundee gunstock red oak i installed this week. alternating 2 1/4" and 3 1/4". Materials ran about $4 per sqft w/ tax and delivery. Not so good for families with large dogs. Small dogs are alright as long as you keep their nails trimmed. Ignore the loose strips near the slider, that door is being replaced and those strips are just laying there for now.   Normally tile is best, but real wood is ok, depending on your habits and lifestyle. Laminate is never good in wet areas. Tile is not water proof, unless its backer has been waterproofed, and waterproofing is not cheap. This is a mistake many people including contractors make. |
|
Quoted: Very nice work, although I am not a fan of wood flooring in kitchens.Laminate is a no go. Tile can be more water resistant, but this is an example of water damage under tile in a kitchen. Moral of the story is to repair any leaks as soon as you see them. http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2188/pic0265.jpg http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1179/pic0273.jpg Yes thats mold under the old tile, and there was even more mold under that. I installed this bamboo in a kitchen. The customer soaked it in water for a week to test its resiliance, and its didnt swell at all. http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9814/bambooj.jpg Here is the bruce dundee gunstock red oak i installed this week. alternating 2 1/4" and 3 1/4". Materials ran about $4 per sqft. Not so good for families with large dogs. http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/3295/pic0307n.jpg http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5793/pic0313n.jpg Normally tile is best, but real wood is ok, depending on your habits and lifestyle. Laminate is never good in wet areas. Tile is not water proof, unless its backer has been waterproofed, and waterproofing is not cheap. This is a mistake many people including contractors make. I would add one comment, OP should be aware that bamboo cannot be re-sanded as a typical wood floor (strand woven bamboo flooring is the exception). |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Durable? Tile! Can the grout be sealed though to resist staining? YES. Tile is the best flooring if you want durability. The grout can be sealed. just two cautions. 1. don't go cheap like Home Depot. Get a good quality tile with a non slip finish and a good installer. 2. Make sure the sub floor is solid! 5/8" is the min and needs to be screw nailed at least every 8" both directions. If you can make the sub floor thicker that 5/8" Walk all over the floor and make sure there are NO squeaks. If you find any they need to be fixed. Any movement in the sub floor could lead to cracked tiles in the future. Also be sure to purchase extra tile to keep for future repairs. You may not be able to find/match the tile in the future. EBR666 +1 I am a huge tile fan, but with anything less than a rock solid sub floor you will have problems later. If you really want to, you can use epoxy grout. Expensive and sort of a PITA to install but it will not absorb anything once cured.. Go here for unbiased info from pros and talented amatuers alike...just remember...anything made of glass that is dropped on tile is gonna break. http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1 |
|
Quoted: Quoted: Very nice work, although I am not a fan of wood flooring in kitchens.Laminate is a no go. Tile can be more water resistant, but this is an example of water damage under tile in a kitchen. Moral of the story is to repair any leaks as soon as you see them. http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2188/pic0265.jpg http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1179/pic0273.jpg Yes thats mold under the old tile, and there was even more mold under that. I installed this bamboo in a kitchen. The customer soaked it in water for a week to test its resiliance, and its didnt swell at all. http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9814/bambooj.jpg Here is the bruce dundee gunstock red oak i installed this week. alternating 2 1/4" and 3 1/4". Materials ran about $4 per sqft. Not so good for families with large dogs. http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/3295/pic0307n.jpg http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5793/pic0313n.jpg Normally tile is best, but real wood is ok, depending on your habits and lifestyle. Laminate is never good in wet areas. Tile is not water proof, unless its backer has been waterproofed, and waterproofing is not cheap. This is a mistake many people including contractors make. I would add one comment, OP should be aware that bamboo cannot be re-sanded as a typical wood floor (strand woven bamboo flooring is the exception). It can be screened and refinished though. Thats just sanding the finish coat and applying a new layer. If you are smart with any "wood" floor you screen and refinish before it gets to the sanding the "wood" stage. Refinshing services run $1-$3 per sqft around here. Oh, and thank you. I've been doing alot of floors lately. Economy... blah blah blah. It pays the bills. |
|
I put Pergo in my kitchen and it has held up fine to my clumsy ass and my 75lb black lab that thinks she's a greyhound so she destroys normal vinyl floors and hardwood with her claws, but I have to be careful about spills due to how it can swell and buckle if it absorbs a lot of water. It installed in an afternoon.
But, if you have access to a tile saw and your wife will tolerate not having use of the kitchen for a few days, definitely tile that sucker. Use big tiles, 12x12 at a minimum, cleaning grout on your hands and knees with an old toothbrush sucks. Quoted:
Always buy a lot of extra tiles from the same lot and pick a common grout from Home Depot so you can always get more, you can break out the broken tiles, cut the surrounding grout out and insert the new ones.
I like tile. That was....until a heavy pan fell and broke two of them. 
I went to a laminate with a tile look. Super scratch resistant and looks great after three years and two dogs running across it. Not a scratch! Kharn |
|
I would like to add, my personal opinion, that tile and real wood are an investment in your home, whereas laminate, linoleum and carpet are not. I consider them to be disposable. I've seen plenty of 50+yo hardwood floors that are still looking beautiful with maintenance. Lots of old tile thats in great shape too, but many styles look very dated, the exception being natural stones and subway tiles always being timeless. |
|
Quoted:
Keep it in the kitchen...I can't imagine anyplace else where it would be appropriate.
Quoted:
Brick. There are special bricks available for flooring interiors. My in laws did it and it looks bad awe in their kitchen. I'm thinking about brink flooring for a few rooms at my home. I think it looks awesome. |
|
Porcelain tile with cementitious underlayment board (Durock/Wonderboard) thinset and screwed underneath.
Use a thinset with milk (latex) additive, best is Mapei Kerabond/Keralastic, Laticrete 211 w/4237 milk is also good. All of today's grouts are good, if you want a user friendly epoxy type grout Laticrete's Spectralock is good. Your floor will outlast you and and all your descendants, if a nuke hit my entire kitchen floor will be put into low orbit  !
|
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Keep it in the kitchen...I can't imagine anyplace else where it would be appropriate.
Quoted:
Brick. There are special bricks available for flooring interiors. My in laws did it and it looks bad awe in their kitchen. I'm thinking about brink flooring for a few rooms at my home. I think it looks awesome. I have a little mud room/ pantry at my back door off my kitchen that I was thinking it would look good in. I was also thinking about my bathrooms. |
|
Quoted:
What does the latex additive do?
Porcelain tile with cementitious underlayment board (Durock/Wonderboard) thinset and screwed underneath. Use a thinset with milk (latex) additive, best is Mapei Kerabond/Keralastic, Laticrete 211 w/4237 milk is also good. All of today's grouts are good, if you want a user friendly epoxy type grout Laticrete's Spectralock is good. Your floor will outlast you and and all your descendants, if a nuke hit my entire kitchen floor will be put into low orbit !Kharn |
|
Quoted: Quoted: What does the latex additive do?Porcelain tile with cementitious underlayment board (Durock/Wonderboard) thinset and screwed underneath. Use a thinset with milk (latex) additive, best is Mapei Kerabond/Keralastic, Laticrete 211 w/4237 milk is also good. All of today's grouts are good, if you want a user friendly epoxy type grout Laticrete's Spectralock is good. Your floor will outlast you and and all your descendants, if a nuke hit my entire kitchen floor will be put into low orbit !Kharn Helps it to bond to different materials, allows it to dry at the correct speed for those materials, and allows a little bit of flexibility. You can buy mortars with the additive already mixed in, but the 2 part systems have better performance. Stick with durock, wonderboard delaminates with moisture. |
| Ok, so we found a local flooring place and they're coming out to do an estimate this week. We're looking at Florida Tile company Tuscania line. Now, if we don't like their estimate, can we have a general contractor come out and give an estimate using the same line of tile? Also, anyone know anything about Florida Tile company and prices? |
|
Alot of foreign made tile is imported to florida, nj, and ny. There are many many manufacturers in italy, but other places as well. Once the tile is imported, the distributor slaps their own label on it and calls it their own brand. Florida sunshine and unicorn tile might actually be the same tile as newark bob's house of tile. For every imported line, there are 5 companies that distribute it. |
|
Quoted: Ok, so we found a local flooring place and they're coming out to do an estimate this week. We're looking at Florida Tile company Tuscania line. Now, if we don't like their estimate, can we have a general contractor come out and give an estimate using the same line of tile? Also, anyone know anything about Florida Tile company and prices? If brand a makes tile in a color and texture you like, its guaranteed that brand b, c and d-h do too. The only difference will be the price. Ceramic and porcelain are pretty much the same thing, only porcelain is more refined usually. Thickness, size, underlayment, and the hardness rating are actually more important. You want to check out some tile samples: . ProSource of Columbia-Jessup 8220 Stayton Drive Jessup, MD 20794 These guys have everything. They sell only to contractors. They have a full showroom for a contractor's clients to browse. Let me know and i'll set up an appointment for you to visit. They will even recommend an installer in the area if i dont do it. Prices are usually pretty good. |
|
Quoted: Quoted: How is Duroceramic? Funny, we had a contractor come out today for an estimate and he was really pushing the stuff. Sounds kind of chintzy to me. I put it in both my kitchen and master bath. In the kitchen we did a grouted installation and the bathroom is grout-free. It is superior to regular vinyl in about every way I can think of. Most people think we have ceramic in our kitchen I usually have to spend several minutes explaining what it actually is. We have yet to be able to stain it. It won't break or crack like ceramic (honestly though, you have to be some kind of special idiot to break a ceramic tile in a kitchen). I beat the shit out of a test piece with a hammer, like HARD, and it got dented up a bit but wasn't ruined. If you drop something very heavy and very pointy on it, or slide something very heavy and very sharp across it, it can be scratched. We have managed to put two tiny nicks in the kitchen floor in three years by doing these types of things, both times I was able to touch it up with a color matched wax pencil. You will never know they are there. Otherwise the floor looks brand spanking new. Not a single complaint. We are completely in love with the stuff. Due to our success in the kitchen, we decided to also use it in the master bath. Biggest benefit here is that it doesn't feel cold on your feet in the morning vs. ceramic. edit: One benefit I forgot to mention. When you are standing on your feet all day cooking, the duraceramic is a tiny bit more forgiving to your feet and joints than tile. We do keep a gel chefs mat in front of the most commonly used counter, but you are still walking around quite a bit. |
|
Alright,
So we pulled the trigger. We have "Carpet and Flooring Market" from Waldorf coming to do our flooring and backsplash. He's putting in Italian ceramic 12x12s on the floor and 3x6 on the back splash with an accent rail incorporating a strip of blue sea glass. They will also install a decorative "centerpiece" over the kitchen sink. They're doing it all for $3900. We're financing $2000 over a year just to make it a little easier. Overall, we're pretty happy and the price is pretty much in line with what we expected since we're not using inexpensive components. The guy who came today for the measuring and estimate is also the store manager and was very professional. |
|
Quoted: Alright, So we pulled the trigger. We have "Carpet and Flooring Market" from Waldorf coming to do our flooring and backsplash. He's putting in Italian ceramic 12x12s on the floor and 3x6 on the back splash with an accent rail incorporating a strip of blue sea glass. They will also install a decorative "centerpiece" over the kitchen sink. They're doing it all for $3900. We're financing $2000 over a year just to make it a little easier. Overall, we're pretty happy and the price is pretty much in line with what we expected since we're not using inexpensive components. The guy who came today for the measuring and estimate is also the store manager and was very professional. How many sqft? |
|
Quoted:
Laminate is a no go. Tile can be more water resistant, but this is an example of water damage under tile in a kitchen. Moral of the story is to repair any leaks as soon as you see them. http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2188/pic0265.jpg http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1179/pic0273.jpg Yes thats mold under the old tile, and there was even more mold under that. I installed this bamboo in a kitchen. The customer soaked it in water for a week to test its resiliance, and it didnt swell at all. It was fairly hard, and low priced, but coming from china in foam lined and plastic wrapped boxes, i would hardly call it green. http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9814/bambooj.jpg Here is the bruce dundee gunstock red oak i installed this week. alternating 2 1/4" and 3 1/4". Materials ran about $4 per sqft w/ tax and delivery. Not so good for families with large dogs. Small dogs are alright as long as you keep their nails trimmed. Ignore the loose strips near the slider, that door is being replaced and those strips are just laying there for now. http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/3295/pic0307n.jpg http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5793/pic0313n.jpg Normally tile is best, but real wood is ok, depending on your habits and lifestyle. Laminate is never good in wet areas. Tile is not water proof, unless its backer has been waterproofed, and waterproofing is not cheap. This is a mistake many people including contractors make. That is a great example of improper underlayment. Tile is the only way to go. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Alright, So we pulled the trigger. We have "Carpet and Flooring Market" from Waldorf coming to do our flooring and backsplash. He's putting in Italian ceramic 12x12s on the floor and 3x6 on the back splash with an accent rail incorporating a strip of blue sea glass. They will also install a decorative "centerpiece" over the kitchen sink. They're doing it all for $3900. We're financing $2000 over a year just to make it a little easier. Overall, we're pretty happy and the price is pretty much in line with what we expected since we're not using inexpensive components. The guy who came today for the measuring and estimate is also the store manager and was very professional. How many sqft? 150. |
| MIne was about 290 sq ft w/ the pantry and wash room...tile was about 1400 w/ 1 box extra for any unforeseen repairs and a bunch of scrap...buddy helped me w/ the rest. I gave him 200, and wiped a hundred dollar debt for the tile saw I helped him buy...for a weeks work...not too bad. |