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replacing small kitchen floor...ceramic tile or ?

gnahc79

gnahc79

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So the tiles in our small kitchen (5'x9') are cracking. Some of the tiles wobble slightly. When we step on the corner of a tile sometimes a chunk of grout shoots out :laughing. One section of 3 tiles is about 1/8" higher than the adjacent tiles.
Our place was built in 1988, so it's not terribly old. I'm not sure if the subfloor is bad, if the install from the previous owner was bad, or both. Should we go with ceramic tile again?
also, about how much $ would someone charge to do this? Yes I will call around. I don't have the time to DIY and it may require someone with experience to deal with why the tiles are cracking. A pic of the kitchen:

2011-05-21_20-27-57_838.jpg
 
If it were me, I'd switch to Linoleum or one of the other "softer" floor coverings. Think about tile; if you drop anything and everything, it's gonna break. And Linoleum is easier to clean too, but it doesn't have the "Panache" of tile.
 
Tile = higher resale for your home. It's not that hard to learn how to do it. I did all my work in 2 bathrooms.
 
Banjoboy said:
If it were me, I'd switch to Linoleum or one of the other "softer" floor coverings. Think about tile; if you drop anything and everything, it's gonna break. And Linoleum is easier to clean too, but it doesn't have the "Panache" of tile.
Click to expand...

+1

Home depot has some foamy linoleum stuff that really looks like tile, and is tough
 
My pops just installed this "fake" ceramic tile flooring in his kitchen.

looks, sounds, and feels like ceramic but it epoxied down. He picked it up at Home Depot.

all I really know about it is that it is made with ceramic in it???

EDIT:

Just talked to Pops... it's called Alterna and I looked it up

Alterna is an innovative vinyl tile floor designed for homeowners who want the beauty, the durability and the feel of ceramic tile. With Alterna, you get all the benefits of ceramic tile – including looks and performance – without the drawbacks. No more installation headaches, chipped tiles, scrubbing grout lines or cold ceramic tiles beneath your feet.

Alterna is designed for comfortable living: while it feels like ceramic tile to the touch, it’s actually warmer and softer underfoot. It’s also easy to clean, and it’s more tolerant of drops and accidents than ceramic tile.

http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/ceramic-tile.html
 
Last edited:
Yakoo752 said:
My pops just installed this "fake" ceramic tile flooring in his kitchen.

looks, sounds, and feels like ceramic but it epoxied down. He picked it up at Home Depot.

all I really know about it is that it is made with ceramic in it???

EDIT:

Just talked to Pops... it's called Alterna and I looked it up

Alterna is an innovative vinyl tile floor designed for homeowners who want the beauty, the durability and the feel of ceramic tile. With Alterna, you get all the benefits of ceramic tile – including looks and performance – without the drawbacks. No more installation headaches, chipped tiles, scrubbing grout lines or cold ceramic tiles beneath your feet.

Alterna is designed for comfortable living: while it feels like ceramic tile to the touch, it’s actually warmer and softer underfoot. It’s also easy to clean, and it’s more tolerant of drops and accidents than ceramic tile.

http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/ceramic-tile.html
Click to expand...
:thumbup:thumbup
Very cool, Alterna looks like what we want.
 
gnahc79 said:
So the tiles in our small kitchen (5'x9') are cracking. Some of the tiles wobble slightly. When we step on the corner of a tile sometimes a chunk of grout shoots out :laughing. One section of 3 tiles is about 1/8" higher than the adjacent tiles.
Our place was built in 1988, so it's not terribly old. I'm not sure if the subfloor is bad, if the install from the previous owner was bad, or both. Should we go with ceramic tile again?
also, about how much $ would someone charge to do this? Yes I will call around. I don't have the time to DIY and it may require someone with experience to deal with why the tiles are cracking. A pic of the kitchen:

2011-05-21_20-27-57_838.jpg
Click to expand...

I'll bet they laid the tile directly on the plywood sub-floor which is probably 1/2" rather then 3/4". Pull up the old tile and screw down some cement board, then lay new tile. Won't cost much for that small area.
 
If you can get ahold of a impact hammer. Makes easy job of removing the tiles.

Another suggestion is replace flooring with what is on other side of the fence. Makes the area larger looking.
 
Sane_Man said:
What is the purpose of the fence, to protect from alligator attacks? :laughing
Click to expand...

:teeth

Our place is 1000 sq ft and we have 4 gates to keep the little one (1.5 yrs old) corralled. Recently the little one has been making a grab for getting stuff out of the trash :barf.

The Alterna/luxury vinyl is only in 16x16, which it ginormous for our small kitchen. We will see if there's anything comparable at 12x12. If not then we'll probably go with ceramic tile.
We have laminate on the other side of the fence and I'm not too crazy about having it in the kitchen. Laminate is not very good with water.
 
planegray said:
+1

Home depot has some foamy linoleum stuff that really looks like tile, and is tough
Click to expand...

do *not* get this stuff, trust me :hand

I recommend duraceramic tiles, that's what I have in my kitchen :thumbup

you should pm Harpo, he is a flooring installer
 
dangit, duraceramic is also around 16"x16". Why do all the fancy/nice tiles come in only the ginormous size and not 12"x12". 16" tiles would look funny in our 50 sq ft kitchen.
A family friend is going to do the install and make sure the floor is level. He redid his son's kitchen floor. His son hired contractors and they just threw down tile without leveling the floor.
 
if you do ceramic yourself, be careful about breaking them, be a drag to find out you have wreck tile dysfunction.
 
Yakoo752 said:
My pops just installed this "fake" ceramic tile flooring in his kitchen.

looks, sounds, and feels like ceramic but it epoxied down. He picked it up at Home Depot.

all I really know about it is that it is made with ceramic in it???

EDIT:

Just talked to Pops... it's called Alterna and I looked it up

Alterna is an innovative vinyl tile floor designed for homeowners who want the beauty, the durability and the feel of ceramic tile. With Alterna, you get all the benefits of ceramic tile – including looks and performance – without the drawbacks. No more installation headaches, chipped tiles, scrubbing grout lines or cold ceramic tiles beneath your feet.

Alterna is designed for comfortable living: while it feels like ceramic tile to the touch, it’s actually warmer and softer underfoot. It’s also easy to clean, and it’s more tolerant of drops and accidents than ceramic tile.

http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/ceramic-tile.html
Click to expand...

Don't use this. We installed it in the lobby of the flooring company I used to manage. Over time (just like with the laminate "tile" flooring) lines of grit develop where the pieces come together.
In a kitchen that small, it would be relatively inexpensive to re-tile. Be sure to put some Hardibacker down first.
Also, get porcelain tiles. They're much harder than regular ceramic, and you won't need a lot in an area that small. Use small grout lines, and stick with a neutral grout. Buy at least 4 or 5 extra tiles, and buy a 2nd bag of grout. Put it in a plastic bag, and then put the tiles and grout away for the future (in the event a tile breaks, and you need to replace it).
Stick with 12"x12" tiles. Smaller would look too busy.
 
Pfft. Just throw a couple of these down, and call it a day.

Ducati%20Mat.jpg


Spend the rest of the money on the matching Ducati.

:twofinger
 
Yakoo752 said:
I would never use it in a commercial application where 100s may walk on it daily.
Click to expand...

We weren't that busy! :laughing Most people came in through the warehouse door... 1 to 2 people a day was an average. So not really a stretch. It just has the same issues as laminate flooring using lighter colored wood photos... you get fine dust settling in to the space between the planks/tiles, and over time, seam lines start showing up.
It's a small space... it won't cost much to put in porcelain tiles, and they'll hold up to a LOT of abuse, and make for a better resale value.
Laminates are only an upgrade to really shitty vinyl or cheap, apartment-grade carpet.
 
wtf? sharks lost ... and that is all I give a shit about. this thread does not make sense. Put some ice flooring and stfu.
 
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