This post was originally published on DIY Network’s blog Made + Remade in April 2014.
When I look back at my time as a homeowner, I realize that I’ve put more effort (brainpower, planning, money, and time) into flooring projects than any other – floors are important and impacting. Period.
The scope of the flooring projects varied each time. Once it involved removing carpets and refinishing oak hardwoods that dated back to the 1940s. Another time, I carefully removed laminate and learned the art of laying peel-n-stick groutable tiles. Four or five or more times, on brick, vinyl, cement, and wood, I painted. And most recently, I installed new, blonde maple throughout the whole house.
All of those projects were done without pro assistance, just by learning as I go — so what can I say, I’ve grown to really like flooring projects. And all of those experiences naturally led me to wonder what the best course of action will be for our kitchen floors, as I make my way through my little kitchen resolution.
The laminate tiles themselves that are there right now are in good condition: 15″ squares, they are thick, and interlock in place, floating over the subfloor. It sort of seems a shame to consider removing them, but I am more and more considering refacing them as part of my kitchen makeover. The entryway floor and fireplace stonework in the house is blue slate, so I’ve been shopping around for natural stone-looking peel ‘n’ stick floor tiles that could lay directly over the base that is already there, and draw that element into another area of our house. It’s a fix that wouldn’t require major renovation, but would promise great change and hold up well for several years.
Have you used any good slate-like tiles in your own home with success? I’d love to hear your recommendations.
3 Comments
Hey Emily. I’ve used the large peel n’ stick tiles (18×18) in my kitchen — they advertised them as being “groutable,” but I couldn’t see how because they weren’t very thick, so it seemed to me like the grout would have been too thin to hold in the groove well. I stuck the tiles right over some sheet laminate that was in excellent condition (just an ugly pattern) that is on a wood subfloor (my house has a crawlspace foundation). We laid them in the dead of winter, so in the heat of summer when the subfloor swelled a little, the tiles separated some. I just painted the dark cracks with acrylic craft paint and it’s held up fine till I get what I want. I want the vinyl locking tiles that look like wood — they claim your house could flood and you could reuse that flooring. That is my ideal bathroom and kitchen flooring is a wood-look floor that is completely waterproof……I’d highly recommend looking into those!
I had real slate floors in the house I built in 2000, and my feet stayed calloused because I don’t like wearing shoes in my home. I wouldn’t recommend hard ceramic or porcelain tile flooring to anyone who doesn’t wear shoes in their house — it is so uncomfortable to walk on. Having a wood subfloor is much easier on my heels and lower back when standing for hours in the kitchen than my slab foundation house was…..just something else to consider when deciding on flooring materials.
Your current floor really does look fantastic. It’s not a weird color or anything. Have you considered upgrading the kitchen countertops before the floors, and maybe putting a rug in the center of the kitchen until you replace the flooring? I still think the one thing that is making your house hold on to it’s age more than anything else would be the interior doors and knobs……I know the ones you want are really expensive, but I might consider saving up for that before I even did anything in the kitchen. But that’s an outsider’s opinion looking at your photos…..I know it’s different when you live in the home yourself!
Thanks for the tip on the vinyl wood flooring – that’s a good product to know about… I always thought we would want slate flooring but I hadn’t considered as much how it would feel underfoot (more distracted at the idea of trying to keep it clean, which seems like it might be hard). Sorry to hear about the peel and stick in your kitchen. The groutable tiles I used at the last house were thin too (do you remember what brand you used?) but for the most part the grout stayed in tact. We did have a little shifting in the tiles too, though only in the spots that were more heavily trafficked so I attributed it to the bounciness of the floor in those areas instead of the heating/cooling factor… though our kitchen was over a moderate basement, warmer than a crawl space at least.
As for the floor and countertop in the kitchen in our current house, we’ll probably leave them as-is for awhile longer. We tried a rug recently and nixed it after 24 hours (it was just an utility rug from the basement to see if we liked having a carpeted space). It was horrendously dirty and hard to clean (apparently we’re messy people). I have bigger plans of totally renovating the kitchen (years of saving behind us and ahead of us) and because the counter and floor are both still in good shape, we can deal with it not being perfect… it’ll all be new when it’s done. This is the same reason I haven’t replaced the crystal chandelier in the dining room… it’s in no way the right look for the house, and I have a few top picks in mind to replace it but first I want to see where our renovations pan out ($$$$ estimates to gauge what we can actually afford to do) before spending anything on something new that might not be a long term solution. I want to loft the ceilings throughout, which would effect that light in particular!
Sorry it’s taken so long to get back with you. I wanted to pull up my old email account to see what the brand name was of the self-stick tile flooring I bought. It was Armstrong — this exactly: http://www.homedepot.com/s/203591277?NCNI-5 It’s super nice, thick tile and was very reasonable. I paid $197 for 5 cases of it in June 2013 (covered 150 sq ft).
The majority of my tile did shift in the walkways, now that you mention it, but it also separated along the walls too where we never walk, which was why I was blaming it more on the wood subfloor moving with temperature change. It also only separated the length of the plywood and not the width. In other words, all the lines of separation are only running north and south (none east and west), and the 8-foot lengths of our subfloor is running north and south as well (the 4-foot lengths are east and west). If that makes sense. :-) I’m especially wanting to replace my kitchen floor with the vinyl wood-look planks now.
My doctor’s office did a total remodel recently and laid this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Shaw-New-Bay-Beach-6-in-x-48-in-Resilient-Vinyl-Plank-Flooring-53-93-sq-ft-case-HD80100240/205186840 Not only is it cheap, it’s really pretty in-person. Where it separated, they filled it in with a bead of almond silicone and it looks like grout up-close — it blended in almost flawlessly.
Here’s the link to all of Home Depot’s vinyl plank flooring: http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Vinyl-Flooring-Resilient-Flooring-Resilient-Vinyl-Planks/N-5yc1vZbzjz The 4 they have on display in their retail stores (they have free samples) are gorgeous….I forget which style it is, but it’s $2.97/sq ft in my store.
You’re probably too young to remember the old Pergo of the 90’s — their white/natural stain style looked like plastic junk on a floor. Some of these new vinyl wood-look planks may have a tendency to look that way, but some really do look like real wood. I’ll have to order a sample case first. I’m definitely wanting a very light floor this go ’round and do not want it to look fake. My dark laminate floors show dust soooooo BAD…..as pretty as they are, I am so tired of being a slave to my dust mop.
I have not researched the different install methods of these vinyl planks. I noticed the different styles lock in different ways which means some may be more prone to come apart and some may be really difficult to install. I know I definitely do not want the ones that glue down — mine will need to float like my laminate floors do now or else I’ll have the same shifting problem I do now with the self-stick tiles. My laminate did separate in places, but it is VERY tiny gap in just a couple places and barely noticeable……so definitely need the floating floor!
Rugs….so many people can do them in their homes which is why I suggested it, but I’m in the same boat with you. I went without any rugs for a couple years, then bought a 3×5 indoor/outdoor from Home Decorator’s Collection to try. It can be rinsed with a waterhose, so I figured my Doberman and Husky can’t do anything to that one that I can’t undo. Problem is, after 6 months of dog dander and the 3rd hosing with water-only, it smelled RANK after it dried. OMG, disgusting. I had to saturate it with vinegar and sprinkle baking soda on it and scrub it with a car brush in my driveway just to use it again. Unfortunately, even the indoor/outdoor rugs are too laborious for me. I am a no carpet, no rug house, so I totally get it.
Oh gosh….lofting ceilings is MAJOR! It will also cause your utility bills to go way up in the winter if you’re in a cold climate (I forget what state you’re in?)……it’s a place for your expensive heat to get lost in. But lofted ceilings are great in warm climates because the heat doesn’t stay down in the room space you’re trying to keep cool (our utility bills in coastal Alabama are twice as high in summer than the dead of winter). Just something else to consider. :-) It will be so exciting to get everything the way you want it, especially your all-new kitchen!