mls1202 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 We are looking to buy a house in the next month or so, and I've noticed that many of the new homes are putting in 1'x1' tiles not only in the kitchens or bathrooms, but in the living rooms or den as well. I understand that they are low maintenance, but I am not a fan of the way they look. I can try to cover them over with area rugs, but my preference is wood flooring.So now for my question to all the DIY'ers (amateur and professional)...How difficult is it to remove the existing tile (it's practically new!) and have a surface ready for installation of something else like wood?I know it seems to be a waste to buy a home with a new floor, only to tear it up immediately, but your comments on the ease or difficulty will influence our decision in what we purchase. Here is an example of a house with it inside:Stone flooring in living area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanS Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 We are looking to buy a house in the next month or so, and I've noticed that many of the new homes are putting in 1'x1' tiles not only in the kitchens or bathrooms, but in the living rooms or den as well. I understand that they are low maintenance, but I am not a fan of the way they look. I can try to cover them over with area rugs, but my preference is wood flooring.So now for my question to all the DIY'ers (amateur and professional)...How difficult is it to remove the existing tile (it's practically new!) and have a surface ready for installation of something else like wood?I know it seems to be a waste to buy a home with a new floor, only to tear it up immediately, but your comments on the ease or difficulty will influence our decision in what we purchase. Here is an example of a house with it inside:Stone flooring in living areaIf you ever plan on renting out the house... I would leave the tile floors. I see a lot of rent houses with tile floors.If you want to rip up the tile floors, may I recommend a 150 psi 17 gallon upright Craftsman air compressor from Sears, with accompanying air chisel. That will make short work of taking up a tile floor. It will make quite a bit of noise, so be careful not to do this after 9:00 p.m. You can then bag the refuse (using contractor grade trash bags from Home Depot, or other place.) The bagged debris can then be hauled off to a COH neighborhood repository, with a light bill, free of charge. You have bag it, or else they won't accept it.Since the floors appear to be new... you may be lucky in that the mortar has not had time (years) to harden to the point that you must then chisel it up, after you destroy the tile floor. That's my situation. Floor is gone, but the mortar is still there. A lot of it. Was thinking about using a wire wheel grinder on that; however, I am thinking that will kick up too much dust/not work.So anyone know an easy way to get the mortar off the floor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 We had old tile floors in our house, and during renovations they were able to put wood laminate on top of it pretty easily - no removal needed! First they'll make sure it's absolutely level. If not, they'll smear some stuff (mortar?) on top to fill in the low areas. Then they snap together the wood laminate panels in only a day or two (depending on the size of the area, of course - ours was most of the first floor), and add trim around the edges. Consumer Reports did a great article on the pros and cons of different flooring options (should be available in their archives), and the laminate seemed like the best deal to us (cost vs. durability). It looks great and has held up really well for us, even with a big dog running his toenails across it all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREASER Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 tile floors arent hard to get up..they seem to just pop off once you pry, then the mortar will just chip off. I actually scraped all of mine off and it went very quickly. If you are planning to stay in the house, put down real wood floors, not the prefab stuff. Not sure about other people, but I have always seen carpet/rugs as dirt rags. Dirt settles in and they are never clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanS Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 We had old tile floors in our house, and during renovations they were able to put wood laminate on top of it pretty easily - no removal needed! First they'll make sure it's absolutely level. If not, they'll smear some stuff (mortar?) on top to fill in the low areas. Then they snap together the wood laminate panels in only a day or two (depending on the size of the area, of course - ours was most of the first floor), and add trim around the edges. Consumer Reports did a great article on the pros and cons of different flooring options (should be available in their archives), and the laminate seemed like the best deal to us (cost vs. durability). It looks great and has held up really well for us, even with a big dog running his toenails across it all the time.I can just see future real estate listings... not "hardwoods under carpet" but "tile floor under laminate"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahiki Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 We are looking to buy a house in the next month or so, and I've noticed that many of the new homes are putting in 1'x1' tiles not only in the kitchens or bathrooms, but in the living rooms or den as well. I understand that they are low maintenance, but I am not a fan of the way they look. I can try to cover them over with area rugs, but my preference is wood flooring.So now for my question to all the DIY'ers (amateur and professional)...How difficult is it to remove the existing tile (it's practically new!) and have a surface ready for installation of something else like wood?I know it seems to be a waste to buy a home with a new floor, only to tear it up immediately, but your comments on the ease or difficulty will influence our decision in what we purchase. Here is an example of a house with it inside:Stone flooring in living areaI agree that some tile looks kind of cold for a living room, but I remember looking at an Ashton Woods house where they used large tiles, laid diagonally, and the tiles were a pretty, warm color. It was really lovely. It extended even through the master bedroom, and it really sold me on the possibility of tile. You might try living with it for a little while before committing to a big demo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 The short answer to why tile is popular is because they are pushing it on HGTV, and buyers do what they are told. Carpet has finally been exposed as a collector of dirt, mold and other crap, so hard surfaces are making a comeback. Personally, I find tile to be overused these days, but it is another hard floor option, along with wood and brick and concrete.Easy to chip up, especially if recently installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 We need some sort of pixel addressable flooring, like a giant reflective display under foot. Then you could just wire it directly to HGTV and it would look like the trendiest floor at any given moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREASER Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 as long as people stick with the basics, they will not go out of style. I personally like the simple armstrong squares that you glue down then wax. They look the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the Man Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Those big 12 X 12 tiles from Home Depot are probably cheaper than carpet, and they're definitely cheaper than hardwoods. I prefer hard surfaces to carpeting for the reasons mentioned above (carpets attract and retain all sorts of nasty stuff), but I think tile is over-used. Stained concrete, terrazzo, and real linoleum can offer more visual interest, albeit at a higher price... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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