Flooring on small budget (vinyl, laminate, hardwood, paneling)

[Cristina35]

I am in real need to redo my floors . We have the ugliest tiles that are breaking in the kitchen and livingroom. I looked at some laminate and it sort of looks like wood paneling for the floor. Does it look better installed? Both rooms join one another and I cant spend more than $600.00 for both rooms Each room is 13.5x 11.5 I know that I will get what I pay for but am looking for ideas. (I have 2 dogs and 2 teenage boys.)

Thanks
Cristina

[trusam]

Originally Posted by Cristina35

I am in real need to redo my floors . We have the ugliest tiles that are breaking in the kitchen and livingroom. I looked at some laminate and it sort of looks like wood paneling for the floor. Does it look better installed? Both rooms join one another and I cant spend more than $600.00 for both rooms Each room is 13.5x 11.5 I know that I will get what I pay for but am looking for ideas. (I have 2 dogs and 2 teenage boys.)

Thanks
Cristina

I guess you can start a DIY project and material won't cost you much. The labour cost for flooring is high. You can buy ceramic tiles as low as $0.77 per sq ft from Home Depot or Lowes. Carpet tiles and laminates are also good. Wood type laminate looks good. But whatever option you choose, do it by yourself otherwise you will spend $300 for the material and $2000 for labour!!!

[dad2jules]

I had laminate in the kitchen of my last house with 2 large dogs and 1 small child and it held up great. You can definitely tell its not real hardwood but it is alot cheaper and much more durable for your situation. I think laminates are coming in styles that look like tile as well so check that out if you don't want floor paneling.

[Racelady88]

What is under the failed tiles? If it is concrete you can always rip the old floor and paint the sub floor until you have a bigger budget for your replacement project. A gallon of paint is $15 at Wal Mart and you can throw down an area rug in the living room.

[Cristina35]

I have only plywood under the tiles. I did do that to one floor good lord I hate it. I pulled up the rug sanded it as much as I could then painted it. Its a pain to wash and always looks yuck! I am thinking I am going to go with laminate because it seems to be most affordable. I have alot that needs to be done to my home. So I guess I will have to choose what is the best way to go. Thank you for all your thoughts.
Cristina

[Streamer1212]

One of the trends I 've noticed (and promoted) in the last few years is the use of VCT in residential settings.

VCT / Vinyl Composition Tiles are the ones that you find in grocery stores, frug stores, school corridors, etc. They are 12 x 12 x 1/8", and come in a carton of 45 tiles/square feet per carton. The color palette is huge, and all colors cost the same. The Armstrong Excelon line is an excellent place to start. Adhesive cost is minimal, there are no grout lines, and you can put on an acrylic finish with a mop when you've finished the insatllation which will make it easier to maintain.

Here are some budget numbers to work with:

Primer for plywood subfloor - $20.00
NOTE: If your plywood subfloor has been painted with a latex paint, you can skip the primer.
VCT: 8 ctns/ 360 sq. ft. (includes a waste factor and rounding up to full cartons. $350.00 ( +/-)
VCT Adhesive - $35.00

You'll need a really good utility knife for cutting the tile or you can rent a tile cutter pretty cheaply.

So, for around$450.00 - $500.00 you can have a shiny new retro fashionable floor that is durable, inexpensive, and easy to keep clean and pretty.

Ta -Dahhhhhhh!

Streamer1212
(Flooring Professional for over 30 years)

[UrbanTile]

A unique cheaper option if done yourself is to tear out your tile down to the sub floor in both rooms and put down 4ftx4ft pieces of plywood down. You can buy the 4x8 sheets of Maple or whatever you prefer for about $20-$40 a sheet and then they will cut it in half for you if you go to Lowes or Home Depot. You would need about 10 sheets for your size of rooms. They are heavy enough that all that would need to be done is to liquid nails them to the sub floor and tack in a few finishing nails to hold in place. One you do that the just fill the joints and holes with stainable wood putty, sand and stain. The wood putty will stain but look a bit different than the grain in the plywood giving the floor a tile effect. Its a simple process and would even save you a little money from your original budget.

[cyfjeff]

you can easily find a kitchen rug under $100, if you don't want to buy from local store, u can always buy online. Free shipping is offered by a lot of vendors

[jeanne211]

You will get laminate flooring on your budget price. check it out on the link. they are under 3 dollars per sft. might work for you.

Jeanne

[austin-steve]

Be careful about DIY jobs. It really hurts the resale value in most cases unless you know what you're doing and can make it look like a professional job.

With two teenagers and two dogs, you need a durable easy to clean flooring product. What you pick should also be determined by what is normal for your area. If you live in a "standard" neighborhood where most homes have Formica counters and sheetvinyl floors, go with sheet vinyl. If the current tiles are breaking, then you don't have the proper subflooring for tile and would be better off sticking with a more flexible product.

Laminate flooring is fairly durable and easy to cut and install. Most people mess it up on the trim out, where it butts against the walls and needs shoe molding. Or they install it too tight without expansion space and it bows up in places or sounds hollow underneath. There are diy classes at Home Depot and lowes on how to install it if you're up to it.

I'd avoid ceramic tile unless you are hiring a professional installer and they make sure the subflooring is stable.

Good luck,

Steve