Flooring options (Sarasota: hardwood floor, condo, how much)

[streetneons]

Good morning, I have a home in the North port area. The home is a 3 bedroom 2 bath, I have carpet in the bedrooms and living room. I have ceramic tile in the bath, laundry and kitchen. I am looking to replace all flooring with new ceramic tile. I was wondering if anyone has any good recommendations for the flooring purchase and install. And if they have any experience how much to expect to budget for. And maybe if they have an alternative to the tile, I just need something that is pet friendly and easy to clean accidents with.


Thank you in advance for any help and advice given.




Steven.

[TamRE]

We go to Tile Outlets of America in Ft. Myers. They have so many choices and price ranges. It is a warehouse and you walk through it to select what you want. We currently have engineered hardwood floors and our dog has scratched them. We can't find anyone in this entire area that will refinish them so we are looking into other options. I am thinking of going with the Vinyl Plank Flooring. I like the softer feel on your feet than tile, which our engineered hardwood is much softer than tile. The Vinyl Flooring won't scratch. If you go with tile I would recommend Porcelain tile rather than Ceramic Tile.

Their web site has a lot of good information and answers some questions that most people don't think about:
https://www.tileoutlets.com/learn-about-tile/faq/

[alkaleka]

We were just looking at the vinyl plank flooring at the flooring store today. It looks and feels like real wood planks and the stuff we saw has a rubberized padding glued to the underside. These were thicker planks.
This flooring is supposed to be water- and scratch-proof, is warranteed for life, easy to install, and works well on subfloors that may not be totally smooth. The stuff we saw was $2.29 sf.

[MartyGras]

Tile outlets of America........if you can go for a natural stone (Travertine) unpolished

The problem with ceramics or polished stone is that eventually it scratches or chips or flakes and now you have a problem.

If finances are an issue you can buy enough to do every room you want to do , that way it will all match.

Then just contract with an installer for one room at a time as finances allow

Gary

[Restrain]

Alternate flooring source is Floor Decor in Sarasota. Get bids on the flooring from installation contractors.

[garyk9gs]

Originally Posted by MartyGras

Tile outlets of America........if you can go for a natural stone (Travertine) unpolished

The problem with ceramics or polished stone is that eventually it scratches or chips or flakes and now you have a problem.

If finances are an issue you can buy enough to do every room you want to do , that way it will all match.

Then just contract with an installer for one room at a time as finances allow

Gary

Last year my wife and I bought and completely remodeled a house in PGI. We decided to do the entire house in Travertine. The old flooring was a mix of ceramic tile and Terazzo. It was a lot of work sanding and scruffing the Terazzo so that the Travertine would adhere.

The results were well worth the effort.

[KPB]

I'm in the hardwood flooring business, sanding and re-finishing is about 75% and installation is the rest of our business.
There's nothing like a "real" hardwood floor but with that said I really do like LVT (plank). water proof, scratch proof, cheap, and easy to install. You don't even need a saw to cut it, just score it w/ a razor knife and it snaps off.

OP- I would look at LVT planks vs. ceramic tile.

[MartyGras]

Here is the thread I posted when I had travertine installed, with both before and after photos.

Remodeling with sliders....... Another happy customer
Gary

[Restrain]

I would tend to steer clear of the vinyl flooring. Our condo project in KW put those in, lasted 2 years before losing the finish, having to rip it out and replace it. Not saying all have this problem, but be careful and check before buying.

[TamRE]

Originally Posted by Restrain

I would tend to steer clear of the vinyl flooring. Our condo project in KW put those in, lasted 2 years before losing the finish, having to rip it out and replace it. Not saying all have this problem, but be careful and check before buying.

There are definitely different grades (2mm up to 8mm) of Vinyl Plank Flooring. The type we have been looking at has a 50 year warranty. I think the lower mm only has about a 10 year warranty. Lumber Liquidators has the vinly plank flooring too.