Porcelain/Ceramic Tile Flooring v. Wood Laminate?? (for sale, new home)

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by G Grasshopper

Beautiful!

Thanks, our son did all the work - it's what he does for a living.

I edited to add some other pics above.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by motherofthree

And when I buy a house, flooring is not a deal breaker for me. It can be changed just like paint and applicances.

That's the thing. If it's tile it can not easily be changed. Have you ever tried to get up tile? Not fun (or easy).

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by mm57553

That's the thing. If it's tile it can not easily be changed. Have you ever tried to get up tile? Not fun (or easy).

It's not that hard. Our son scraped up the old marble tile (about 60 square feet) in the entry hall in less than a half hour.

[BentBow]

Originally Posted by riaelise

That's the thing, the outer layers are hardwood, but the core isn't. To me, the only difference between engineered and laminate is that one uses a plastic outer shell/veneer and the other one uses an actual wood layer.

There are products sold as Engineered, but are not engineered as defined by ANSI.

HDF core manufactured wood, is an animal in itself.
It is fairly new to the market, with more and more manufacturers jumping on board to meet price points.

An engineered made to ANSI standards, will have a wood core, preferably a hardwood core. It may be alternating layers of birch and mahogany, or it may be all soft pine, or it may be all the same species as the wear surface.

A balanced engineered board is very important!! A lot of the stuff coming from China, Indonesia and South America, are not a balanced construction.


Nothing beat the old Bruce 3 ply 3/8" made 25 years ago. Never had a problem with it. Each ply was an 1/8", you could sand it to bare wood 3 times and numerous scuff and recoats between complete sandings to bare wood.

Get this, engineered wood was called laminated wood and changed when laminate hit the market from Europe.

[BentBow]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

Real oak flooring in my mancave, and we will put it in our master bedroom:



Three years aggo, we ripped up all the living/dining/hallway carpet and vinyl tile in the utitilty room & hall bathroom to put down 18" ceramic tile. We love it - and the geometric groutline pattern:



We had 12" floor tiles, and two kinds of 8" wall/counter tiles installed in the master bath makeover:



We even put granite tile on the new buffet/cabinet half wall between the living room & formal dining area:



Formal Dining room floor tile:

Looks good, The wood looks like Kahr's WoodLoc.

[BentBow]

Originally Posted by mm57553

That's the thing. If it's tile it can not easily be changed. Have you ever tried to get up tile? Not fun (or easy).

Not that hard, if you have the right tools.

Electric demo hammer/jack hammer.


Shielded Floor machine with a vacuum port and a scrape away attachment.

[BentBow]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

It's not that hard. Our son scraped up the old marble tile (about 60 square feet) in the entry hall in less than a half hour.

Ya, the tiles, but not the thinset!!!

With a floor machine and a scrape away that is about 45 min, to an hour. By hand scraping, an hour or more.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

It's not that hard. Our son scraped up the old marble tile (about 60 square feet) in the entry hall in less than a half hour.

So then the entire first floor should only take about 10 hours? Sheesh, what was I thinking? That's a breeze!

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

It's not that hard. Our son scraped up the old marble tile (about 60 square feet) in the entry hall in less than a half hour.

Originally Posted by BentBow

Ya, the tiles, but not the thinset!!!

With a floor machine and a scrape away that is about 45 min, to an hour. By hand scraping, an hour or more.

Originally Posted by mm57553

So then the entire first floor should only take about 10 hours? Sheesh, what was I thinking? That's a breeze!

' course then you only have to dispose of the mess. Let me cipher a bit...1600 sq ft of tile, 3/4" thick with thin-set equals Nah! We'll stick with the area rugs!

[BJB817]

Ya'll know they have wood look tiles these days too.

The first time I used it I thought it was kind of hokey, but after doing a few installs, it isn't bad. Stagger it like real wood and set with a tight grout line.

Is it something I'd want in my house? No. Is it a viable option for someone that wants the look of wood with the durability of tile, absolutely.