[mich2fla]

Tile is easy to clean.

I have a Bissell Flip It, good for hard floor clean. It's a dual unit with vacuum on one side and wet floor cleaner on the other. Check out bissell dot com and look for a Flip It. The one I have has a heater on it. With 4 kids, we use it alot!

You can aloways get an area rug to cover some tile.

[bamboosmom]

Yup, a nice area rug would work for a cozy feel. Plus you can change the rug for a different look!

[macguy]

Originally Posted by Jewels36

I have a question:

Is it a Florida thing to have tile in the living and dining rooms. It seems that so many homes I look at online have tile throughout the living areas (bedrooms being the exception, in most cases). Why is this?

The brand new homes do not but many of the homes that are just 1-3 years old do; and most of the homes that are 6 years or older do. I have come across several homes that might interest me and then I notice they have tile throughout. I like tile in the kitchen and bathrooms but not in the remainder of the living areas.

Is there a reason for this?

Tile and concrete together create a thermal mass. I have a house with tile floors and good insulation and even in the summer the electric bill only run about $75.00 I have this months bill in front of me and it is $73.00 this month. The air runs but does not have any trouble keeping the temp down. Materials that don't absorb and hold the cold make your house hot, lots of drapes wood and so on.

Another secret is the use of a hassic (sp?) fan. If you touch the tile floor you will be surprised how cold it is, the hassic fan takes the cold air hovering at the floor and redistributes it around the room. It is like free air condition supplied by your own thermal mass. We recently had a guest who thought the fan was some kind of air conditioner the air it was blowing was so cold.

Years ago they had Torezzo (sp?) floors in Florida you sometimes still see them. A person is foolish to cover them with carpet, they really keep the house cool. At today's rates one of those floors could easily save someone $700. or $800. a year on electric. If you must have carpet just use throw rugs but leave as much of the floor exposed the get it's benefit.

[lulu]

Talking about tile...& the previous discussion on people's worries about their pets living in FL, .when my dog is overheated and starts panting she plops herself on the tile floor, like saying "ahhh...., yessss" and cools herself immediately. My cats love it, too.
Also, we figure if it can take a bucket of water/soap, well it can take rainwater & humidity. Now, the thing we have to figure is how to get rid of the cardboard sheetrock walls - cause if rainwater comes from above the walls can get soaked like sponges. My friend in Kissimmee had this problem with last years hurricanes, when he received a double whammy on his roof & some walls in the kitchen/Florida room had to be replaced due to the rain coming from above.
Hmmm..just remembered about ma's old house, it's interesting cause her house had concrete walls and was slathered w/cement to give it the smooth finish - there was no sheetrock anywhere. I remember we had to drill holes (not a simple shoe like today) into the wall to put up a painting - lots of homes are still this way in other parts of the world and have withstood the tests of time. Though, installing plumbing & electricity behind these walls was very hard - and it's going to be practically impossible to afford homes like this today w/construction & material costs being so expensive. Nobody would be able to afford a home for sure. Though, if I had to choose a 1926 home with wood floor and one made pre-Andrew....I'd definitely buy the older one and fix it, like manybuyers do around where I live.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by lulu

Talking about tile...& the previous discussion on people's worries about their pets living in FL, .when my dog is overheated and starts panting she plops herself on the tile floor, like saying "ahhh...., yessss" and cools herself immediately. My cats love it, too.
Also, we figure if it can take a bucket of water/soap, well it can take rainwater & humidity. Now, the thing we have to figure is how to get rid of the cardboard sheetrock walls - cause if rainwater comes from above the walls can get soaked like sponges. My friend in Kissimmee had this problem with last years hurricanes, when he received a double whammy on his roof & some walls in the kitchen/Florida room had to be replaced due to the rain coming from above.
Hmmm..just remembered about ma's old house, it's interesting cause her house had concrete walls and was slathered w/cement to give it the smooth finish - there was no sheetrock anywhere. I remember we had to drill holes (not a simple shoe like today) into the wall to put up a painting - lots of homes are still this way in other parts of the world and have withstood the tests of time. Though, installing plumbing & electricity behind these walls was very hard - and it's going to be practically impossible to afford homes like this today w/construction & material costs being so expensive. Nobody would be able to afford a home for sure. Though, if I had to choose a 1926 home with wood floor and one made pre-Andrew....I'd definitely buy the older one and fix it, like manybuyers do around where I live.

Check out this house, and it doesn't cost that much.

http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/DA...e-katrina.html

[lulu]

Amazing...it looks like one of the structures that withstood the downfall of the Roman empire....

[macguy]

Originally Posted by lulu

Amazing...it looks like one of the structures that withstood the downfall of the Roman empire....

Did you look around the web site and find the link to the builder? Read the whole site it is interesting. I spoke to the builder and I am going to have one built in the Florida pan handle around Chipley area. We are also considering ICF construction with poured concrete. I thing it is about the most practical construction for Florida.

www.dac-art.net/

There is a company building in the Lehigh Acres area now building ICF homes that should stand up the hurricanes. You can get them with walls as thick as 12 to 15 inches solid concrete. The surprising thing is, the cost is not really much more then a conventional home.

[elfyum]

Oh I know! Tile tile tile everywhere tile!

Jewels - I can relate to wanting to "hang" on the floor! Ahhhhhhhh CARPET!!!!!!!!! How I LONG for CARPET!!!!!!!! Nice thick plush soft wall to wall (& I mean every square inch including kitchen & bathrooms!) CARPET!!!!!!!!! Tile floors are COLD! I mean I can't set foot on them without slippers or something on my feet! Unless my feet happen to be really hot-then it feels good

Macguy - WHAT PART OF FL ARE YOU IN???!!! We have CBS & complete tile and our last FPL bill was 180+!!!!!!!!! They DID raise the rates (same useage a year ago was 160+) but still! And we don't ever keep it below 76!!!!! And it's not just us-believe me I've asked around & our bills are quite normal for this time of year. We have a 3/2 and the highest summer bill last year was 200+ so this year I expect 220+...WINTER bills are mid 80s/90s - under 100$.
Are you in a small condo? I don't get it
But back to the topic...CARPET!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dee2e]

Originally Posted by Jewels36

I guess this is just something I will have to get used to. We like to lay on the floor and watch movies as a family and it just doesn't seem like laying on tile would be comfortable.

Tile also seems like a lot of work with sweeping and mopping every day. Especially for someone like me who is obsessively clean. As it stands now, I vacuum almost every day and sweep and mop the kitchen almost every day too. I can not stand to feel any type of crumbs or grit on the floor when I walk across it.

I tiled the house a few years ago. With the pool, the entertaining we do, and kids, I find it much easier to care for than carpeting.

It's easier to vacumn with an electric broom that the carpet. A Swiffer type mop is great on tile. No more wear patterns and mold! Wet people in and out on carpet cause mold to grow.

The only drawback, it's cold on the feet sometimes, and when you break glass, it's a mess!

Area rugs make it easier to lay on the floor for tv watching, by the way.

[Dee2e]

Originally Posted by elfyum

Oh I know! Tile tile tile everywhere tile!
...

Macguy - WHAT PART OF FL ARE YOU IN???!!! We have CBS & complete tile and our last FPL bill was 180+!!!!!!!!! They DID raise the rates (same useage a year ago was 160+) but still! And we don't ever keep it below 76!!!!! And it's not just us-believe me I've asked around & our bills are quite normal for this time of year. We have a 3/2 and the highest summer bill last year was 200+ so this year I expect 220+...WINTER bills are mid 80s/90s - under 100$.
Are you in a small condo? I don't get it
But back to the topic...CARPET!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most Florida electric rates went up because they gas rates are up and we have to pay for all those hurricane repairs.

Just 2 degrees higher on the thermostat saves $100 a month. Try raising your thermstat. Ceiling fans are inexpensive and much cheaper to run.