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We are buying a house that has some rediculous linolium in the entryway and into the kitchen and we were thinking of doing tile instead because there's a step involved and obviously the linolium is just all ripped up trying to go over that step. I have never done tile work before but I know many people who have and who would help us get it done. I'd love any suggestions about how to find tile and supplies (or another flooring option that would work here) at a good price for our little "fixer upper." We'll probably sell the house in 5 years so we're looking for tile that will look nice and help the house out a bit but not "we're going to live here forever" type pricey product. Any tips?
We could just chose new linolium in the kitchen but still do tile in the entryway/step area.... would that be cheaper? I can't imangine installing linolium myself....
They have linoleum squares (used them in my first home years ago) that are quite easy to use, but tile always looks better. I have done extensive tiling and it's fairly easy. I almost always have purchased my tile at flooring stores, rather than "Depot" type stores. Although you can find deals in both, I think the flooring stores that sell in bulk are where you can find the best deals. Often times too you can talk them down on price a little bit, 10 percent here or there. The thing to remember about tiling, like any other home project, is to go slow. With all my tiling, I've used a cheap 50 dollar tile saw, simple to use and works fine. if you're going to sell in five years, I'd recommend something "vanilla", more classic in style and not too trendy. Just my 2 cents.
Also keep in mind that when you do the work yourself, it's really not that expensive, and the results are terrific. I spent maybe 300 bucks on supplies/travertine tile for my master shower. This would have been a pretty penny had I subbed it out:
Here is my main bath. These tile are actually ceramic that look like stone, very affordable and give a nice look. I think to do this shower was about 100 bucks in tile and my labor. You can't see the floor too well, but I used a similar tile for that too, 12x12 that was ceramic, but looked like marble. Affordable and looked great.
Here I used stone for my backsplash in my kitchen, it was more expensive, probably 100 bucks, but it was super easy and made the kitchen look awesome. (And no I wasn't done with my trim yet in the kitchen, so I didn't leave it like that lol)
We did one of our bathroom floors in 12x12 porcelain tiles that cost $.88 a piece, about $60. It was not difficult and we used only a glass cutter to make straight cuts (this would not work for stone). Lowes will cut a few tile for you if you need to cut a complicated shape. If you use tile that needs a wet saw, you can dry lay all your tile before you rent the saw and then a 4 hour rental is plenty of time to cut your pieces.
Preparation is everything. The floor must be perfectly level. We were able to tile over sheet vinyl, but you may need an underlayment material. Be sure you understand what will happen at doorways or other transitions before you start. I bought a book on how to tile from Home Depot and it really helped.
Even cheaper tile looks better than linoleum, so when you go to sell, you'll be glad you put in the ceramic.
I agree transition area and doorways must be figured out before starting project. If your considering a ceramic tile in entrance area then figure your floor will be raise the thickness of the tile+morter+underlayment. That could add up to about 3/4" or more. Also need to determine if the floor is sturdy enough to support a ceramic tile. If there's a little give then you tiles will crack. That the purpose of the underlayment. Salesperson at a tile store could help you figure how to transition from entrance way to other floors and doors as well as wwether or not you'll need underlayment. If you plan on staying for a couple of years I would suggest a netural color. Ceramic tile in the entrance area can be a benifit when going to sell.
I have some home renovation expert friends who I hope will help me figure out the complicated doorways and such. The floor is very sturdy but in one spot the floor is not level and I know that will be a problem, we'll have to figure out what's going on there and lay something down to level the floor.
Where do you get 88 cent tile?!?! I was at a flooring store recently and everything seemed to be more than $2.50 a sq ft.
I have some home renovation expert friends who I hope will help me figure out the complicated doorways and such. The floor is very sturdy but in one spot the floor is not level and I know that will be a problem, we'll have to figure out what's going on there and lay something down to level the floor.
Where do you get 88 cent tile?!?! I was at a flooring store recently and everything seemed to be more than $2.50 a sq ft.
It was either Lowes or HD. I would have paid more, but these cheap ones looked the best for where I wanted them. I think they usually have one or two in this price range...special or close-out. Make sure you buy more than enough for the job.
-- dealing with non-square corners/walls
-- deciding where to start tiling
-- getting the consistency of the materials (thinset, grout) right.
The first two you can think your way through. The traditional tiling method of starting in the middle and working out often leaves you with really ugly transitions. In my bedroom, for instance, I decided to use full tiles along the south and west walls, where the entry to the bedroom and bathroom are (also the two straightest walls). It meant I ended up with cut tiles on the north and east walls (and even some small trim cuts along the south wall toward the end of the row), but that is where the bed and dressers are, and you never even see that wall.
For the the third one I recommend going to Home Depot or a tile store (if you live in a larger city) that offers classes and seminars, so you can SEE and FEEL the thinset and the grout. I'm really big on learning through books, but it was really helpful to have that hands-on. There are also videos up on youtube that shows techniques for putting tile down.
I had the advantage of watching the great room in my house tiled by experts (and even helped with bits of it) and that experience was invaluable.
After scraping up the linoleum floor, make sure the floor is smooth, level and can support tile. As someone who has tiled both large tile squares and plank look tiles, I'm happier with plank look tiles. They are easier to work with and the pattern is forgiving of small mistakes. I chose the Madeira Oak pattern from Lowes. If you look it up, you'll see the reviews and pictures of the finished project. Many of these people had never tiled before and the tile looked great.
The hardest thing (for me) is getting the thinset even, so all the tiles are level. If I'm laying a tile that I can see won't be level, I'll pull it up and put more thinset on the back, then reset it. The last floor I did was one of the bathrooms and I started with whole tiles around the tub, worked my way up and my spouse cut the smaller tiles around the door where they aren't so noticeable.
I highly recommend smaller grout lines and darker grout that dosen't show dirt. If you pay a little more and buy grout that has a sealer built in, you'll save yourself extra work.
Lucky for us that we tiled most of our other houses, the quotes I got around here for tiling three bathrooms and a laundry room were crazy expensive. We bought a tile saw and got to work. It's not that hard to tile, take your time and keep a bucket of fresh water and a sponge to wipe up thinset and grout before it hardens. Good luck!
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