[lvoc]

We have most of the traffic areas done in Limestone. There is a cut in carpet in the living room and a wool/leather rug in the dining room. But halls kitchen all the walking areas are limestone.

It is pretty close to indestructible. The bad news is that it is porous and needs to be cleaned and sealed every four or five years for around $500.

It works particularly well for us in that the pool access to the house comes through the french doors to the living room. Thus no one wet gets on the carpet.

The other bad thing about stone is you need an expert to lay it.

They are quite comfortable all year round...simply low heat transfer I expect.

I would also note that cornering by large dogs will inevitably damage any of the laminate or engineered products.

[ScoopLV]

Anyone in decent physical shape can lay a stone floor. It's tedious, but not difficult. We did ours. And I'd put our work up against any in the valley. And it was our first attempt to lay a floor of any kind.

No "experts" needed. Just some confidence, a good tile saw, information that can be learned from the 'net in a day, and motivation.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Anyone in decent physical shape can lay a stone floor. It's tedious, but not difficult. We did ours. And I'd put our work up against any in the valley. And it was our first attempt to lay a floor of any kind.

No "experts" needed. Just some confidence, a good tile saw, information that can be learned from the 'net in a day, and motivation.

Sure they can...

I have seen a half dozen stone floors laid by amateurs. Aside from bad spacing, bad grouting, broken patterns, vertical laying errors, cracking after 5 years and a few other such things.

But nothing to it. Just check the internet and jump right in.

[bayview6]

DIY'ers can tile their floors. It just plain hard physical labor and takes at least 10x more time than professionals who do it for a living. Stone floors would be a real challenge to anyone who had zero experience in that kind of undertaking.

[movintoLV31]

Originally Posted by crazy_bd

Tile.

100% agreed! I have 2 70 lb dogs that shed everywhere and can't even imagine what the house would smell like if we had carpet. Not to mention the damage their toenails would do to wood if we had it. But, this is just my experience. Others may have a different opinion.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by bayview6

DIY'ers can tile their floors. It just plain hard physical labor and takes at least 10x more time than professionals who do it for a living. Stone floors would be a real challenge to anyone who had zero experience in that kind of undertaking.

We didn't find it particularly challenging. It's tedious, hard on the knees, and requires special tools (which we still haven't got around to selling because we're still buying property). But challenging? It's not like doing stairs, after all. Doing the stairs was challenging. The travertine (which I have posted pictures of many times on C-D), not so much.

[yellowsnow]

I would never go with carpet or wood products. We just have too much gritty, sandy, dust to mar the finish or sink in to the carpet. Plus I have three large dogs with large toenails. My first choice for here would always be stone or porcelain tile. It's indestructible! And cleans up easily.

[bayview6]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

We didn't find it particularly challenging. It's tedious, hard on the knees, and requires special tools (which we still haven't got around to selling because we're still buying property). But challenging? It's not like doing stairs, after all. Doing the stairs was challenging. The travertine (which I have posted pictures of many times on C-D), not so much.

Scoop, you are probably the exception. I've done a couple of small tile floors (using 1 sq ft tiles) and the end result was probably better than the local tradesmen in a small Oklahoma city could do because I followed the instructions to the T and wasn't in a hurry. When I wanted to tile the carpeted areas of my house in Henderson, about 1400 sq ft, the time factor and the physical factor came into play big-time. Handling 20" tiles is not easy. I have to say that the tile setters in the Vegas Valley are probably some of the best out there, and they definitely did a much, much better job than I would ever hope to do.

I do think that there are stone flooring products out there that are difficult to install. At least that was the impression I got from reading a website for DIY'ers operated by a professional tile guy many years ago.

[lvoc]

Here is the view of a set of pro tile setters discussing the subject...

What is mud setting and how do I do it [Archive] - Ceramic Tile Advice Forums - John Bridge Ceramic Tile

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by bayview6

Scoop, you are probably the exception. I've done a couple of small tile floors (using 1 sq ft tiles) and the end result was probably better than the local tradesmen in a small Oklahoma city could do because I followed the instructions to the T and wasn't in a hurry.

You don't have to go all that far back in time to find the America where a couple got married and then built their first house together. That's the way my recent ancestors did it.

People were just expected to know how to frame a house, set tile, hang drywall and wallpaper a house. People made all their own food, much of which was grown and raised themselves. And they ate their meals on furniture that they made in their workshop. Somewhere in the past few generations, we got away from all that. Just write a check.

Our ancestors weren't any smarter than us. They got it done. And today people shell out more to purchase arts and crafts houses which were designed and built by people just like them -- only far less sedentary.

We did as good a job tiling our house as any I've seen around the valley. One of the main reasons we did it ourselves was because we couldn't find anyone to do the job to our specifications -- epoxy grout, and no transitions between rooms -- just one continuous pattern throughout four rooms. The "pros" we talked to said transitionless tiling couldn't be done. We proved them wrong using geometry that we learned in middle school. They said epoxy was too hard. We proved them wrong by piping the epoxy grout in using pastry bags. It was freakin' easy.

More and more, I feel like a foreigner in my own country.