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Vinyl Kitchen Flooring

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Steve in Mass

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So what is your goal here Sim?  You plan to have this newly renovated floor suit a purpose for the next 2, 4, 5, 10+ years?  Does it experience heavy foot traffic? Does it need to look decent and for how long?  

 

With respect to home renos, I heard a phrase one time on SOL- pay peanuts and get monkeys.  If you want to re-do 100 sq feet of floor with a few pennies then you better expect that it's going to look like **** in short order and you'll be paying up to re-do it again soon.  Depending on your goal it may not be unreasonable.  Given your parameters in this thread i'd have to say give your existing floor a good cleaning and save your money.

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Existing floor is beyond a good cleaning, it is coming up and have lost some of the top layer in spots. It has lasted at least ten years, and it was quite cheap (cheaper than what I plan on getting) peel and stick.

 

The one I am putting down, if I get 10 years out of it, that will be fine. It is just Donna and myself, so traffic is hardly "heavy", although I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. In ten years I will either be dead (Geez, I hope not!), or we will have moved, or I will just re-do or have it re-done.

 

This time around I plan on getting at least 2 mm tile (existing is only 1 mm) and using mastic in addition to the peel and stick adhesive (if I end up with a peel and stick product.)

 

I really don't care about resale value, as the trend in this area for a house like this is that people buy them for the land, and likely just raze it and build some ugly McMansion. Which would be said, cause this house has some certain charms for the right people. like the "bones" that were hand sawn from timber from the original 100 acres of land, pine paneling in the dining room, made from the same, and many built in closets and suck that are also fashioned from wood from the original land.

 

And if they don't raze it, who knows if a buyer would like a floor anyway,as everyone has their own tastes. Fact is, there are few improvements such as that which add any real resale value to a home. Wallpaper or a particular paint color would fall within that category as well.

"You know the Bill of Rights is serving its purpose when it protects things you wish it didn't."

 

"You can no longer be oppressed if you are not afraid anymore - Unknown"

 

SOL Member #174

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Option 1 (preferred?):

The cheapest sheet vinyl at homies is .53 cents a sq foot and comes in 12 foot wide rolls.  Its the closest thing to that charming 95 year old grannie look you're going for.  If you rip up the existing floor yourself i bet you can get a fresh install from Homies for less than 200 bucks.  Not bad, right? Or, you will have to put down a 3/8 finished plywood layer over the existing floor first and then have them install  the vinyl sheet over that, but of course then you'll have a bevel on the floor.  

 

Option 2 (least cost):

stick-on tiles for that I-95 Exxon bathroom look

 

Option 3 (more money than option 1 but what 99% would do given the parameters):

Inexpensive laminate floating floor floated right on top of existing floor.

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Not paying $200 plus materials. $200 would be my very top all included.

 

Not doing a floating floor. 

 

Existing peel and stick will come off easily (too easily in fact.) Can prep the subfloor for the peel and stick. Have found some that is not too bad looking.

"You know the Bill of Rights is serving its purpose when it protects things you wish it didn't."

 

"You can no longer be oppressed if you are not afraid anymore - Unknown"

 

SOL Member #174

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Um, cause I kinda wanna do it myself.

 

There is some satisfaction in that, you know, else this forum really wouldn't exist. would it? ;)

 

 

"You know the Bill of Rights is serving its purpose when it protects things you wish it didn't."

 

"You can no longer be oppressed if you are not afraid anymore - Unknown"

 

SOL Member #174

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  • 1 month later...

What happened?

I have a 1950 ranch-o-matic.

Original completely beat linoleum sheet floor.

Two years ago laid VCT...wanted the classic black and white checkerboard.  Came out OK.  Im a former carpenter and currently architect so not a newb..

 

Advantages

Easy to tackle weird corners and angles withoit big precise pattern.

Very durable.

Pretty economical 

Aesthetic was perfect for this checkerboard but gonna be pretty limiting for anything else... colors are not modern or exciting in general as you have pointed out.  Mannington and Armstrong are the rop two brands.  Not home Depot...go to a flooring store to buy.

 

Disadvantages

You need to pull everything you can off the existing floor including any underlayment.  You need to add new underlayment.  The surface must be PERFECT.  Brand new clean 1/4" or 3/8"... assuming your subfloor is good.  If there is any dust, divots or blemishes on that underlayment it will telegraph thru to the finished tile and you'll see big bumps. You'd think since the tile is so robust that it woild handle little imperfections but this is not true.  Ive been on jobs in schools where 100,000 SF of this goes down and the 100,000  tiny imperfections are an incredible nightmare.

The underlayment and subfloor you may need to add will result in the floor surface being higher than adjoining floors, requiring transition strips, door trims, baseboard weirdness, and moat important in a kitchen, reduction of your toekick space at the base cabinets.

The mastic is a real PITA. You gotta use the exact notxhed trowel the manufacturer recommends...you cant apply too much if an area or two little before laying the tile.  When you sit on time yku just installed in order to lay tile in front of you, your butt and feet will squish the tiles out of alignment and open up small gaps which are almost impossible to really eliminate. You gotta be real careful and gentle. The mastic gets on everything too.  At least if you get it when its wet you can use water and a sponge to clean up.

 

Consider the floating floors as others have suggested or just bite the bullet and choose some nice ceramic tiles and matching grout.  You can create very nice subtle color accents or just do the whole field in one color.  Both VCT and ceramic tile installation will require your family to go somewhere else for 2-3 days.  You can't do this with people needing to cook and wash dishes.  All your appliances will be rushed into the living room or dining room.

The "satisfaction" isn't all that great I can tell you! The hassle and frustration and pressure to get it dome before family returns is enormous.  My advice: Pay a pro.

The Great Big Jig in the Sky...Shine on you crazy diamond jig.

rsz_2aa17withhook.jpg

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Funny this got bumped. I bought the peel and stick tile this past Tuesday. Traffic Master 2mm "Carrara Marble". Not sure yet if I am going to use additional mastic or not. Likely put down a thin underlayment over the existing one after pulling the existing tiles.

 

Plan is to see if my retired BIL is willing to be a second hand. And to take off the Monday after the Superbowl to get at least most of it done. This way I actually may be able to see some of the Patriots whoop ass on the Eagles or Vikings....instead of having to be in bed by 6 to wake up for work at 2am..... ;)

 

"You know the Bill of Rights is serving its purpose when it protects things you wish it didn't."

 

"You can no longer be oppressed if you are not afraid anymore - Unknown"

 

SOL Member #174

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