I have 4 cats, 2 small dogs, 3 teenagers and a husband that will drop down and work on anything regardless of how dirty it is. Not to mention their friends that come and go.
I'm having a new kitchen and bathroom floor installed and I need the one that will hold up the best under the wear and tear.

I like the linoleum tile for kitchen floors. If you can get the large roll instead of the individual tiles that is better and prettier designs I think

We had that as kids... it did hold up pretty well... but with so much traffic it usually would get torn.

Hi all:

Actually... the best floor for holding up against heavy foot traffic in a KITCHEN has to be the commercial VCT (vinyl composition tiles)... not the cheap self-stick type... ok?

This stuff is used commercially (at hospitals, malls and such) because it is solid down through the entire tile and can be stripped and sealed whenever needed... ;)

However, not a lot of design choices available... :( Many colors available... just not many designs. I actually special ordered PURPLE commercial VCT for my daughter's room... takes a beating I'll tell you!

In terms of the bathroom floor... nothing beats ceramic tile... as long as it is properly installed!

Anyway... just wanted to pop in and present my thoughts... have a good night all...

MARK

I love ceramic tile best too EXCEPT my son drops stuff and it breaks the tile and I am constantly having to take a tile out and replace it. Also it is easier to slip and fall if there is a spill.

My children's doctors office has that... I think they sell it at Lowe's, I guess I could live with that.

I took one of my kids to the surgeons office today... this office is a bit old and had those tiles... I noticed around each tile I guess it was where they bumped against each other it appeared to have black lines... was not very attractive looking... but It did appear they ha dbeen there for many years, whereas the pedtricians off ice is new and hers doesn't look this way... could it be the age of them or they were not bumped up tight enough to each other?
I wouldn't mind having them but I would go insane trying to clean out those lines.

Hi all...

Yeah... some of these tiles will show a black line between the tiles... really depends on the color you choose.

Pick up a few pieces with a color you like from Home depot or Lowe's and bring them home and place them on the floor butted tight to each other and see what you think of them then in daylight and at nighttime. If floor is installed correctly and tiles are butted tightly you should really barely see a line at all... ;)

One other nice thing is that even if one of these commercial VCTs ever does get badly damaged it is super easy to heat and pull it out and then install a new one... but pretty hard to damage these, really!

And I am looking into another type of floor for your bathroom... stay tuned for more!

Let me know how it goes...

MARK

My house was built in the early 1900's I think 1909 so the floor is probably a bit off. We could always put plywood down to even things out... what kind of adhesive do you use with these tiles... before I approach my husband I want to have all of my ducks in a row.

Last time I installed this flooring I used HENRYs thin spread tile adhesive... or you could use any VCT adhesive they sell at home supply... simply spread a workable area and wait for adhesive to become slightly tacky (about 10 minutes) and then start setting tiles. Goes pretty fast, too!

You may need to PRIME certain underlayments... so read instructions on adhesive container to be sure you get best job! I recommend a sanded and plugged plywood for this application... ;)

MARK

What is plugged plywood? Will my husband know he does some rehabbing? But I've never heard this term.

Sanded and plugged plywood is simply a plywood that has had any irregularities sanded and plugged... creates smooth surface for tiles like these.

Do not use luanne plywood for this application... this is smooth but will break down over time.

Stick with the sanded and plugged... I am sure your husband can find it as it is sold exactly as named!

Also, need to know about 1.5" to 2" ringshank nails...see picture. These are used to install the plywood and stay put once installed (these nails don't pop up and out through the tile)... The nail heads should be sunk to just a divit below the plywood floor and then the nail heads and the plywood seams need to have a floor leveler troweled over the top to fill in the divits made by nail heads and the seams... otherwise, divits/seams show up in VCT later down the road.

Let me know if need more...

MARK

That was excellent easy to understand info... I wish I could give you another greenie.
I know he has installed these tiles because he is a commercial carpetner for a large compnay that contracts him out... but the places he works on I am sure never have plywood floors.

Now I just have to get him to go for this type of flooring... he may want beauty, I want durability and cleaning ease for all of my creatures 2 legged and 4 legged.:p

Good luck there... ;)

I am still looking into info. For bathroom floor... should post back on this tomorrow.

Good night!

Hi Guys...

I was looking into epoxy floors for your bathroom flooring Bushg... these floors are incredibly durable. They are also ridiculously expensive and it is very hard to find anyone that is installing them residentially yet!

There are some people installing these floors across the country, but after investigating seems like it is not at a time that this will be very useful for you...

Anyway, wanted to pop back and let you know that I tried.. but failed miserably!

Hoping you have come up with some other options..?

Let me know...

MARK

We have a month or so to decide on the flooring... I'm working on him and the tile, I think he is seeing it my way:cool:
Thanks for going the extra mile... the bathroom that we are redoing is not as big of a deal, since the kids have their own bathroom. It's the kitchen that is under the greatest attack and you solved that one :D