Ask Me Help Desk - Kitchen floor nightmare and other issues.

Hi everyone.

So, we have a few issues in our home.

Let me start by saying that my husband and I plan on selling the house in 2 years. It's a 16 year old bi-level home, 1066 sq feet one level, but the basement is finished, doubling our space.

It's 2 bedrooms upstairs, one down, with room for another if need be.

We have laminate flooring throughout, except for the bathrooms, the front foyer (tile), and the stairs (which are carpet).

We need to do renos before we sell, and this is the problem.

We had laminate flooring in the kitchen. We placed it over lino around 9 years ago. The laminate was past its prime, and due to issues with our dishwasher, and a bit of a flood, it needed to go, so we took it out, went back to the vinyl which is not only dated, but also discolored, and because of the flooding, also moldy (which I'm dealing with today, thank you bleach and floor cleaner).

The thing is, we had planned to replace to flooring in the kitchen, and actually, also throughout the rest of the house (kids rooms and our room are already re-done), but we had hoped to wait until we were closer to selling to do this.

Well, the vinyl floor in the kitchen needs to be redone. We can't leave it as is. Not only is it hideous, but it smells (I'm hoping that will change when I bleach it, but I'm not sure), and it's damaged as well. I had hoped to get a new counter, new cabinet doors, repaint (all of which we're doing ourselves, and are more than capable of doing), before I get new flooring. There's just too much potential to damage the floor if we put it in before the other renos are done. But I can't live with it the way it is now.

We have a few options. I originally wanted to get a new lino floor. I'm not a fan of tile in the kitchen, and laminate has proven to be a bad choice in an area where things fall, there's high traffic, and water is a constant threat. We were going to go with a tile looking lino floor. Durable, easy to clean, etc. etc.

The thing is, lino is also easily damaged if things are dropped on it, also, discoloration (which is an issue we had with our old lino) is also a problem. I really wanted to wait until we were closer to selling to put in this new floor.

We have tile, we have marble, slate, tile coming out of our ears from a demo we did for a tile store years ago. We could re-tile our entire home 3 times over and still have tile left over. The marble we have isn't my style, but it's gorgeous tile. If we went with the tile we'd only have to pay for mastic (sp?) and grout, and possibly putting in a heated floor (which would be a must for me if we went with tile in the kitchen). But, if we put in the tile, before the other renos, and something happens and one of the tiles breaks, especially if we put in the heated floor, it's going to be a big b little itch to replace that tile.

I guess I just need some advice. I can't afford to replace the floor now and then do it again when we sell. Whatever floor we put in, that's it until we sell the house. So I want something that will not only be durable, and last, but something that potential buyers will also like.

There are more issues with the house, but I've already written a book about the floor, so I'll stop here, and mention the other issues as we're fixing them. :)

Any advice would be appreciated.

I think I would put down some self adhesive vinyl tile until such time as you have done your other improvements in the kitchen. Can't get much cheaper or easier than that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hkstroud

I think I would put down some self adhesive vinyl tile until such time as you have done your other improvements in the kitchen. Can't get much cheaper or easier than that.

I have thought about that, but my worry is that I've used self adhesive tile before, and no matter how well it's laid, it never looks good. You can see the seams, and no matter how well a house is built, it's never completely square, and with self adhesive tiles it's harder to hide that fact.

I do have to live with this floor for the next 2 years. So, even though I'm thinking ahead to what potential buyers will want, I also do have to like it myself for the next few years. :)

It is cheap, but considering that I found laminate for 39 cents a square foot, well, I'm just not sure that the self adhesive tile is the way to go. But it is on my list of possibilities for the time being.

Thanks.

OK, but I feel compelled to point out that when laying tile, you don't start on one side lay tile to the other. You start in the middle and lay tiles toward the walls. You trim the last row of tiles to fit the walls. That way it doesn't matter if the room is square, or the walls are straight.

My kitchen floor could be in House Beautiful. Even when the cats splash water from their water bowl all over the floor, the seams are tight between tiles and water doesn't seep in between them. We had bought maybe three tiles from each pattern we liked and threw them down on the floor to see which pattern we liked the best. What you see in the store is not what looks good on your floor. (Wow! I could sell that to Armstrong as a new jingle!) And if you plan to sell the house in a couple of years, the new owners will want to do their own decorating, so don't spend a fortune or put a lot of time into the renos. What you like and think looks good may be a far cry from what they think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hkstroud

OK, but I feel compelled to point out that when laying tile, you don't start on one side lay tile to the other. You start in the middle and lay tiles toward the walls. You trim the last row of tiles to fit the walls. That way it doesn't matter if the room is square, or the walls are straight.

LOL! I do know that. :)

I'm still not a fan of the adhesive tile though. Neither is my husband, and we did talk about it.

The fact is, the cheapest sticky tile I've found is still 43 cents a square foot. I found lovely laminate and lino for 39 cents a square foot. So it makes no sense spending more on something I really don't like, when I can get something I do like for a lot less.

I think that actual tile has been vetoed. Neither my husband or me like the idea of tile in the kitchen. We've lived with tile in a kitchen before, and it's just not durable, it's cold (unless we get a heated floor), and it's not easy to keep clean.

Right now the two contenders are lino or laminate. We had laminate for the last 9 years and actually really liked it. An even better option may be the laminate floor that looks like tile.

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about;

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...RgdpEIPLMHMrkA

But that flooring is a bit pricier at around $1.50/square foot. Still a lot cheaper than tile though. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

My kitchen floor could be in House Beautiful. Even when the cats splash water from their water bowl all over the floor, the seams are tight between tiles and water doesn't seep in between them. We had bought maybe three tiles from each pattern we liked and threw them down on the floor to see which pattern we liked the best. What you see in the store is not what looks good on your floor. (Wow! I could sell that to Armstrong as a new jingle!) And if you plan to sell the house in a couple of years, the new owners will want to do their own decorating, so don't spend a fortune or put a lot of time into the renos. What you like and think looks good may be a far cry from what they think.

WG, I don't doubt that the seams are tight and that water doesn't get in between. But I've never seen adhesive tile that looks seamless. You can always see the seams, see where the tile has been laid together. I just don't like that look.

I'm not saying it's a bad product, and I'm sure your house is beautiful, but just like some people prefer hardwood to carpet, I prefer lino to self adhesive tile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alty

I'm sure your house is beautiful, but just like some people prefer hardwood to carpet, I prefer lino to self adhesive tile.

No, my house isn't beautiful. It was built in 1920, and after we die on the front porch reaching down for the newspaper or when falling down the basement stairs, it will be torn down. The kitchen floor is the most beautiful thing in this house.

I've had lino. There is always a seam or two somewhere, and it inevitable bubbles here and there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

No, my house isn't beautiful. It was built in 1920, and after we die on the front porch reaching down for the newspaper or when falling down the basement stairs, it will be torn down. The kitchen floor is the most beautiful thing in this house.

I've had lino. There is always a seam or two somewhere, and it inevitable bubbles here and there.

Your lino had bubbles? Also seams? Lino is laid in one piece. There are no seams. Also, bubbles shouldn't happen, not if the floor is laid properly.

Sounds like it was very poorly installed.

We had lino before the laminate. No seams, no bubbles. The problem was the color and quality of the lino. It discolored, and it wasn't very strong. But it was the cheapest lino you could buy. It was not great quality. Also, it was 16 years ago. The quality of the lino nowadays is much better, even the cheaper stuff.

My parents had lino in their kitchen and bathrooms. They never had an issue. The sticky tile in the front foyer however, it was horrible. It looked awful, and they had it professionally laid. They had it redone with lino a few years later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alty

Your lino had bubbles? Also seams? Lino is laid in one piece. There are no seams. Also, bubbles shouldn't happen, not if the floor is laid properly.

Sounds like it was very poorly installed.

In a large kitchen or odd-shaped one, there were seams, it was pieced. The lino was in older homes and had been there for years. I have self-adhesive tile in my 8ishx6ish bathroom. We put it in 20-some years ago and have had no problem with it. I guess to each his own.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

In a large kitchen or odd-shaped one, there were seams, it was pieced. The lino was in older homes and had been there for years. I have self-adhesive tile in my 8ishx6ish bathroom. We put it in 20-some years ago and have had no problem with it. I guess to each his own.

So true.

The fact is, I've never seen a room with sticky tile that I liked. Sticky tile just isn't my thing. I've used it before, not in the house, but on other projects, and had nothing but problems with it. In my parents house it never looked good. So I'm going by my experiences with it.

Like I said, I'm not saying that your sticky tile doesn't look good. I'm sure it does. I've just had too many bad experiences with it, and it's not the look I'm going for, not even temporarily, especially since it's more expensive than the two top competitors of flooring that I actually do like.

Put in flooring that you can afford and will enjoy. The next owners may rip it out the second week they live there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Put in flooring that you can afford and will enjoy. The next owners may rip it out the second week they live there.

So true, and we're well aware of that. That's why I posted this question. All the work we're doing is work that's necessary. It's not so much making the house nicer, it's fixing the issues in the house to make it liveable. Right now the lino that was under the laminate, it's not liveable.

No matter what we have to put new flooring in. Not only for resale, but for us because we do have to live here for at least the next 2 years. It may even be longer. Who knows if we'll find a house we love and can afford when we do finally decide to sell?

But, since we do have to do these renos we are trying to keep the re-sale of the house in mind. The new owners may well rip everything out and redo it, but in my experience most people want a move in ready home, and aren't willing to do renos. So it is important to pick things that the majority of people in your buyers market will enjoy. We know our buyers market, we know how much our home is worth, we know what the cap is, how much we should spend on renos, and what cost would be over cost and not worth it.

We've done our homework, but we also had a timeline and a step by step process. The floors were going to be last, because everything else that we're doing could damage the floors. That's our main concern. That we'll put in new floors in the kitchen, do the other renos, and then the kitchen floor will be ruined. We can't afford to do this twice. The floors we put in now, they have to last until we sell the house. They also have to add value to the house, and we have to like them enough to live with them until we sell the house.

My mother always says, "Work from the ceiling down."

I won't plan to buy your house. I'd put in self-adhesive tiles in the kitchen the second week. ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

My mother always says, "Work from the ceiling down."

I won't plan to buy your house. I'd put in self-adhesive tiles in the kitchen the second week. ;)

LOL! That would be a lot of sticky tile. It's not a small kitchen. :)

Besides, I don't think you'd like Canada. The winters are rough.

But, you are one part of my specific market, albeit the lower percentage. The people we'll likely attract are young newlyweds looking for a starter home, or retired couples looking to downsize. Most likely the younger folks though. There are a lot of kids in the area, and a lot of schools within walking distance. That's what attracted us to this neighborhood. :)

Either way we won't lose any money. We bought this house for $130,000, and as is, with no renos, we'd likely get $330,000 in today's market. But the top cap for this area, and the size of the home, is around $350,000-$370,000. That's why we're not willing to spend a lot of money on renos. It's not worth it, especially since we're not planning on staying.

Chicago can be like Canada, and I grew up shoveling mounds of snow and chopping through ice near Canada.

We're still in our starter home, now our retirement home.