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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: merula on July 12, 2015, 01:25:29 PM

Title: Need advice on my kitchen/bathroom floor
Post by: merula on July 12, 2015, 01:25:29 PM
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Title: Re: Need advice on my kitchen/bathroom floor
Post by: Zamboni on July 12, 2015, 01:47:32 PM
Is the tile so ugly or weird colored that you need to remove from bath surround?

For the floor, please consider going with low gloss, high end coated vinyl flooring that looks like tile.  Many of these really do look like tile and the vinyl is much, much easier to clean. Just be sure you get the type that has the stain and abrasion resistant coating; the lowest end stuff is what gives vinyl a bad name.

(My qualifications: worked in flooring industry for 5 years. High end vinyl is absolutely the way to go for kitchen and bath.)
Title: Re: Need advice on my kitchen/bathroom floor
Post by: Spork on July 12, 2015, 07:28:06 PM
From your description of "renovated by morons" ... I'd also be worried about the backer behind that tub surround.  I'm betting it's just stuck to drywall or green board.   You might pull the trim off the plumbing and see if you can see how it's done.

*IF* you're wanting to renovate... *and* it isn't backed by cement board... I'd go ahead and replace it.   If it's on drywall, it will have a limited life span.
Title: Re: Need advice on my kitchen/bathroom floor
Post by: sistastache on July 12, 2015, 07:58:04 PM
Keeping your tile backsplash will be very challenging. Your new flooring my not be the same height as the old tile, newer countertop thickness may be different than the existing, and older vanity cabinets are often non-standard heights, newer cabinets being 34 1/2" high.  If you are having a professional countertop installer put on the new top, they typically require the first four inches of backsplash to be removed.  Saving the existing backsplash can be done, but you save a lot of headache if you let the old backsplash go. Good luck!
Title: Re: Need advice on my kitchen/bathroom floor
Post by: Zamboni on July 13, 2015, 06:19:32 AM
Theoretically you can install vinyl over tile. Possible concerns of doing that would be overall floor height and potential for grout groves to show through over time. Grout groves should be filled until flush with the tiles if you want to do that, and any broken tiles should be removed and either replaced (which you can't do) or filled in with something else hard that is flush with tiles.

You should definitely remove the toilet, at a minimum, during the vinyl installation.

Go with sheet vinyl (one big piece), not vinyl tile, if you decide vinyl works for you. It is likely worth getting a big sheet professionally installed.

Here is another idea:
If you are planning to sell in a year, interview a couple of high volume residential real estate agents. Say you are looking for someone to list the property when the time comes (true) and have them come by and look at those rooms and make recommendations. Individual tastes vary, but they know better than anyone else what will sell in terms of flooring/kitchen/bath right at this moment. I would hate for you to spend a whole bunch of money on a renovation, only to have real estate people and buyers decide it was either not worth the money or not in their taste.