Tile Floors Through the Whole House - Good idea?
By my52cents
@my52cents (569)
United States
December 26, 2011 11:56am CST
I hope having tile floors throughout the entire house is a good idea because that's what we're planning for the new home we're having built. Anyone else have tile floors through their house? Love it or hate it? I'd love a list of pros and cons, as well as tips related to cleaning tile floors!
2 people like this
4 responses
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
12 Jan 12
Pros, tile is beautiful.
Cons are tiles are COLD and HARD I don't know about cleaning the seams. But what I have seen (and used) that I like better is artificial tile. I put some commercial grade fake tile flooring in one of my places that has lasted 30 odd years so far and it is still beautiful. It is easy to clean and comfortable to touch, and looks just like real tile.
People are continually commenting (while they are standing on it) that they cannot believe it is not real tile.
The one I chose was stone colored.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
19 Jan 12
Yes, I think it was commercial grade vinyl tile. It was installed in a retail store I owned and got a LOT of foot traffic. I don't have a link for the kind I bought years back, but probably it was similar to Armstrong's commercial grade linoleum. It came in 12" squares with the "grout" around the edges as part of the pattern and when laid the line was essentially invisible.
Here is what I eventually want to put in my home:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/trafficmaster-a-19078
PS: Sorry for delay in response, as myLot was "down" when I started this and then I went on vacation. Duhhh.
@my52cents (569)
• United States
12 Jan 12
drannhh, what is your artificial tile made from? Is it vinyl? I'm interested in something that is still beautiful after 30 years! If you can find it online, I'd love if you'd share a link. Thanks!
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
25 Jan 12
You didn't mention if it was ceramic, marble, or just plain jane peel and stick.
I would think though the worry if it was ceramic or marble that it will cost a fortune and if you do so you'll need to be prepared for expensive repairs when and if one tile breaks.
I would say though if you have kids anything that isn't carpet or wood is a good idea. I'm thankful we don't have carpet. The kids have trashed so many area rugs I couldn't imagine living with the gum and food stains ect on carpeted floors because it's too expensive and too much hassel to replace.
@peavey (16936)
• United States
26 Dec 11
I much prefer a hard surface floor to carpeting because it's so much cleaner. You can't get or keep a carpet clean after the first day it's laid. I have tile in the bathroom and kitchen and I love it. The rest of the house is done in hardwood. If you have babies or young children, they may get a few bruises, but that's not been my experience and I've had hard surface floors since my kids were little (quite a few years ago).
Tile is cleaned easily and doesn't take much to maintain.
@my52cents (569)
• United States
26 Dec 11
Thanks for the input, peavey! We just have a dog; our kids are grown. Where we are now we have carpet and she can run freely without falling. In our house we took out some carpet and put in laminate through the living, dining, and kitchen and loved it, but poor Daisy would slip if she did much running. She'll just have to get used to it again when we move. (We're building because our previous house burned down. We live in a rental right now.)
We definitely noticed less dust and less sneezing when we put down our laminate, which is why we are going with no carpet at all this time. I loved the look of the laminate, but I was forever mopping up doggy drool. I have a friend who has tile and two dogs and she doesn't seem to have that problem, so I'm hoping tile for us will work a bit better than the laminate.
Thanks again!
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
30 Dec 11
I have lino floors that look like wood in my halls and lounge. They look lovely with the Mexican style furniture. I have got a blue flooring in my shower room. I believe it is a special floor for a wet room all in one piece. In the bedrooms I have got carpet. I got a white lino for my porch and whitish gray floor tiles in my kitchen. This color is very hard to keep clean. Tiles are cold to stand on compared to carpet. I adore the lino that looks like wood. Spillages can be cleared up straight away. Good luck choosing your floor covers.
@my52cents (569)
• United States
30 Dec 11
I'm seeing linoleum mentioned more than ever. Seems that it's becoming more popular again and sounds like a really good choice. My first thought was to say oh, our floor will be darker than your white so it won't be hard to keep clean. Obviously it will get dirty, but just won't be as noticeable (aside from the light dog hair). Your house sounds lovely! Thanks for the input!
