[Army Guy]

Yes, I agree tile cost did vary. I can't remember the cost, but we did buy a high end tile, so it would last, take extreme temps either way better, and be more ap to shake off things dropped without cracking. Overboard maybe, but being military I would rather err on the side of better!

Army Guy

[chuckinca]

Originally Posted by another Linda

Thanks Darrell, Mik, and everyone who shared their experiences. I guess I'm really coming down to tile as the best solution for us -- plus I do like it. Now, I haven't lived with it during January in Florida, that's true. But how cold can it be? I've lived in Syracuse for all these years. I'm tough!

We have ceramic tile in the kitchen, family room, laundry and bathrooms and didn't notice the floors as being cold last January (it was pretty cold here last Jan) and we are from sunny Cal and don't like the cold.


.

[GERALDINE]

Don't know if you've made your decision yet, but we've had both hardwood and laminate floors and I don't have anything against either of them. I just know from having hardwood up north (MI) that it swells, expands, and contracts depending on temp and humidity and would sometime have quite large gaps in it where dirt collected and then when it was time for it to expand again it couldn't because stuff had gotten down in there. I really like our laminate and I don't think it looks like "plastic" as some have said. It is EXTREMELY easy to care for. Ours has a 3/4" felt backing on it so it is very easy on the feet and legs. In the Kit, Baths, and laundry room, we have ceramic tile. I like the tile very much also. The problem with tile, however, is that the grout stains. No matter what you do...seal it or not...it gets dirty in the high traffic areas and if something is dropped. I'd have to think twice about ceramic tile again. It also chips if something hard is dropped on it. We purchased our flooring from Paradise Flooring and were very happy with their price, their work ethic, and their service. I would definitely use them again.

[golfnut]

Patches, are you sure you have 3/4 inch felt underneath your laminate floor, that is really thick???...GN

[GERALDINE]

Originally Posted by golfnut

Patches, are you sure you have 3/4 inch felt underneath your laminate floor, that is really thick???...GN

Hey Golfnut...we're from Howell, MI too!!! When did you live there? We lived there from 1971 through 1999 and from there moved to Tawas for 4 years.

Anyhow, as to your question about the felt pad...oops...typo...it's a little over 1/4", which is still pretty thick. It is brand new and is called Moderna Soundgard. Sorry 'bout that!!

[another Linda]

Question for ijusluvit: When you worked with Lowes, did you have to pay in full before they would start any work? That is what we encountered when we redid the kitchen. I had a real problem with that. The managers told me that their policy was to be paid in full when sub-contractors were involved. Needless to say, Lowes didn't do our kitchen! I may buy materials from them, but I'll get someone else to install.

Have I made up my mind yet? I've been dithering for a year and counting!

[Army Guy]

another Linda, I don't know about Lowe's, but we used Home Depot for both all our granite through-out the villa and whole villa tile, and yes you have to pay full. I may be wrong, but I didn't have a problem with it. Now if it was some small Business/Company, yes I would feel like you. But not with a national Company, their rep is on the line, and from personal experience HD was right on top of everything from the scheduling to the quality of the install. HD does not pay the sub-contractor till you are happy, so you will not be stuck. I HIGHLY recommend HD, especially the Lady Lake location. Ask for Mark in flooring, and thenMark the Expiditor (sp) they are both great and professional.

Army Guy

[another Linda]

When we made our decision about the kitchen, we were just coming off being badly burned by a landscaper. That and the economy was so bad that even with a national company you just never know who will be around. I'm still gun shy and am much more comfortable with local people -- actual people! -- that asked to be paid when you are satisfied. I love the guy who did my cabinets (Tim Fields) and love the guy who did the granite (Ty Duncan). I'm hoping to find someone as good for the floors.

[golfnut]

We kept our place in Howell, it's on Lake Chemung off of Hughes Road. Where is Paradise Floors at, we may take a ride over there.....GN

[katezbox]

We used Great Lakes for our floors. They were also the sub that TV used for our home. We have tile everywhere - but they also do carpet and wood. They were very professional - you would not believe how well they cleaned up at the end of the day. I highly recommend them. We worked with Mike.

Linda, we did give them a down payment because they were able to locate enough tile in the same dye lot as TV was installing in the rest of the house. At the time having the whole house done in tile was not an option (still not sure if it is for this model), but with my allergies I didn't want a lot of carpet. Since they had to procure the materials and then wait for TV to complete our house before they could begin, we felt that was reasonable.

k

[ijusluvit]

Yes, we paid Lowes for our job up front. I saw a Lowes job done before I bought mine and I was very comfortable with the arrangements. I also agree with the poster above who had good luck with Home Depot.

IMHO, the bottom line is that you may feel better with the smaller independent flooring companies, (assuming they are honest and reliable), but for the same quality material and labor you will spend less at Lowes and Home Depot. The savings will be even greater if you watch for one of their frequent sales either on labor or material.

[another Linda]

With Lowes and HD, what happens if you are not satisfied with something? My objection when we redid our kitchen was that they couldn't guarantee when the job would be done, and if I wanted to be there while it was being done, well just be there! For us snowbirds who are still working that could be a problem. And the fact that they would have our money for 4 months before anything happened? "Ya gotta a problem wit dat?" Yep.

Now, I certainly don't mind putting something down (although some don't even ask for that). I know they need to buy materials. But to pay-in-full? I personally am just not comfortable having been burned.

[Boomer]

Hi Linda,

Here is a dissertation on flooring for you.

Shameless Confession Time: I absolutely love to talk about floors. In fact, in an old thread on here, I called myself the Cliff Clavin of talking about floors. (before somebody else called me Cliff -- but at least I am not talking about potatoes)

And then I went on to say that actually, I start to sound a little like Forrest Gump when it comes to floors. You know. Ya got your engineered wood. Ya got your sanded and finished on the job hardwood. Ya got your pre-finished hardwood. Ya got your laminate hardwood-look hardwood. Ya got your ceramic tile. Ya got your porcelain tile. Ya even got your ceramic tile-ish looking laminate.

My Ohio house is all hardwood. (except for the ceramic tile parts) 5-inch wide planks, 3/4" thick, tongue and groove, pre-finished hardwood. Mr. Boomer did the install after the purchase of many, many, many expensive power tools. A pneumatic nailer. Some kind of laser level. Some saws. A saw stand. A screw gun with a handle so you can stand up and use it. And a bunch of other stuff. It was quite a project.....But I digress......

Anyway, about laminate, I don't have any, but Mr. B. has installed it in our daughter's house. It is a lot less expensive than hardwood. It is really easy to install and to take care of and it is practically indestructible. Regular hardwood does get scratched, even the prefinished stuff can. Not easily. But it can. (We have it in the kitchen, too.) A few scratches do not bother me. I think it kind of goes with the territory of real wood.

I saw that you said rental and that might be another reason to keep laminate under consideration. Laminate saves aggravation.

There are some nice looks to be found with laminate, too. It can be a good choice.

But no matter what kind of floor you choose, the underlayment is crucial.

And now, for Part II. I must go on and on about ceramic tile. Our bathrooms are ceramic, and so is the 4-season room that we built last fall.......and winter. (4 months -- aaaaugh!) But I digress.....once more... back to floors.....

I think the key to ceramic tile is picking a color that does not show dirt and keeping the grout line as skinny as you can. In the new room, we did 1/8 inch. We also used some hideously expensive can of quartz grout that I talked about on here somewhere before. It is supposed to resist dirt and stains like nothing else. I have a big fear of red wine. (This from a woman who has a yellow couch....go figure) So anyway, we sprung for the more expensive grout, but we have not tested it yet so who knows.

If you end up choosing tile, it is very important to choose tile that is the color of dirt. Preferably a mix of several dirt colors.

Now, I know I already showed the following picture of my dog Annie in a different thread. But I am using the picture again because in this thread Annie is being the spokesmodel for the ceramic tile floor with the skinny grout lines.

Please notice that the floor is not only the many shades of dirt, but it also matches the dog’s hair. (Boomer is no fool.) That floor is in Ohio, of course, and it is heated underneath so that my feet do not freeze on winter mornings and the dear old dog loves it, too, as you can see.



And here is a picture that shows why we need the heated floor.



Well, enough from me about floors – again. I just cannot resist going on and on about floors, even if I am repeating myself. (been around here too long -- stuff comes up again) But hey, at least I know I am repeating myself.....I think.

But one more thing, whatever kind of material you choose, buy a little extra and stash it. You might need to replace a spot for some reason, somewhere down the road.

Boomer

PS: I apologize for making the pictures the size of a billboard again. I do not know how to get them smaller.

[Bettiboop]

Awwwe...look at Annie in the snow! Does she like the snow? I've had dogs who absolutely loved to romp and roll in the snow...and others who hated it.

[Army Guy]

Another Linda, HD gave us a written warrenty that covered the install. We had to like it and sign if we did so the Contractor gets paid. At HD the Contractors only get paid AFTER, so they are on the line to do it right. Also the warrenty is backed by HD.
Four monhts? Why so long? WE had to special order our tile since it was a better quality then store stocks, plus the amount we needed and that only took 3 weeks. From the time we paid full to tile complete was only 6 weeks. And we like you are not full timers yet, just basically weekends and vacations. The tile was completely installed while we were not even there to keep tabs on them. We only went down at the end to inspect it. Looked great, no problems, we signed the sheet and then they got paid from HD. Our HomeWatchers who I highly recommend, Mary & Ed Edwards, of Safe Home Watch, opened th villa daily and also checked the quality for us while they worked. We did the same so far for everything we have had done in our villa, granite, front door leaded glass, garage sealed, attic steps, backsplash tiled. Never there for the work, just the end result to inspect!

Army Guy