Covering tile floors
 

Our patio villa has tile floors throughout the house. We find them terribly hard on our backs, knees and hips. We would like to cover them with something other than carpet. Has anyone done this before and what did you use. We have thought about cork or hardwood. We got a price to remove the tile but it was far to expensive to do that.

If anybody has any ideas please post them. Any help would be appreciated.

just a thought, if you are wearing shoes or sneakers all day, have your feet checked. I have found that I need a higher end sneaker with a high arch to avoid ankle and knee pain. If you can get properly padded shoes/sneakers, you are going to save your self a lot of money.
Just my thoughts, hope it helps.

We had tile and unfortunately it developed some hairline cracks, so I went in search of alternatives. Most products can't be laid over existing tile, and I didn't want the nightmare or expense of having the ceramic/porcelain tile pulled up (Lantana, with tile throughout living, dining, kitchen and baths). We ended up getting a newer product called luxury vinyl tile (LVT) - Armstrong Alterna - which can be laid over existing tile. In addition to hiding the cracks, it is much easier on the feet and doesn't have the cold feel of tile. Talk to Village Flooring in Fruitland Park; I highly recommend them. Fair prices, great installation. Have recommended them to 2 friends, who also ended up getting the LVT.

You can also get carpeting and pads custom cut and finished at the edges to fit specific rooms. Or just area rugs.

I second the suggestion of proper footwear. My podiatrist recommended Vionic/Orthoheel for arch support -- they even come in slippers. Spendy, though.

Bookmarked!!! Thanks, Halibut.:wave:

I spent 35 years in the floorcovering business. Recently installed cork floors (over concrete) in our "Lily". I LOVE it. It's warm, quiet and shows absolutely nothing! You can float it over tile however you'll need to have a floor leveler floated to level it out. Then you'll have to install the new flooring in a 'floating' fashion which I did. Don't like to glue down anything as it's too hard to get it up later. Baseboard trim will have to be removed and replaced as well as doors need to be cut down. I did find a guy who uses a 'dust-less' tile removal method. Mike Antonetti w/ First Floors out of Inverness, FL. (You can find his number on the internet or phone directory. Charges $3.50 sq ft for removal. Not sure what he charges to re-install. I'll probably use him to tear out our entry so I can extend the cork through that area as well. LVT is another option but your tile will still need to be leveled w/ an embossing leveler. Good luck.

We put laminate over tile about 10 years ago. First put padding down. It's a floating floor. Still looks good as new. We've also laid a heavy duty squishy vinyl over tile. That felt like heaven to our feet. If money wasn't an option, I'd now go with cork and follow ckbenjamin's advice. Leveling is important. Pretty much always. Cork is gorgeous, btw.

We had cork installed in our home office in our condo in MI around 2005. It was beautiful. We loved it. We had two skylights with shades in the ceiling (mostly kept closed except in winter), and one small window in the 8 x 16 room. When we moved in 2013 and took out the office furniture that lined the room, we discovered the exposed cork had faded substantially.

My husband wanted cork in our den here in our Begonia, but it faces the western sun with a big window in the front of the house, so we are afraid to put it in. We also could only find one place in TV that carries it. I wonder if any advances have been made in cork flooring to reduce the fading. I would love to have it again.

Thanks for all of the options. They all are interesting. It might be easier to sell the house and buy another one, but we like our location so will probably pick one of the solutions and go with it. Thanks again.

Cork
 

Which cork product did you use? And does it resist fading?

We had laminate installed over tile; my son owns a construction company up north and he told me as long as its put down correctly, there won't be any problems.

We used Distinctive Flooring in Wildwood; 352-748-6700. Ted is the owner and easy to work with.

As a Shaw employee I would not recommend LVT over a tile floor without an intermediate pad or other leveling of the existing floor. It will show every unevenness over time. Laminate or our Epic hardwood (what I have throughout our house in TV) is a better alternative.

Do you know approximately how much the hardwood is including installation, per foot. We have hardwood floors in our house in NS and that would be our preference. Also, does it just go right over the tiles without a lot of other expense. Thanks.