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After the Fact Flooring Question - Cabinets are in

plumeriavine_2010

14 years ago

Well, my whole project has been upside down and topsy turvy. I received a lot of poor guidance.

Now, cabinets are in but not the toe kicks and base shoe moldings.

I had earlier planned to do wood floor refinishing for reasons of continuity with the rest of the house, but I think I have been limited by people with little vision. I am now strongly considering changing out the wood floors in the pantry, kitchen and powder room. I am looking at travertine and ceramic tiles as choices.

A floor man says it is no problem to do it. They take out the 3/4 inch wood floor and put the new surface down, working around the shims for the cabinets.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Has anyone ever done it this way? Any pointers or warnings?

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Comments (4)

bill_vincent
14 years ago
Yes I have. There's no need for "working around the shims" from the cabinets, they can be cut off flush with the face of the toe kicks.

The only other comment I have is a caution. Before you decide to use travertine or any other stone, you might want to take a look in the basement, and check the joists under your floor. Get measurements on the joists (2x?), unsupported length (usually from the foundation wall to the center beam), and on center spacing and then plug those values into the appropriate spaces in the following link. It'll tell you if your floor is strong enough for stone. Most floors are NOT engineered for natural stone. The structure needs to literally be TWICE as strong for stone as it does for any other surface, including ceramic tile.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Amazing John Bridge Forums Deflect-O-Lator
pirula
14 years ago
Awww, and I thought the floor was one of the prettiest things in your kitchen. And you have some very pretty things. Why do you want to tear it out?
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honeysucklevine
14 years ago
I like your floors too.

Tile is harder on the back than wood.
plumeriavine_2010
Original Author
14 years ago
Well, what is leading me towards doing a new floor is this: the powder room floor is red oak and the toilet had a leak that caused damage to the floor. The whole floor needs to be redone in the powder room to fix it. The back porch also has red oak. The wood floors are just a bear to keep nice with the laundry machines, especially when laundry soap spills on the floor. The kitchen floors are also red oak. They are in good shape but to be redone properly, they really need regrooving and this is labor intensive. The neighboring room has a deteriorating saltillo tile floor. I don't dislike saltillo tile, but parts of it are not sealable anymore and it is pretty hard on furniture - very uneven. Looks dirty even when scrubbed.
The rest of the house is red oak. So, I am thinking that it might work to take out the saltillo tile and the wood floors in the kitchen, service porch, and powder room. For continuity, all should be the same.

Refinishing the saltillo and the wood floors is pretty pricey. I am thinking I'll be happier with floors that are easier to keep clean.

Still have to see if the subfloor is strong enough.

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