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Want to replace wood laminate and carpet with wood looking tile

6 years ago

We are looking to replace the laminate in our kitchen/hallway/entryway, along with the carpet in our living rooms and office/spare back bedroom, with something a little hardier (about 860 sq ft). We like the look of hard wood but think tile is the best option in terms of hardiness and ease of cleaning - we have pets and the carpets are just not practical with them and the high traffic areas (especially to the backdoor/doggie door). As for wood laminate, I don't like it in the kitchen because of the potential for water issues (we already have some warping/swelling from the dishwasher leaking). Has anyone used the wood looking tile? How do you like it compared to true hardwood or wood laminate? Thanks in advance for your input!

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Comments (5)

jfcwood
6 years ago
I only do wood but I imagine if you go to the top of this page and use the search function you'll find about 169,783 discussions on this topic! ;)
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PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
6 years ago
If you like tiles, go for it. Tiled floors are some of the toughest floor materials we have. Hard, tough, cold and loud all are excellent descriptions of tiles.

Just a word to the wise, be prepared to pay plenty of money to have the subfloor dealt with. Especially under the carpet. I would guess the areas with the laminate are "OK"...but the areas where there are carpet will need plenty of work. Don't be surprised if the cost for subfloor prep adds another 30%-50% onto your project.

Good luck. Make sure you find someone who works with large format tiles. They are gold.
lovekcdillas thanked Cancork Floor Inc.
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I also would go with the top one in the first photo. If you like the warmth of carpet, area rugs will provide that for you and will be easier and less expensive to replace when they get old vs carpet. It's pretty easy to replace an area rug. In our last house, we put in laminate everywhere except bedrooms (carpet) and bathrooms (tile). It looked fine, but we ended up regretting the carpet in the bedrooms. We had to replace it after about 6 years, though it looked like it needed replaced for about 4 years before we finally did. We replaced it with some rather expensive carpet, which did not last any longer because it was supposedly better. When we moved 5 years later, the carpet was, once again, in need of replacement. My in-laws also ended up regretting leaving carpet in the bedrooms for same same reason. Carpet, in my opinion, looks good for a year or two, then spends the majority of its life (years more) looking like it needs to be replaced before you finally give in and replace it and then the cycle repeats over and over. It's expensive to replace carpet and it's an expense that keeps coming around.
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If you want something that is waterproof, they do make AquaGuard or NuCore laminate flooring that is made with recycled rubber. You could also go with a wood look tile option. But you could never really go wrong with a hardwood floor to increase the value of your home. Just throwing a few options into the ring. Check out Floor & Decor if you're interested in a waterproof LAMINATE. - Woodruff Floors, LLC
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lovekcdillas
Original Author
6 years ago
Yes I'm concerned about the subfloor too, I'm sure it will need work. We were already quoted close to $9k for the tile/installation (which was more than we were hoping) so I don't know how much more I'm willing to shell out. The dingy carpets may have to stay for now :(
PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
6 years ago
Yah...$10 - $12/sf for materials+install is the going rate around here (super hot Canadian housing market). And that does NOT include the subfloor prep.

To my ears/eyes the $10/sf quote is absolutely normal. I often tell people that you can then budget another $1-$4/sf for subfloor prep. The $1/sf prep is a little bit of work here and there. The $4/sf subfloor prep would be one of the worst subfloors you have ever seen = almost a week worth of work just to get it ready.

Both the $1/sf and the $4/sf range are rare. It is more common to see the $2/sf range for subfloor prep. Much more common. If you take that benchmark into consideration, you will have a pretty firm grasp of what is a head of you.

And remember: that subfloor prep is required for EVERYTHING else - other than carpet. No matter what you choose, that $2/sf is going to be there no matter what. For me, that means if you want tile then get tile. There is no escaping the prep nor the cost.
lovekcdillas thanked Cancork Floor Inc.
jane__ny
6 years ago
I have wood tiles in our den. They were laid on top of a cement subfloor. We tore out the carpet when we moved in and choose the tile.

Love, love, love the wood tile. Its beautiful, so easy to clean (dogs, sand, dirt). Most people actually think it is wood.

Jane
lovekcdillas thanked jane__ny

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