I would definitely replace the marble baseboards with new non-marble baseboards.

agree. no sense having marble baseboards if the flooring isn't! get some of the 4-5" plain white baseboards.

and I'm assuming you're doing proper prep work if leaving the marble???

Why the hesitation to just remove and replace the baseboard with what you want? Your covering the whole floor with what you’d like to have. Don’t waste $or effort trying to cover old baseboard, just replace. Not all marble is wonderful. There’s a lot of old cheap 12x12 that’s just not so fabulous.

Definitely, replace the baseboards. Beyond that, don't install new vinyl over beat-up old marble squares! You need a new, smooth surface. If the house has wood joists and sub-flooring, tear out the old marble and install underlayment. If the floor is a concrete slab, I'm not familiar with the necessary preparation, but there are others here who are.

Thank everyone for your advise.

Skil367. Taking out marble tiles from the whole condo requires time, money, and moving out. Not something I can do now. In 5 years, if I’m unhappy with the vinyl and the condo association acts on the repairs, maintenance and updates the building needs, I will consider moving out and installing my dream floor, terrazzo.

Just in case I’m failing to see the obvious, here are the main problems, in the main living area. Bedrooms and bathrooms are ok. Options besides covering or taking it all up?

The first one below is taken from the entrance. Space is a rectangle with balcony, living room, kitchen, study, and a small tv Room off to one side.

Pictures look better than real life.

well, they do have marble restorers out there. they could prob get this floor looking brand new again. I mean, it's not my favorite color choice, but it's a nicely done floor. why don't you bring a restorer and see what they say? marble is very soft, so it wouldn't take a long time to resurface and polish it. or you could leave it honed with a good sealer. I think you'd be amazed at the difference in looks when they're done. have them redo the grout to make those clean again would also help.

that is a lot to cover w/laminate. the laminate will make those clicking sounds when you walk on it. tearing that all out is a huge demo project. I'd refinish all of them and then get some large area rugs to cover the large center areas.

I bet it's nice and cool in the summertime.

I can see what would bother me too. If it was not 4 different ones it could be worth fixing. Can you cover just the area that is completely different? I don’t think I’m understanding where the different ones start and stop.

Idecor54,

Thanks for validating that it’s ugly. I have always liked for the same floor throughout a whole house, but maybe your idea of covering the “similar”tile would work because the “wood”would be dramatically different and would not be an obvious miss. It would be in the study and in the tv den.
Tile 1 and 2 are ‘rugs’ put down in the living room and in the dinning room (current kitchen/dinning) way back when. Tile 3 and 4 sort of match and were put in the study (at one end of the rectangle), in the tv den (a small square on one side of the rectangle), and on a 6 inch strip next to the balcony door when the balcony was tacked on. Tile 5 is a strip of “the same” as the original rust color put in during a kitchen remodel when a wall was moved back. Problem is the version of that tile is different from the same tile made x decades ago. Kitchen also has a patch where electricity was brought to the island.
Maybe I could steal from a closet to redo the 6 inch strip by the balcony door and the kitchen patch up. But....

Beth, refinishing the floor is $2 to $3 per square foot and with high gloss, I would have to have it touched up every couple of years. Don’t know about honed. Rugs and carpets are not options for me (sand, allergies, labor intensive).

Thinking...

Anglophilia, do you think this marble is worth refinishing?

honed will be less because it's less work then putting high gloss polish to them. honed will also not show the water marks or etching, as much as polished. honed is a tad less slippery. just make sure a good sealer is used afterward. My guy used TEC sealer on my honed marble tiles. water just beads up on them.

I think it's not as ugly as you think it is. It could be elegant with the right modern glam decor. I was expecting something like Rojo Allicante mixed with Michaelangelo and Empress Green. Sorta like a Fruit Loops explosion. But, it's mostly whites and creams, and the accent colors are earthy and definitely not hideous.

My husband is looking into terrazzo tiles. We used Bisazza Logos for the bathrooms. Maybe we’ll tie the bullet...

tilebar.com has these quartz tiles that you can lay. they look like the terrazzo. I have a few samples of them. and they're on sale right now (which is good, because they aren't cheap) I love these

https://tilebar.com/nebula-gypsy-magic-quartz-tile.html

11.5 sq ft in a box. one box is $123.

these are the gray ones. a few bucks more

https://tilebar.com/gray-quartz-24x24-tile.html

https://tilebar.com/nebula-coal-quartz-tile.html

Look at Fritztile resin based terrazzo tile as a bit more moderately priced, and available in hundreds of colors. Custom colors too.

I don't like the marble either. Love that last terrazo beth posted. It has a bit of warmth and I think it would look great in all your spaces and tie everything together. I don't think wood look laminate (if that's what you were thinking) would be the right choice.

I would have what you have cleaned and regrouted and sealed, before I would ever put laminate in there. I have hardwood here in most rooms, and laminate in a couple, and I would never ever put laminate down again.

You are welcome to put the vinyl over top the marble. Be aware that you will NOT be able to do the preparation needed for the vinyl to be properly installed. The preparation means you have to a SMOOTH and FLAT subfloor (grout lines would, ideally, be level with the tile) and any humps/bumps ground down/flattened and any hollows filled with concrete. Ahhhhhhh. Now you see where this is getting tricky. To "cover" the marble (to "save it") you may have to destroy it to make the vinyl install "proper". If you do NOT do the proper preparation, you will get a vinyl floor that will telegraph ALL THE GROUT LINES through to the surface. You will end up with a "checker board" pattern of grout lines showing through the surface of your newly laid vinyl.

Here is my suggestion: Water-Proof LAMINATE! Yep. Something like Aquagard (at several dollars more per square foot) will do it. Why? Aquaguard is RIGID. And it allows UNDERLAYMENT which can help with any minor imperfections.

Yes...technically laminate wants a properly prepared subfloor - but it is more forgiving visually. You might get a snick of movement over hollows but I would take a tiny bit of movement over a grid pattern etched into vinyl any day.

As for the baseboards....remove them and install something that fits your aesthetics. The one's visible are nothing special. Some of them don't even match the tile they are attached to. Not worth saving in my opinion.

Have a look at water proof laminate. It offers the same wearability without the issues with excess heat/direct sunlight and without the issues of a super flat subfloor.

Aqua hard is listed as water resistant. Last hurricane we were away for days and when we came back there was still a pool of water in our living room A friend laid Quick Step And looks great. It’s what started me thinking. I think mine might be OK because I can barely see the grout lines. Because it’s marble the grout lines are minimal. Still,something to check out further. Thanks.

All who have commented, please look at my new post. It takes some of the ideas given such as restore some of the marble and replace or cover select areas, the ones that clash.

Can you provide a link to the new post? I don't see it in this forum - at least not yet.

I think this is her new post.