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Flooring Design Dilemma Kitchens

Help? Flooring tile needs to be laid in two different directions

Amy Smolowitz_Ross

5 years ago

Doing a total kitchen renovation. My kitchen floor tile will be continued into our dining room (currently carpeted), but I want them to be run in two different directions. What way can I make the transition that doesn't look weird? I am using 6 x 24 wood look tiles.

I am planning on running the kitchen horizontally. Dining room would be vertically (unless any professionals feel differently).

Posting pictures of the rooms and tiles.

View into kitchen, thinking of running this horizontally.

This is the transition, where I wanted to run the tile horizontally again. But the other room would be running the other direction. How would I transition?

The other dining room entrance.

The tile. 6 x 24 wood look porcelain tile.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

Amy

Featured Answer

Chessie

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I would just use the same tile, in some sort of mosaic pattern, and do a narrow transition. I think these look nice.

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Comments (11)

PRO
MSI Surfaces GTA
5 years ago
Hi Amy, I would use a tile or two as the threshold in the doorway and just continue in the same direction in the room. if you are staggering them where they butt up perpendicular the installer will have to do a super clean cut.. if the tile is not one that will cut cleanly, it will be best to use a piece of trim that will cover the cut. Some installers will use a piece of marble or venetian (engineered) marble in a doorway. Your installer can advise you. Personally, I would install in the same direction.
Mrs. S
5 years ago
I know there are ways that structurally make the most sense if you have joists under there. I'll leave that to flooring experts.

I would run them into the dining room in the same direction you are running them in the kitchen area. And that way would be the long way. I'm having trouble explaining it. Start at the refrigerator and go longways through the doorway into the dining room. That way, you don't have to turn the tile. Of course, you can turn it if you want to, but I think you'll regret it. The whole point of extending the flooring into other rooms is to give you that cohesive feel. Once it's in, you'll never notice the direction.

You want to choose your longest run, and then run it longways, so you don't have choppiness. Think of a hallway--where a wood floor looks right run the long way, and not short choppy boards. I'd pay the most attention to getting that grout color right, so it looks like real wood.
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Jane
5 years ago
run it diagonal ;)
Diane
5 years ago
Not what you asked, but imo continuing the wood in your entrance into your dinning room would be a better option. I would never lay wood look tile in a space that puts it next to real wood.
Amy Smolowitz_Ross
Original Author
5 years ago
@diane, I loathe that floor and working through the house replacing all of the things I hate! LOL... So that floor will be going somewhere in the future. Not sure when, but alas, it won't be there forever.
Kathryn P
5 years ago
I've with Mrs S... run it all the same way, in the way she described, for the reasons she gave. :)
Judy Mishkin
5 years ago
if you go 2 directions, dont do them at right angles... i like chess's 2nd photo.
SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
How about a herring bone? It does everything you want without having to figure anything out. It also adds 20% waste and costs 10%-15% more for the install....but it works.

And if you are removing the hardwood in the future, PLEASE purchase ALL YOUR TILE at once. These man-made products (like wood-look tile) have a shelf-life of 18 - 24 MONTHS. Yes. A maximum of 2 YEARS is all you can expect. After that you will NEVER find it again!

That means you will be in the same boat in a few years time. We've seen this over and over and over again on Houzz. "Help! Home Depot discontinued my flooring. It's screwing up my reno!"

That's a real thread btw.

Please plan, plan, plan ahead. And just for fun, is your home on slab or wood joists?
Amy Smolowitz_Ross
Original Author
5 years ago
SJ McCarthy thank you... I tried the herringbone look, but my contractor quoted me an extra $5200 for labor and materials, and it's just not in the budget, unfortunately. I will be sure to buy extra material, though, for the "just in case". Not sure about my joists. I have a basement, so I am assuming wood.
SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
Probably wood. You will need to have the areas that are NOT covered in tile to be assessed. The subfloors need to be assessed for deflection ratings. Tile is REALLY heavy. Like super heavy. So heavy it can crack under it's own weight.

The area that is currently tiled is probably fine. Are there any areas that have cracked or loose tiles that feel like they are "popping up"?

The carpet would be considered "very light". Which means the subfloor underneath doesn't have to be very strong. Which probably means it is as thin as code allows.

Tile needs a very STIFF subfloor. Carpet needs nothing but 'hard'. You will need to have your VERY SKILLED installer do a subfloor assessment to reach a deflection rating (there is a document that carries these ratings...and it has to do with joist distance + thickness of subfloor).

A carpeted subfloor is often VERY poor. I hope you have already seen the "worst case scenario" quote for a FULL SUBFLOOR revamp to ensure all floors are even AND thick enough to carry the tile. Please look over your quote to ensure it contains this option.

That's just about all I would worry about. Ignore the hardwood direction. You will be removing it sooner rather than later. Set out the tile in ONE direction and keep going. The wood doesn't matter because it isn't staying.

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