My dh is adament about not taking up the ceramic floor. However, it's 8x8 white marble-looking tile and not only is it a dated look, I am sick to death of keeping it (especially the grout) clean. I was going to keep it and use grout colorant on the grout after we finish the kitchen facelift. But now I'm thinking granite or some other stone counter and if I really do that, the floor will really look terrible. Soooo, there is Allure that looks like stone or ceramic tile, and some that looks like wood. The guy at Home Depot said you don't have to put a leveler on the grout lines, and I read on the website that that is true if they are less than 1/8" deep, which mine are. But I still wonder if, over time, they won't sink into those lines. I could skim more grout on top of the grout lines so it is level with the top surface of the tile, and then at least the tile isn't ruined if at some point we take off the Allure. But I'd like to hear from someone who has done it. Anyone?

We used this product Smartcore Pro on a kitchen floor install. It was a nightmare to install. In my opinion the tile snap in‘s are defective. Once snapping in place they pop back up, and a slight adjustment to a tile throws every other tile in place out of alignment. It’s poorly engineered, not the type for a DIY project There’s no room for error. After living with it for two years of constantly shifting out of place we pulled it out and put it in the trash were it belongs. We had a Tile setter come in and installed a porcelain tile floor. Save your money would not recommend it ever. Poorly made and engineered.

Floors need to be minimum of a 3 PEI in durability for light use. More durable still would be a 4 or 5. Tile with a 1 or 2 rating is suitable for wall tile only. ANSI A137. 1 requires that tiles suitable for interior level spaces expected to be walked upon when wet have a wet DCOF ≥0.42. Handmade tile often does not submit their products for laboratory testing and certifications. You have to ask about it being suitable for floor or wet surface application on a case by case basis. Realize that low firing temp ceramic is a poor choice for even wall tiles in a wet area. It it were fired to create higher temperature harder porcelain, that suitability for multiple uses, including flooring, would increase. Glossy floors are often a very risky choice for even able bodied people.

@Patricia Colwell Hi Patricia, are you saying that wood-look tiles are dated? (around my area in Texas my friends who are real estate agents say they are "hot") Or just the color of tiles I am looking at? Also, are you saying that ceramic tiles are not a good enough quality for the floor and I should go with porcelain instead? Thanks!