NGKUR-Opinions on ceramic tile floors

[diamondsndaisies]

We are buying a new house and to keep a long story short we have only a couple of weeks to replace the flooring before we get it appraised. So no I need to decide quickly what I want. We have been strongly considering a ceramic tile floor in the kitchen and bathroom, and some kind of wood in the rest. In my online shopping I have noticed they make a wood ceramic tile. Anyone have this? 

[shadesofgold]

Don't know about wood ceramic, but I wanted to say something about tile grout. I've lived in 2 rentals with white/off-white tile floor bathrooms and bright white grout. I am baffled that people think this is a good idea. Even the most tidy among us will not be scrubbing grout regularly enough to ward off discoloration from foot traffic and daily use. When the grout is stained and the tiles are white, the floor looks dirtier than it is. I'm sure that color tiles will not have such a contrast and will maintain a clean look longer. If it were me starting from scratch, I would avoid that white tile/white grout combo like the plague. Sincerely, someone who cares way too much about these things.

[joy]

I've seen the ceramic wood. It's not my style. If I'm going to put in wood, then I want wood. If I want tile, then I'm going to put in legit tile. I don't like that one is masquerading as the other.

I might be weird.

[icaughtfire]

We have ceramic tile, but not the wood kind. It was an option when we built the house but it was crazy expensive. I've seen it though, and it does look good. I highly suggest a roomba if you're going to do the majority of the house in something other than carpet. All that sweeping is a pain in the ass.

[youdontsay]

We were at Home Depot this weekend (like every weekend lately) and I saw the wood-look ceramic floors. If I had a big enough bathroom to justify the cost, I would get it, but like a PP said, I'd be worried about the grout eventually getting darker. It looks like they use a grout to match the color of the tile but with the foot traffic it'll get dark.

If I were you, I'd do all hardwood. We're putting in Pergo floors next month (CANNOT WAIT!!!) and we got a textured look floor so that it looks more real, but fwiw, it's Pergo and you can tell it is but it'll last forever (I hope).

[mugster]

Apr 15, 2015 13:57:34 GMT -5 diamondsndaisies said:

We are buying a new house and to keep a long story short we have only a couple of weeks to replace the flooring before we get it appraised. So no I need to decide quickly what I want. We have been strongly considering a ceramic tile floor in the kitchen and bathroom, and some kind of wood in the rest. In my online shopping I have noticed they make a wood ceramic tile. Anyone have this? 

I'm confused. You are replacing flooring in a house you haven't bought? Before the appraisal? Or is this for a house you are selling?

[icaughtfire]

And +1 about not going with light colored grout.

[diamondsndaisies]

Apr 15, 2015 14:25:23 GMT -5 mugster said:

Apr 15, 2015 13:57:34 GMT -5 diamondsndaisies said:

We are buying a new house and to keep a long story short we have only a couple of weeks to replace the flooring before we get it appraised. So no I need to decide quickly what I want. We have been strongly considering a ceramic tile floor in the kitchen and bathroom, and some kind of wood in the rest. In my online shopping I have noticed they make a wood ceramic tile. Anyone have this? 

I'm confused. You are replacing flooring in a house you haven't bought? Before the appraisal? Or is this for a house you are selling?

Yes, but we are purchasing the house from my parents. They had a valve leak on a pipe under the sink and ended up having to remove the flooring in the kitchen. They planned on replacing it with what was in there before but I asked them not to since we wanted to put in different flooring anyways.  They are reducing the cost of the house to make up for what they would have spent replacing the flooring. So we want the appraisal done after the flooring is in so we have a higher value then what we are actually borrowing against it. My parents just had one done a few years ago after they remodeled so we know about what it is going to come in at. 

I hope all of that made sense. 

[mugster]

Apr 15, 2015 14:32:13 GMT -5 diamondsndaisies said:

Apr 15, 2015 14:25:23 GMT -5 mugster said:

I'm confused. You are replacing flooring in a house you haven't bought? Before the appraisal? Or is this for a house you are selling?

Yes, but we are purchasing the house from my parents. They had a valve leak on a pipe under the sink and ended up having to remove the flooring in the kitchen. They planned on replacing it with what was in there before but I asked them not to since we wanted to put in different flooring anyways.  They are reducing the cost of the house to make up for what they would have spent replacing the flooring. So we want the appraisal done after the flooring is in so we have a higher value then what we are actually borrowing against it. My parents just had one done a few years ago after they remodeled so we know about what it is going to come in at. 

I hope all of that made sense. 

That makes a lot of sense. Sorry, my brain could just not come up with a situation where you would do that, but I do understand needing the appraisal to match (although, just because it appraised a certain way when they remodeled, does not mean it will do so again. Rules about appraisals have tightened in many places, and the market is always changing).

But, ceramic tile can certainly be pretty. We have hardwoods in our entire downstairs, including the kitchen, and I love it. I like big tiles in bathrooms.

[diamondsndaisies]

Apr 15, 2015 14:38:03 GMT -5 mugster said:

Apr 15, 2015 14:32:13 GMT -5 diamondsndaisies said:

Yes, but we are purchasing the house from my parents. They had a valve leak on a pipe under the sink and ended up having to remove the flooring in the kitchen. They planned on replacing it with what was in there before but I asked them not to since we wanted to put in different flooring anyways.  They are reducing the cost of the house to make up for what they would have spent replacing the flooring. So we want the appraisal done after the flooring is in so we have a higher value then what we are actually borrowing against it. My parents just had one done a few years ago after they remodeled so we know about what it is going to come in at. 

I hope all of that made sense. 

That makes a lot of sense. Sorry, my brain could just not come up with a situation where you would do that, but I do understand needing the appraisal to match (although, just because it appraised a certain way when they remodeled, does not mean it will do so again. Rules about appraisals have tightened in many places, and the market is always changing).

But, ceramic tile can certainly be pretty. We have hardwoods in our entire downstairs, including the kitchen, and I love it. I like big tiles in bathrooms.

I completely agree. My family owns a real estate title insurance company and so we (as in my father and siblings) see them every day, so they have been keeping a close eye on what they have been coming in at. 

I grew up in an old farm house that had all wood floors and I LOVED it, so ideally I would like to have wood again. 

[piccyami]

I had tile in the kitchen once and I hated it. Most of the floors downstairs are hardwoods, including the kitchen. I agree with joy. If I want tile, I want tile. If I want it to look like wood, I want it to be wood.

[mlgnumbers]

My parents have light ceramic tile with light grout in their kitchen, and it has been a pain to try to maintain. It constantly looks dirty. In addition to that nuisance, the floor is 100% unforgiving if they drop anything on it. They've lost two iPhones, an iPad, and countless dishes to that floor. They're getting ready to replace it with wood.

If you do go with ceramic, I echo the PPs and suggest a darker tile and darker grout. GL!

[youdontsay]

Apr 15, 2015 14:49:00 GMT -5 mlgnumbers said:

My parents have light ceramic tile with light grout in their kitchen, and it has been a pain to try to maintain. It constantly looks dirty. In addition to that nuisance, the floor is 100% unforgiving if they drop anything on it. They've lost two iPhones, an iPad, and countless dishes to that floor. They're getting ready to replace it with wood.

If you do go with ceramic, I echo the PPs and suggest a darker tile and darker grout. GL!

To the bolded: so much that! My friend dropped her Windows phone on my kitchen floor and her H tried to make us pay for it.

But, there maybe could be some sort of sub-floor that would provide a cushion to the shock of something falling on the ceramid tile? That's something to look into if you have your heart set on tile.

[locopollo]

is it an open floor plan? My kitchen is open to the living room and we have dark hardwood throughout, including the kitchen. I think with an open floor plan I'd keep the flooring the same.

However, I like the look of the hardwood tile, but I'm not sure I'd mix hardwood flooring with hardwood look alike tile. I would maybe consider using it if it were in a master bath, and the master bedroom was carpeted.

[joy]

Apr 15, 2015 14:53:16 GMT -5 youdontsay said:

 My friend dropped her Windows phone on my kitchen floor and her H tried to make us pay for it.

::side eye::

[lemoncupcake]

We have wood-look tile in our whole downstairs. It's durable, easy to clean and I like that we have the same flooring through the living areas, dining, kitchen, bathroom and laundry.

[RaeLynn28]

I agree with PPs about having real wood floor. I do like the ceramic wood and we actually almost put it on one of our bathrooms. We eventually decided on real wood floors (all throughout downstairs) and I'm really happy with it. We actually did Prefinished wood floors which is a lot cheaper if you know someone handy. It's not hard to do though... I even helped!

[youdontsay]

Apr 15, 2015 14:58:23 GMT -5 joy said:

Apr 15, 2015 14:53:16 GMT -5 youdontsay said:

 My friend dropped her Windows phone on my kitchen floor and her H tried to make us pay for it.

::side eye::

The Windows phone or asking for payment for the phone? Both are equally side-eye worthy!

[fozziebear]

We have tile in the kitchen and bathroom. Stay far away from bright white grout, as others have said. I will say that straight vinegar + toothbrush + a little bit of time to scrub each line = clean grout. I did it a couple weeks ago. It wasn't hard at all, but there was time involved to scrub each line. I spent almost 3 hours scrubbing my not-big kitchen and 2 hours scrubbing my not-small bathroom.

[kcones88]

We replaced our bathroom floors with ceramic tile planks about 2 years ago and I am still in love with them. Here's some pics:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Large Pics Here}

We put some kind of moisture-proof padding under them, and then a sort of dark, coffee colored grout. They're so easy to clean and the cost wasn't bad since, as you can tell, our bathroom isn't very large.

[mustloveerica]

DH and I tiled 400 square feet of our house last summer. I love the tile but I'm angry the grout dried a lot lighter than the sample showed. Eventually we will probably redo the grout. For us durability is important. We have lots of pets. Our old house was hardwood throughout and the kitchen floors looked pretty rough from dog nails, shoes, dishes being dropped, etc. I don't think I'll ever have wood in a kitchen again because it upset me how easy it was to damage them.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Apr 15, 2015 16:01:59 GMT -5 mustloveerica said:

DH and I tiled 400 square feet of our house last summer. I love the tile but I'm angry the grout dried a lot lighter than the sample showed. Eventually we will probably redo the grout. For us durability is important. We have lots of pets. Our old house was hardwood throughout and the kitchen floors looked pretty rough from dog nails, shoes, dishes being dropped, etc. I don't think I'll ever have wood in a kitchen again because it upset me how easy it was to damage them.

I think I've talked about this way too much lately, but a suggestion I have is to just paint the grout. This is one we just recently bought. It has the sealant in it, as well:

[mustloveerica]

Apr 15, 2015 16:19:13 GMT -5 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

Apr 15, 2015 16:01:59 GMT -5 mustloveerica said:

DH and I tiled 400 square feet of our house last summer. I love the tile but I'm angry the grout dried a lot lighter than the sample showed. Eventually we will probably redo the grout. For us durability is important. We have lots of pets. Our old house was hardwood throughout and the kitchen floors looked pretty rough from dog nails, shoes, dishes being dropped, etc. I don't think I'll ever have wood in a kitchen again because it upset me how easy it was to damage them.

I think I've talked about this way too much lately, but a suggestion I have is to just paint the grout. This is one we just recently bought. It has the sealant in it, as well:

Omg that's a great idea!! I'm off to investigate. Our grout was supposed to be gray and it dried closer to white. Between mud from the dog and food spills it always looks gross.

[mustloveerica]

This is the tile we went with. It extends from our front door down the hall to our kitchen. And you can see we have hardwood everywhere else. I think they transition pretty nicely. And the tiles are large so they went down pretty fast even tho we did a huge area. But yes, I wish my grout had dried darker. It was supposed to be almost the same color gray as the tiles. Definitely avoid white grout at all costs.

[pismoduo]

Apr 15, 2015 14:18:55 GMT -5 shadesofgold said:

Don't know about wood ceramic, but I wanted to say something about tile grout. I've lived in 2 rentals with white/off-white tile floor bathrooms and bright white grout. I am baffled that people think this is a good idea. Even the most tidy among us will not be scrubbing grout regularly enough to ward off discoloration from foot traffic and daily use. When the grout is stained and the tiles are white, the floor looks dirtier than it is. I'm sure that color tiles will not have such a contrast and will maintain a clean look longer. If it were me starting from scratch, I would avoid that white tile/white grout combo like the plague. Sincerely, someone who cares way too much about these things.

Agreed. I also recommend larger tiles and slimmer grout lines. Our tiny downstairs bathroom (that gets barely any use) has small (6x6) off white tiles with somewhat wide grout lines and it's a pain in the butt to keep looking nice.

Also, for bathrooms in particular get something with some texture. The super smooth tiles are a death trap when they get wet.

[pismoduo]

Apr 15, 2015 14:20:44 GMT -5 joy said:

I've seen the ceramic wood. It's not my style. If I'm going to put in wood, then I want wood. If I want tile, then I'm going to put in legit tile. I don't like that one is masquerading as the other.

I might be weird.

#notweird

[diamondsndaisies]

Thank you so much everybody. Now I have some info to go off of. Love all the pictures as well.

Edit-words.

[pismoduo]

Apr 15, 2015 14:57:00 GMT -5 locopollo said:

is it an open floor plan? My kitchen is open to the living room and we have dark hardwood throughout, including the kitchen. I think with an open floor plan I'd keep the flooring the same.

However, I like the look of the hardwood tile, but I'm not sure I'd mix hardwood flooring with hardwood look alike tile. I would maybe consider using it if it were in a master bath, and the master bedroom was carpeted.

That's a personal preference thing, I think. I personally dislike having different flooring types in a smaller, more broken up space (i.e. wood in the hall, carpet in bedrooms), but I think an open floor plan with a good flow of different flooring can work if done right. We have an extremely open floor plan (as in the entire downstairs is practically one big room) and ended up with 3 different flooring types. But I love it. We have vinyl (ugh) in the entry and kitchen, then laminate wood flooring in the dining room and carpet in the living rooms. Before we re-did the dining room it was a sea of carpet. I love having the contrast of the wood up against the carpet.

[pismoduo]

Oh! One more suggestion. Make sure you get a really good grout sealant. Than can really help with keeping the grout clean. That little bathroom of ours that I mentioned? After I spent an entire day scrubbing the grout lines clean again, I re-sealed the whole floor with this super industrial grout sealant that I got, and I haven't had to scrub those grout lines again in close to 3 years. I still mop the floor. But the grout doesn't need any additional attention.

[thelittleredm]

My brother sells wood ceramic tile. It's really pretty and takes a lot less upkeep than regular wood floors.