I'm just going to spout out my HO and not be the mildest bit insulted if you
ignore me completely. Okay?
Mr. Esther's sister, the decorator - and she was a grand one - did her
own kitchen in black/white tile sections. The white blocks showed
everything but if they happend to miss a bit of dust, flour or whatever else
was tracked in, the black blocks happily took care of them and amplified
their existence. It was only pretty when just vacuumed and mopped. Other
than that, it ALWAYS looked like she never cleaned house. She hated it.
Okay. There. There it is.
Now, OTOH, we put down a whole lot of laminate flooring about 2 years
ago. Not because it was cheap; mercy no. It was not cheap. We were
looking for soft, quiet and easy care. And warm. Well, warm-ER than
assorted stone stuff.
Yes, we did try the 12" square tiles DIY in Mr. Esther's bathroom. Big
mistake. They didn't stay stuck. The fine fellow that installed the other
floors said our mistake was not using glue in addition to the stuff already
on the separate tiles. YMMV. Your knees may vary too but that is a hard
job. I say go with the professional floor guy and let him do it. I'm
guessing your son is decades younger than Mr. Esther and I, and he might be
fine but we surely were not.
Our new laminate floor is a beauty and a joy to live with. And, just
one more thing. We had never noticed until all was done but the way the
tiles line up, there is a line that runs from the bar in one kitchen,
through the laundry room all the way to the far end of 'my' kitchen. The
floor guy got it so straight and perfect that we could enter it at Paducah.
HTH, Polly

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." wrote in message
...
I want black and white (diagonal) checkerboard-pattern flooring in my
kitchen and bathroom in my little cottage. I've never had laminate
flooring and have concerns about whether it will be slippery if used
in the kitchen with the miriad possiblilites of spills and in the
bathroom with water spills. Second, a friend said he thought there
were laminates available 12 in. black and white square 'sections'. I
tried searching online but haven't found anything but wood patterns.
Has anybody seen laminates in 12 in. squares and solid colors? And
can I install a laminate floor all by myself???

Thanks for any advice and/or help.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.