OT Laminate flooring

Some day I want a yellow and white checkerboard floor in a
kitchen. Hexagon tiles are cool in an old house, the tiny ones.
I am not a big fan of tile though. Tough on dog knees.
Taria

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." wrote in message
...

Oh Polly, I NEED black and white floors! Wah! I want the little
cottage to look Victorian even if I can't afford to really do it
properly. The bathroom I have dreamed about has black cabinets. In
the little groove in the molding on the doors I want a tiny strip of
gilt gold paint and a decoupage effect of a deep pink rose in the
center of flat panel on the doors. The kitchen needs white cabinets
for the gorgeous floral wallpaper border I want to use- it's about 28
in. wide. and will go above the baseboards with a chair rail at the
top edge of the border.

Black and white is the only thing that will work in this extra girly
house- for me for forever. Will you forgive me? ;-)

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

On Jul 11, 2:32 pm, "Polly Esther" wrote:
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
...



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.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On 12 Jul., 00:20, "Leslie & The Furbabies in MO."
wrote:
(sigh) * I think you just talked me out of laminate. *The vinyl will
probably cost a whole lot less, too. * Okay. * Laminate is out.
Thanks! * *VBG

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

On Jul 11, 4:14*pm, Pat S wrote:

Pretty much the worst thing you could choose, I'm afraid, Leslie.
Laminate does not like water - you are not supposed to clean it even
with water - there is a special stuff. *I have it on most of my ground
floor, but not in bedrooms (carpeted), nor in kitchen, bathroom, utility
room - all the potentially watery areas. *For those areas I have a
cushion floor vinyl - quite suitable for wet areas. *There are numerous
vinyls with a black and white tile pattern. *However, the best bet is,
probably, to check out the colour of the mud at the new house and ensure
that the floor covering you choose blends with it! *With your big dogs,
you'll need to be aware of mud!
Finally, if you do decide to risk all and lay laminate, you will have to
take off the skirting board (I've forgotten what you call it - would it
be base board?), so that the laminate goes under it and then put it
back. *If you don't do that, you have to use a fairly visible (mine is
about 1" wide) along all the walls. *Where I have the vinyl, the
flooring chap put a seal of silicone all around the edges, so that water
could not get underneath.

I just went and put a bit of water on this (study) floor and checked for
slippery: yes, very slippery, even with my rubber soled slippers.

I can't see any advantage, even if you could find black and white
squares. Cushion floor vinyl is so warm and easy on the feet, and easy
to lay.
.
In message
,
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. writes

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.

--
Best Regards
Pat on the Green

Whatever you do - cheap laminate is NOT worth it. I was in a rental
with this stuff and it was horrible, didn't lay properly, couldn't
stand wet and even looked cheap.

I only ever saw laminate in wood-look. In fact, I thought that was the
whole point of laminate, to get real wood look (for more expensive
laminate the top layer is, I believe, real wood laminate). Vinyl is
good and easy to keep. If you can get your pattern, I'd suggest doing
a whole piece, not tiles, since tiles might not stick down properly or
be tight. Then again, if done right with good materials, vinyl tiles
are probably fine.

I know you are looking for black/white, but you might also see if you
can get one with expanding stuff in it. My Aunt got vinyl that has
tiny little fleks of fake cork (for want of better description) that
expands a little when wet and gives traction. In the bathroom that
seems really smart? Lasted well for about 20 years so far.

Hanne in DK

Ask quilters a question and we aren't shy with opinions, are we?

They do make stone look laminate, which I suspect is what you are
thinking of. This one comes in Ebony and Ivory Sand which might work to
make a black and white floor:

http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/pr...naturals/_/N-6
7pZ6wa

I don't know that you could do a checkerboard with it because it still
comes in strips rather than squares. I'm sure if you call a nice
flooring place and just ask they would know if such a thing is possible.

We just put in a new kitchen floor and really, really love it. It's
marmoleum - it's old fashioned linoleum made with jute and linseed oil
and sawdust just like grandma had. It comes in a zillion colors and
they can cut it into any shape and design you can dream of. Oh, and
they have really, really cool border that you can make any color you
like. Also comes in squares for that checkerboard look but they heat
seal the seams so no worries about water. Maybe if laminate doesn't work
it's something else to consider - in case you don't have enough ideas
already :-)

http://www.forbo-flooring.us/Residen...ring/Products/

marcella



In article
,
"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." wrote:

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.

LOL, Marcella. HoooEeee yes we do have opinions. But - when I first came
to rctq, I asked for all advice about do/don't for my new kitchen. And - 10
years later I still am mighty grateful for every word written in response.
IMHO I have a purrfect kitchen; couldn't ask for more and it certainly is
because so many folks climbed in with their opinions, successes, failures
and wish-I-had.
And speaking of opinions, I think the HGTV folks who go all warm and
fuzzy about: stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and hardwood
floors in the kitchen, I think they are quite mad. Once again, IMHO. We
just want Leslie to be happy; even if we have to kill her. Polly


"Marcella Peek" wrote Ask quilters a question and we aren't shy with
opinions, are we?

They do make stone look laminate, which I suspect is what you are
thinking of. This one comes in Ebony and Ivory Sand which might work to
make a black and white floor:

http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/pr...naturals/_/N-6
7pZ6wa

I don't know that you could do a checkerboard with it because it still
comes in strips rather than squares. I'm sure if you call a nice
flooring place and just ask they would know if such a thing is possible.

We just put in a new kitchen floor and really, really love it. It's
marmoleum - it's old fashioned linoleum made with jute and linseed oil
and sawdust just like grandma had. It comes in a zillion colors and
they can cut it into any shape and design you can dream of. Oh, and
they have really, really cool border that you can make any color you
like. Also comes in squares for that checkerboard look but they heat
seal the seams so no worries about water. Maybe if laminate doesn't work
it's something else to consider - in case you don't have enough ideas
already :-)

http://www.forbo-flooring.us/Residen...ring/Products/

marcella

On Jul 11, 6:17*pm, "Leslie & The Furbabies in MO."
wrote:
Kim, I am refinishing the original wood floors in all downstairs rooms
but the kitchen and bath. * If I use ceramic tiles won't I have a good
1/4 in. thickness to deal with from the level of the wood floors to
the ceramic tiled floors? * How do you deal with the change from room
to room?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

On Jul 11, 3:35*pm, AuntK wrote:



On Jul 11, 2:56*pm, "Leslie & The Furbabies in MO."

wrote:
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.

I have no experience with laminate, myself. *BIL/SIL are looking at
the wood versions for their home. *One thing they have found is that,
as Polly says, it ain't cheap if you want a good product. *Also with
most, the grain/color does not run through the entire plank/square -
only the top layer. *I don't think I'd use it in my home with my 2
labs and their nails. *DH isn't much better with what he tracks in the
house, either! * In fact, I want to put ceramic tile in my dining
room. *It's a room that we use very infrequently and it's the one
every dog we've ever had opts to get sick in! *We have ceramic in our
kitchen/powder room and I love it. *Does get a bit slippery when
dripping wet from the pool to the potty but otherwise it's great. *I
went with a mottled brownish/tanish color and used dark brown grout.
Have chocolate labs. *Until the hair gets to tumbleweed size, you
never see a speck of dirt on this floor. *DH and I laid that floor by
ourselves - 20 years ago. *It was a chore but entirely doable. *I
really want to get rid of all the carpet but that's not going to
happen. * Good luck!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Depending on the condition of your subfloors in the areas where
ceramic would go, you may need to do some backer board or an extra
layer of (thin) plywood (forget what it's called). That may lessen or
add to the difference of your other flooring. But there are wood,
ceramic, marble and metal 'transition' pieces to be used between the
two types of flooring. We have metal between the carpet and tile in
both the kitchen downstairs and the bath upstairs. The original
portion of our house is about 250 years old. We put on an addition
about 20 years ago. The kitchen/powder room is in the new half and
those floors were prepped specifically with ceramic in mind. Our
upstairs bath spans both the old and new halves of the house. In that
room we used sheet vinyl. The sheet vinyl only gets glued on the
edges. It was tricky at best to install due to the shape of the
room. And, yes, as someone else mentioned you will have to remove/re-
install the baseboard to have things look right. And the sheet vinyl
that we used was about the same price per sq. ft. as the ceramic tile.

I don't know that I'd go for the 'stickum' type vinyl squares. I've
not seen any stay put for very long. We also have the newer version
of the old linoleum in our laundry room. That stuff stays put as you
use real glue over the entire tile. And the color/pattern goes
through the entire tile so wear is not an issue.

If I was going to the vintage look, I'd probably go for the small
hexagon shaped tiles as well. I think they are very charming. Can't
offer an opinion as to cleaning black/white. Even though the original
part of our house is 'vintage' there was not enough character/charm on
either the outside or the inside to go with that theme. Inside and
out are both just very traditional.

HTH.

Kim in hot, steamy NJ

When my DH and I moved into our new townhome 6 years ago, we got a variety
of flooring. We got " standard-grade" vinyl in the powder room and laundry.
In the laundry some bluish stains have appeared. I think they're coming
from under the vinyl. Like, maybe some printing is seeping through to the
surface? In the kitchen we upgraded the vinyl and chose a natural tile
pattern. Several people have mistaken it for ceramic, but it's sooo much
easier to keep clean. In the master bath, we have ceramic tile which
matches the tub and shower surrounds. It's beautiful, BUT, the grout lines
tend to get stained right outside the shower where water drips and lays. In
the front foyer and powder room we have wood laminate. It wears well, looks
good, BUT if you don't get it almost dry when cleaning it, every streak or
drop shows. Even "sweaty" footprints show! I use a Bissell steam cleaner,
and it does a good job on all the surfaces, but especially on the vinyl. By
the way, the rest of the house is carpeted....we upgraded both the carpet
and pad....and it's holding up well. I love it!
Some folks in our neighborhood have taken all the carpeting out of their
homes and installed laminate or wood throughout. We were told when we
ordered our place, that since we're on a slab, wood was not an
option....only laminate.

--
Alice in PA
http://community.webshots.com/user/twosonsatpsu
"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.

Howdy!

Looks like the definition of "laminate flooring" differs quite a bit
around here. Usually it's a layered product, vinyl or thin veneer of wood
layered w/ paper, vinyl, wood, or whatever. Installation & durability
depends on the type of "laminate", so who could advise? g
We have a very durable vinyl laminate called Kardean in the
kitchen/breakfast room; it is FABULOUS! I wouldn't change it for anything
else. It is not self-stick; it's high quality, & super durable.
http://www.karndeanusa.com/site/home.cfm
We chose a stone look for the kitchen.
Upstairs in the bathroom there's Kardean that looks like wood; it's fooled
several of our decorator friends & 2 builders. g
"I thought you wouldn't put wood flooring in wet areas, Sandy!" I won't.
The other baths have Armstrong self-stick vinyl, a "laminate"; it's been
there for 10 yrs, shows no signs of peeling or un-sticking, has a couple of
faded/scuffed areas right in front of the sinks, not a problem. We have
a cement (slab) foundation downstairs, w/ plywood base flooring upstairs;
the self-stick handles both. Quality matters.

Wood flooring in the living room is a laminate, also. Laminate: layered.

Go for it, Leslie. Get what you like. Then like the heck out of it!! G

The laminates are not as slippery as the stone or ceramic floors. And are
much easier (kinder) on ankles, knees & hip joints.

By the way, for butting flooring up against the baseboard, if you don't
remove the baseboards you can add a little quarter-round trim to close that
gap, if it matters to you.
If you do remove the baseboards, number them, w/ a matching number on the
wall area (saved me hours of confusion & frustration g).

Not mentioned in Leslie's post but:
btw# 2: linoleum is not the same thing as vinyl flooring, be it tiles or
sheet. I hear "linoleum" all the time when the speaker means vinyl,
esp. on the home repair/remodel t.v. shows. arrggggh!
Lino disappeared from home remodeling for a while; it's back,
and better...but not self-adhesive. FYI

Cheers! Good luck!

Ragmop/Sandy - .. I grew up in this biz...



On 7/11/11 5:59 PM, in article , "Taria"
wrote:

Leslie, I don't know about the tile type but we have the wood
look laminate from Costco. 5 Years in and it still looks like new
with the exception of where I drop knives in the kitchen. (only
a few of those nicks and they have been touched up so I really notice
them just when I clean) DH did the install himself and it went pretty
smooth. A nice big square room helps there though. The earlier
manufactured stuff was hit and miss but I think from about the time
we got ours forward it is pretty tough. I took a scrap of the stuff and
tossed it in a pie plate of water for a good several weeks (I can't remember
exactly how long but it was a while) That stuff showed not a bit of
bother from the water. It was amazing. The dogs don't seem to give it
any wear. It is amazing stuff. The trim gets pricey if you need a lot of
that
so keep that in mind. I think you and your son could do a good job with
it. Oh, we are on a slab foundation so not sure how your old wood one
would be in comparison.
HTH, Taria

"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.

My guess would be that when folks refer to laminate floor they
generally mean 'Pergo' type products. They have changed
a lot since the early ones that had a lot of issues. The Kardean
looks wonderful and I have been quite envious of Marcella since
I saw her Marmolean on her blog. Lots of choices that’s for sure!
Taria, floor here needs vacuuming!

"Sandy E" wrote in message ...

Howdy!

Looks like the definition of "laminate flooring" differs quite a bit
around here. Usually it's a layered product, vinyl or thin veneer of wood
layered w/ paper, vinyl, wood, or whatever. Installation & durability
depends on the type of "laminate", so who could advise? g
We have a very durable vinyl laminate called Kardean in the
kitchen/breakfast room; it is FABULOUS! I wouldn't change it for anything
else. It is not self-stick; it's high quality, & super durable.
http://www.karndeanusa.com/site/home.cfm
We chose a stone look for the kitchen.
Upstairs in the bathroom there's Kardean that looks like wood; it's fooled
several of our decorator friends & 2 builders. g
"I thought you wouldn't put wood flooring in wet areas, Sandy!" I won't.
The other baths have Armstrong self-stick vinyl, a "laminate"; it's been
there for 10 yrs, shows no signs of peeling or un-sticking, has a couple of
faded/scuffed areas right in front of the sinks, not a problem. We have
a cement (slab) foundation downstairs, w/ plywood base flooring upstairs;
the self-stick handles both. Quality matters.

Wood flooring in the living room is a laminate, also. Laminate: layered.

Go for it, Leslie. Get what you like. Then like the heck out of it!! G

The laminates are not as slippery as the stone or ceramic floors. And are
much easier (kinder) on ankles, knees & hip joints.

By the way, for butting flooring up against the baseboard, if you don't
remove the baseboards you can add a little quarter-round trim to close that
gap, if it matters to you.
If you do remove the baseboards, number them, w/ a matching number on the
wall area (saved me hours of confusion & frustration g).

Not mentioned in Leslie's post but:
btw# 2: linoleum is not the same thing as vinyl flooring, be it tiles or
sheet. I hear "linoleum" all the time when the speaker means vinyl,
esp. on the home repair/remodel t.v. shows. arrggggh!
Lino disappeared from home remodeling for a while; it's back,
and better...but not self-adhesive. FYI

Cheers! Good luck!

Ragmop/Sandy - .. I grew up in this biz...



On 7/11/11 5:59 PM, in article , "Taria"
wrote:

Leslie, I don't know about the tile type but we have the wood
look laminate from Costco. 5 Years in and it still looks like new
with the exception of where I drop knives in the kitchen. (only
a few of those nicks and they have been touched up so I really notice
them just when I clean) DH did the install himself and it went pretty
smooth. A nice big square room helps there though. The earlier
manufactured stuff was hit and miss but I think from about the time
we got ours forward it is pretty tough. I took a scrap of the stuff and
tossed it in a pie plate of water for a good several weeks (I can't
remember
exactly how long but it was a while) That stuff showed not a bit of
bother from the water. It was amazing. The dogs don't seem to give it
any wear. It is amazing stuff. The trim gets pricey if you need a lot of
that
so keep that in mind. I think you and your son could do a good job with
it. Oh, we are on a slab foundation so not sure how your old wood one
would be in comparison.
HTH, Taria

"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.