This post is to pose a question. If you could do the flooring over in your main living area, what would you choose to do?
Would you choose: Hard wood, linoleum (either the stick on squares or roll), laminate, stained/painted concrete, carpet, ceramic, porcelain or Saltillo tile, bamboo or……hmmmm…..is there any other type of flooring that you know of?
Now that all the 20 yr. old carpet and 50 yr old linoleum tiles are almost all up, I’m wondering what to do.
My son knows how to do tile and he’s very good and this is what he is recommending. They have laminate flooring in part of their house and hate it. Because we live in the desert, there is always a fine layer of dust on the laminate and you can feel it under bare feet. You would have to dust it every single day not to feel it. They much prefer the areas that are tiled.
Have been to one tile place and the prices vary. I’m going to check some other places too. I won’t make a quick decision after only seeing what’s available in one store.
Originally, I’d planned on the painted or stained concrete. However, the asphalt glue is posing a major problem in removing. I started scraping on an 11 ft by 11 ft. section a very long time ago. Scraping it off is really tedious. I found a solvent that wouldn’t be too horrible to use inside the house but I’d need gallons of it and would have to find somewhere for the dogs to stay for a few days, depending on how long it took. This might get ruled out because of the labor involved.
If I didn’t have dogs, and old ones at that, I’d have nice hard wood floors put in. Carpet is out for the same reason.
Soooooo…………… I want to do this right and do it nice. What are your thoughts, recommendations, likes, dislikes, pros, cons on what you have now or what you’d like to have?
thesnakeandiandthebutterfly 
Originally posted by Suntana:
😆 I'm sure you will. Since my house is made with adobe brick, there are multiple earth tone colors, cracks and crevices in it. There are two cracks I am going to place a small frame around. One is a little sail boat in my livingroom and the other is a butt. Yes, I said a butt. It's right next to me on the wall by the computer.
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
Good thing to consider. I'll mention this to my son. He's been doing tile off and on for 20 years.
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
Now that's my kind of house cleaning! 😆 There is a commercial I've seen recently where a man is blasting the kitchen with a hose to clean it. Cracks me up. Also, many years ago, I saw a documentary about experimental homes. They were all built for ease of cleaning. One was all concrete with drains in each room specifically for water when you hosed down the room. That must have been 30 or 40 years ago so I wonder why no developer ran with that.
Originally posted by debplatt:
I've had to stop wearing them because I'm a total klutz in them. They get caught on things causing me to trip, I've knocked them off getting into the car and I've even walked right out of them while doing something outside. Oh, this reminds me of a video I just saw of a drunk guy trying to put his flip flops back on. I must find that.
Originally posted by daxonmacs:
It really isn't to me. I'm barefoot a lot around here. Except for lately because I don't want to walk on the old dried glue. It turns my heels dark brown and I have to use a scrub brush to get it off. This worries me about my dogs so I want to get it done soon.
Originally posted by PainterWoman:
that wouldn't be good, in this case… indoor pool, then…?! 😀
Yes I did see it. 🙂
May-be the cement tiles can be stained whatever color you want.
Originally posted by PainterWoman:
I'm trying to neutralize the fogginess of what you said.So, you're saying you can see the adobe bricks from the inside?Are you saying that one of those natural cracks between the bricks now resembles a Butt? Had you painted or something?
🙂
We found that hard floors were better for pets – easier to control fleas than with carpet. I have bamboo in the living room, but think I prefer tile. A neighbor of ours had Arizona travertine which was stunning!
Originally posted by Dacotah:
I probably could special order it. I'll do some pricing this weekend.Originally posted by Suntana:
Yes, I have six walls with exposed brick. The cracks aren't in between the bricks, they are in the actual brick itself. The Mexican adobe brick are all hand made, some are uneven, some have cracks and most have several different colors in them. I live in a six block area where all the houses were built with these bricks in 1960. I personally like the looks of them but some people have put siding over it. I'll have to take a couple of photos to show the detail in the bricks. Originally posted by cakkleberrylane:
The more I look at pictures and see what everyone is saying, I'm leaning towards the tile myself.
I want to thank everyone for their valuable input. It'll help me in doing a bit more research and in making my decision….probably this weekend.
It is possible that the floor will have to be "floated" before you can lay down new floor Pam. You use a floor patch or leveler to level out the floor if the subfloor is uneven. You need to find out from someone if you are going to have to do this before installing new flooring. Otherwise, whatever you put down will crack or break of pull apart at the seams. The subfloor needs to be even and level.
Originally posted by derWandersmann:
Yes, that works (unless there's a sandstorm)! And the dog-fluff goes as well, or bunches up in one or two corners only 😀
Originally posted by L2D2:
This is one of the things that will be discussed with my son at the places we go to this weekend to look at tile. Originally posted by marmaze:
We get lots of those during the summer, then the hour long torrential downpour afterwards. Except it is not sand from the beach, it is dust from the desert. I live a half mile from a part of the Phoenix Mountain Range.
Originally posted by PainterWoman:
Yeah, I'm still curious how exactly the Butt comes into the picture.
Originally posted by PainterWoman:
I live on Crete, about 200 miles north of Africa – we frequently get Sahara sand; and I know the sort of mud-rain you're talking about … :no:
bet you decided on the pool, huh, Pam?!
Originally posted by marmaze:
That wind is called the Sirocco, in Italy. I used to have a Xograph of 24 hours of the full earth (taken from ATS III, I think) which clearly showed a pale redness moving westward across the Atlantic to the east coast of the US … wind-borne sand from the Sahara.
It sounds like you are having fun with the floor plan 😀 I vote for the hard wood floors, and I think your dogs will enjoy them too. I think the bed rooms will look nice and cozy with the carpet floors. Just some ideas… good luck, Pam.Have a wonderful weekend!
Getting back to the subject:
I think I would go out camping, with my camera, until the money for doing the floor was used up.
Concrete. Painted concrete. Definitely. With one of those huge industrial fans stuck in the window. :pI have to replace my old rug (a carpet remnant, actually) that now dates from '96. I will probably buy a small oriental rug that matches the walls and furniture. I have hard wood floors but I hate tracking in little pebbles and such on it — they go all over the place. Would rather vacuum. Happy Mother's Day, Pam!
Pam my sister is here and she used to be an estimator for a flooring company. I hope you don't mind but I showed her this post and these are her suggestions:First, she says you'll have a dust problem anyway, might be less noticeable on carpet.That being said she says that given your situation and CJ and such that she would go with the painted concrete or possibly ceramic tile. Ceramic tile you would not need to get all the glue off from the former flooring; also aesthetically pleasing and higher resale value. Also that you can put a sealant on the ceramic tile to keep it from marring from dogs and other things.She says you can put a sealant on the conrete as well. Sticking with the concrete she says would be your cheapest way to go. Hope that helps. Tass tells me to tell you hello!
Originally posted by PainterWoman:
Okee fine, Pam. I'll have my imagination ready.
Carlos: I plan on doing a post just on the things I see in the cracks on my walls. Marmaze: Those kinds of mud rains are so fast and furious we have flash floods here during our 'monsoon' season. They are over quickly, but sure leave lots of cleanup. Jill: Nope, no pool. One of my side jobs is cleaning one and my kids grew up around one that I cleaned. Way more work than I want to do.L.D.: Definitely will keep the carpet in the bedrooms. You have a great weekend too. Ooops, well the weekend is over, so have a great week. dW: No camping for me. I'm not a happy camper unless it was in a big RV.Ed: I may get my painted concrete afterall. My son and I found some stuff to remove the old asphalt glue a little faster than the stuff I'd been using. It is an 'adhesive' remover not a paint stripper that all the guys at Home Depot were telling me to use. Hope you find a nice oriental rug you like. I plan on getting a couple of artsy looking area rugs myself when the floor is done. I'd much rather put my feet on a rug than the floor when I'm sitting on the couch.
Have you decided yet on what flooring you are going to use?
Ed: A big thanks to Tass. I agree about the dust problem. It is the desert afterall and no getting away from it unless I live in a glass dome. 😆 Yeah, with one old blind dog who will be 13 in August and one old Min Pin, who will be 11, and who must have the tiniest bladder in the world, concrete or tile would be the best bet. Carol: I think it will be either painted concrete or tile.
Thanks again to everyone's thoughts and suggestions.After using this adhesive remover on a small area AND after buying one piece of tile that actually looks like the concrete floor with markings on it as if glue has been taken off, my son can now see my vision about the concrete floor. I told him to picture me living in a loft with concrete floors with marks on it from whatever had been in the building before, corrugated metal room dividers, exposed beams and HVAC ducts, etc. He finally realized what I wanted. If tile companies are actually making ceramic tiles to look like this, e.g. rustic, industrial, worn, etc., then some people MUST like it. We'll see how the floor looks once all the glue is off. I have a vision of making it look like tile with my brushes.
My English is very poor. If I understand, you're asking for the proposal.One of the ideas and polyester. It is pouring the concrete. can be transparent, and put him in papers that are melting, and give an interesting structure. There may be a color you choose. The most important thing is that the concrete is very dry.The surface must be very flat because the very thin polyester.
Pam 🙂
Excuse me, Boban, let me try …Pam, I think he's referring to some of the epoxy-type floor finishes that are being used today, with various colourants and purposeful inclusions. It's very durable stuff, and it protects the concrete from staining and moisture.Of course, with two doggies … plain concrete might be a very good finish, with someting that soaks in and polymerises for keeping out the stains … your doggies would never need their nails trimmed.
Boban: Thank you for your suggestion. dW: Thanks. I sort of understood what he was saying and you reaffirmed it.
Pam, hope there will photos of the floor when it's done. 😀
Merci der Wandersmann. If these are epoxy resins. 🙂 Pam, good luck in the venture with the floor. 🙂
Thank you Boban. I will take photos and do a post of the finished floor.
Well the local hardware department floor was advertising an entirely new (to me anyway) flooring: vinyl, interlocking planks. They look kind of like the interlocking planks used to install hardwood-floor type floorings. But the tile has already been installed on top of the planks. You your self don't have to mess with sub-floors or glues. You just snap them in place.I mention them just in case you are interested.
Carol, definitely, there will be photos.Deb, I think I saw this on one of the remodeling shows on HGTV and had forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding me. Have only been to Home Depot and Loews and not to a flooring store. Think I'll do that today just to look.
:hat: 😀
:coffee: relaxed.:)
The hospital in which my kid is at present recovering from an emergency appendectomy has just re-done their floors with those snap-together vinyls, finished to look like wood. En mass, I've seldom seen anything quite so artificial-looking.
The one's that I saw in the newspaper flier were not finished to look like wood. They looked more like tiles. Since they were vinyl, I'm guessing that the final effect would probably resemble linoleum.
Originally posted by PainterWoman:
do you end up taking a dip? that would be a relentless task, I can only imagine… I have friends with pools and I don't envy the maintenance…
If you have the means, I'm told that you can hire a service to do pool maintenance for you.When I was young, for years I swam in a lake. No maintenance, no chlorine, lots of fun. 😀
When I was married, I took care of our pool for years in between the once a week times the pool man did it. If I had it to do over again with kids growing up around a pool, I don't think I would. It's a lot of stress. Kids drown every year here. You have to watch them every second and be outside with them. The house I live in now has no pool but I am the hired maintenance service for sweeping and skimming for someone else's pool. Another service takes care of the chemicals and repairs. I also do yard maintenance, grocery shopping and various other things for this person. On really hot days, I do take my shoes off and stand on the steps to cool off my feet while skimming the pool, but I never take a dip. Although there have been a few times I've almost fallen in.
Originally posted by PainterWoman:
I can hear you there. When I was growing up in the country, a neighbor boy (a five year old) was hit by a car when crossing the road to get on his school bus (speed limit was 55mph by our home). When I was old enough to look for a home of my own, I didn't want a pool, and I didn't want to be near a road with fast traffic. So we live on a cul de sac.
Originally posted by PainterWoman:
sounds very nice- I realize there are many more house pools in AZ than here- kids here think, "WOW!," whenever there is a pool associated w/ someone's home…Originally posted by debplatt:
that is always nice 🙂
granite or glazed brick
Have a beautiful weekend, Pam ^^
A nice comfortable seat under a cottonwood, with a paper of sandwiches, a cool flask of brandy, and a rifle across my lap. Better'n any damn floor in the world.