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What kind of kitchen floor should I install-DIY?

When I bought my house the kitchen had ceramic tile, which I thought was great...until the grout started cracking because it's not level. Now I have several tiles I can actually pull up out of the floor. I want to just rip it out and start over (which won't be hard at all...all I have to do is pull at it and more will come up). I need some ideas for some inexpensive solutions that won't involve too much ripping out of subflooring and will be relatively quick to install. I want to keep with the 50's retro feel I have going and that's period to the house, also. I was thinking laminate black and white or the idustrial kind of tile, but I wasn't sure if it would work with the unlevel subfloor. Any ideas on how to either install it without leveling the subfloor, or how to level the subfloor without ripping it all out? Anything would help... Thanks!

Public Comments

  1. I really like the look of these floors. Check out the floor selector. You can even upload a picture of your kitchen and try their floors on it. http://www.georgiacarpet.com/congoleum-vinyl.htm
  2. How about vinyl flooring?
  3. Sorry but all the underlayment, tile backer must be removed. There is no other choice, you will only make things worse by trying to install a new floor over an un-even surface. You have to smooth out the floor prior to installation of a new finish.
  4. I have installed the peel-and-stick linolium several times. It is very easy to cut and fit them around appliances and doorways. Just be sure to buy good ones. Don't be cheap. Good ones cost around $29.00 to $49.00 for a box of 12x12 in. squares. As far as prepping the floor, be sure to remove ALL the old tile and mastic. This will take a little elbow grease. Use a good, sharp metal scraper. After scraping, you can buy this stuff that levels out your floor. Ask the guy at the store. All this is available at Home Depot.
  5. WHEN REMOVING THE TILE USE A SLEDGE HAMMER TO BOUNCE THE FLOOR THIS WILL LOOSEN THE TILES THAN REMOVE EVERY THING DOWN TO THE ORIGINAL SUBFLOOR. USE SCREWS AND ANCHOR THE ORIGINAL FLOOR TO THE JOISTS ABOUT EVERY 6" APART THIS WILL INSURE THAT THE SUBSTRAIGHT IS GOOD AND SOLID. AS FOR FLOORING CHOICES I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND LAMINATE FLOORING IN A KITCHEN OR ANY WET AREA. LINO TILE OR HARDWOOD WOULD BE YOUR BEST CHOICES LINO - USE (K-3) 3/8" PROBOARD OR 3/8 G1S PLY AS A SUBFLOOR FASTEN W/ SCREWS 4" APART ON THE PERIMETER AND 6" APART ON THE INSIDE. FILL THE SEAMS AND SCREW HOLES W/ A FLEXABLE RUBBER BASED FLOOR LEVELLER/FILLER TILE- USE 3/8" STD SPRUCE PLY ROUGH SIDE UP FASTEN THE SAME AS ABOVE, ALWAYS STAGGER JOINTS AND RUN OPPOSITE OF EXISTING SUBFLOOR. USE A POLYMER BASED MORTAR OR TILE ADHESIVE SIMULAR TO OMNI GRIP. HARDWOOD- STAPLE DOWN STD ROOFING FELT (THE THICK STUFF NOT TAR PAPER) AND LAY HARDWOOD ON TOP OF THAT. THE FELT HELPS REDUCE NOISE AND MOISTURE PROBLEMS JUST MAKE SURE WHAT EVER YOU DO GET TO THE ORIGINAL SUBFLOOR FIRST