I want to install a new floor downstairs in my home; NOT carpet (I plan on spilling stuff).

Currently, the floor is old stick-on tiles over concrete. MOST of the stickies are hanging on, some have come off when I pulled the old carpet off of them.

The plan I see in my head is to use leveling cement to fill in low spots, etc right over the old junk, then go from there.

Any comments from the fellas who do this sort of thing?

my buddy installed that "wood" laminate flooring. looks great. sturdy. install fairly uncomplicated.

Andy, how big are the tiles? IS the glue used to hold them down black? In the old days they used asbestos to make the tiles. If they are smaller then 12"x12" they are asbestos. If they are 12x12 and the glue is black they are probably asbestos. If they are 12x12 and not black glue, they might be asbestos. How big is the area you want to do?

They are fine to work with and remove. But you don't wand to sand/grind on them, making dust out of them would be bad.

I would recommend ceramic tile. Easy to do yourself, durable as all get out, and fairly inexpensive. All you would need to do it take up the rest of the tiles, scrape up the glue as best you can, and set the tile.

Home depot (and others) sells nice 12x12 ceramic tile for as little as 89 cents a foot. For 2 bucks a foot you have many to choose from. If you want more tile info etc shoot me an email.

Another choice would be a floating floor. All you would have to do is fill in where the tiles where missing and install it. Price starts around 3$ a foot and goes up (i think, i don't do this regularly so the price quote is a guess). The problem is that it has to be able to move, so you need a 1/4 inch space all the way around. You have to cut off your doorframes so it can slip under, you have to remove the base boards and then reinstall them to cover the space (or add 1/4 round moldings). Also this type of floor isn't as tough as tile and always feels/sounds hallow to me.

hey andy, pretty much same input as rugrunner. except couple things.

laminate floors a fine unless there is a chance of moisture problems. basements are not a good spot for them due to leaks. not sure if you meant basement when you said downstairs. as far as material cost, i pay about 1.50 for laminate and underlayment pad from my source out here.

another option is a commercial vct (vinyl composition tile) see a pic i posted yesterday. stuff is just about indestructable.

but honestly your best bet would be ceramic from what i have read.

wes

Andy, if you want vct I got about 1500 feet of it you can have...

Wes is right, I hadn't thought about the moisture. I see it put in lots of patio homes on the concrete slab.

My entire downstairs is done in oak plank hardwood. Since I live in Ca and my house is basically built on top of a slab of concrete, they are 1/2 inch thick slatted planks, glued to the concrete.

I think they look great. Some of the pictures posted of pablo's herf show my floor. The wood is a bit pricey, because it's oak, but worth it if you ask me.

I'll see if I can find one of the pics and top it.

Whoops... moisture isn't good for wood either. Belay my last.

I just posted 6 pictures of a tile floor we did in 2000 for my old base's Rec Club... (self help project)

I wish I would have taken some "Before Pictures" of this project...

(We = myself and 3 other guys I was aloud to hand pick from the unit..)

Andy, if this is in a Basement? (don't know what you meant about downstairs?) then I would suggest looking into Ceramic tile and Grouting it in?

Hog

And if you plan on spilling on it, consider epoxy grout! Doesn't look as nice, but doesn't stain!

yea epoxy, for the rookie. now thats funny...

I like stone myself, can be just as cheep as ceramic tile.

just gots ta look around

home depot has slate at 1.50 or so a foot right now. At least at the one by me. Stone is better looking, but nothing wears like a good porcelian tile.

I like the stone, no pun intended. but with the sealer & the polish I use it's bulletproof, and andy plans on playing necked crisco twister on the floor and it will stay very slick for a long time. he he he

andy, email me at kccody yahoo. among other things i do tile flooring for a living now. no disrespect to anyone else here but there are a few things you should know first as well as more information from you before i can give an intelligent answer

...hey, I set stone & tile so what of it pal?

...hey andy, you what I should draw'ya a picture?

Did you miss the part of my post where I said “no disrespect to anyone else here” or what? If you are a pro then you would realize that with what little information he gave you simply cant give intelligent and reliable advise based on it. There are just too many variables. For example, he said he wanted to pour floor leveler over the old tile. Wrong answer! Also the question of whether it is a basement with moisture problems came up and that’s info that will need to be known. Also the question of asbestos was raised but contrary to popular belief some floor tile as well as many other home improvement products still contain asbestos and he should be aware of how to deal with it. I just wanted to give him the best advise I can, that’s all. Drink another beer, light up a fresh one and calm down. No harm meant.

? ever hear of sarcasim, dude... you take your job way to serious pal .

but hey, your right...

Well I've been smoken a few and drinking a few more for a while now. maybe I didn't catch the sarcasm but it's all good in the end. Peace and cigars for everyone.

WOW!

Even a flooring thread ends with conflict!! LOL

Good info so far. It seems to me that the best option is ceramic tile.

Too bad none of you guys live nearby.......we could have a "flooringherh".

I'll probably have more questions so stay tuned.

Kcody: Thank you also for your input and offer for assistance. These guys here are my friends so we are just "BSing" about flooring; before I do anything, I would provide details.....these fellas know that (I think); I was just fishing for ideas. Welcome, by the way.