No Leak-Best Tile choice for eichlers
Hi: Thanks everyone for all your help. we had radiant heat tested by the best in the busniess and found out there was no leak. We are going with tile. When we put foam over the cement floor the bottom was moist but the ceramic tile test came out completely dry. Guess the foam (for floating floor)created a sweat like condition. Whats a good ceramic or slate tile that's economical and goes with Eichler houses. Were selling and wish to do it right. Thanks Angela
Slate is very pretty but it is hard to install due to the uneven surface and flaking. You have to put a good sealer on it like "Glaze'n'Seal" to give it a good luster and to seal it. Slate is popular now days though. I would suggest a neutral cream color for the floors. Travertine is really beautiful and has nice look to it. You will also want to seal this appropriately as well.
There are lots of stone look porcelain tiles available too. They are easier to install and easier to maintain and some of them are very difficult to distinguish from the real thing. Also think about slickness. Our atrium is tiled in a glazed tile that is like an ice rink when wet.
I vote for commercial vinyl composite tile. It looks original, wears forever and costs less than $2.00 a square foot installed. Armstrong makes it in something like 70 colors. In addition, if you ever do have a leak, you cut up one or two tiles and simply glue down a couple of new ones. Make sure you keep an extra box around.
commercial VCT
Armstrong Excelon line.
tborsellino and joe b
what's the color name you chose from armstrong's pallette? http://www.armstrong.com/commflooringna/product_details.jsp?item_id=381
can you share photos of your floors?
we have original mahogany paneling and are considering whether to go light or dark vct.
also- if you have any recommendations for vct installers in the east bay, it would be greatly appreciated. my email is [email protected]
thanks!
Check out the selection... i hear that these are installed jut like VCT, but cost ~$7.00 a sq ft. They come in 1/8" to 1/4".
http://www.fritztile.com/ctn500am/index.htm#
We are in the process of doing our floors too and are trying to decide between VCT, fritztile and possibly concrete.
I used polar white in this house and cool white in the last one. I don't know how to post images here (I think it has something to do with my using a Mac), but you can see the polar white on page 12 of the Atomic Ranch book.
I think there are slates that are less problematic than others. Slate seems pretty reasonable in price.
I've been studying green eco friendly products and vinyl is very nasty in its production and living down wind from the factories. Going green for your flooring can be a selling point to the buyer as it is just about the biggest thing in your house.
A green alternative is to vinyl is "Marmoleum" by Forbo allegedly it has no adverse health issues whatsoever, either during production, its useful life, or disposal. It is sustainable.
"Marmoleum is a floor you can walk on without your feet being cold. Unlike hard cold tile floors, it is a warm, comfortable, healthy floor that looks and feels great.
The natural bactericidal properties of marmoleum prevent micro-organisms including Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus Aureus from multiplying themselves. It is the continual oxidation of the linseed oil that enables this phenomenon."
Good luck
Tom, let me start out by saying that your house is absolutely awesome... we have the book and are inspired to go with white VCT flooring. I had a couple of concerns and I was hoping that you might be able to provide some insights:
1. Maintenance: how difficult is to keep white floors clean? Does every spec of dirt show up? How often do you have to clean/vacuum?
2. Do you have black lines between the VCT tiles? If yes, how obvious are they? We were told that even if they are installed correctly there will always be some and might grow in time.
3. If you were to do it again would you still pick white?
by tborsellino on Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:47 pm
I used polar white in this house and cool white in the last one. I don't know how to post images here (I think it has something to do with my using a Mac), but you can see the polar white on page 12 of the Atomic Ranch book.
