Kitchen Tile Opinions (updated with water damage problems)

[M-technik-3]

So what did you settle floor on your kitchen?



Mine is done minus the molding finally.

[bddog]

Jasco Wood Preserver is what you want and exactly what the inspector would look for. Find it at Home Depot..
Most of the 1/4 inch tile board is not recommended for water areas. If that is what you are after, make sure it is made from plastic cement. It will be grey, not tan. Use Thin Set and tape the seams.
Do you know what your floor joists are? Are they 2x6 two foot on center? With OSB on top? If so I would not tile without reinforcing. You will be heart broken.
Did you ever think of just nailing off the plywood? With ring shanks. It was there to flatten the floor.
The large size with the Travertine look are very "in" right now.

[McGyver]

McGyver,

Are you moving out of the hood? Our buddy Mike (red E46) across the street is going to be moving in two weeks out to a lame ass place in the burbs.

nah, i have an extra year at VCU for a Physics major, thats why i want it to be nice cuz i have to live with it.

so i never thought about matching the tile to the counter top/cabinets/carpet/wood floors, so thoughts about these?









someone here must have married an interior decorator...

[ReallyDirtyThirty]

McGyver,

Are you moving out of the hood? Our buddy Mike (red E46) across the street is going to be moving in two weeks out to a lame ass place in the burbs.

[M-technik-3]

Been down the home renovation road. Had fun doing it now looking forward to demolishing my old two car garage. Yes we lived in the house straight thru the work too.

[ficklerx]

A few thoughts:

1. Definitely go to the www.johnbridge.com forum and look for the deflection calculator to determine the necessary thickness of your subfloor relative to the floor joist spans. You are renting to some of the most abusive tenants out there. Repairs later will be very frustratin. Also quite a few professionals there for you to bounce these ideas off of. The group as gruff as this one.

2. Find your nearest Lowe's/HD/discount outlet and pick up the cheapest ~12" tiles you can find (usually < $1/sq ft). You will gain the durability you are looking for without breaking the bank. Afterall, this is a rental. Good enough for who it's for. And, it will look good from your house. :nice:

3. As far as the layout, consider how much help you have. There are advantages and drawbacks to each. Square/straights runs are nice but unless you are experienced, the variations in the tile and your abilities will yield tile that looks crooked. The work is quicker though with fewer cuts.

4. Running on a 45 degree angle will hide the crooked part since no one will ever walk down the grout line. However, the cutting will consume almost as much time as the laying. And, you would need a higher quality tile saw.

If you have never done it, laying tile can be a lot of work and very time consuming. The layouts can be as intricate as you like but take more time and patience. If it is your kitchen, go for it. You will reap the rewards of your labor. Since it is a rental, just get it done and enjoy the durability.

[Thizzelle]

dude you need to watch more Holmes on Homes you'll learn everthing you need to look for and how to fix it, what to do and what not to do.

but you need to see if it's mold or dry rot. If it's just water stain then wood should be fine as long as leak is fixed. Other wise rip it up and put a new piece of OSB. I would suggest just put new piece in because it's cheap for that board and will look nice, even though you don't see it.

I'm redoing my garage and I keep runing into retard work. Spend the extra time and do it right :)

[Sailor37]

Bleach is not effective on porous material, like wood. It will not penetrate past the surface.

[M-technik-3]

After that some Killz to seal it up. Let the bleach do it's work don't rush it and let it dry thoroughly.

Or yank the subfloor and start new.

[nrubenstein]

Half bleach, half water mix. Mold rejects pure beach.

And don't do the new pattern. That's going to be both ugly AND a pain in the ass to install.

[McGyver]

Was there mold on the 1/4 inch sub floor? You need to determine the moisture source. Is it still wet?
You probably should have left the 1/4 inch for strength.
Did you calculate the floors deflection to see if you can lay tile without it cracking?
Here is a site you should visit before going any further. www.johnbridge.com. They are very informative and the guys on the forum are pretty cool. I hang out there sometimes.
I like the large dark ones. They look more real, like the natural Travertine they are trying to copy.

all the water came from the fridge leaking, which i think i have fixed.

also, the 1/4" wood was just luan that was stapled down around the edges. so if i had tiled over it, it would flex and the tile/grout would crack when people walked on it. it also doesnt act as a water barrier. i am putting down 1/4" concrete board that will be a barrier for the moister and will support the tile by being screwed into the floor joists.

i just need to know if i can douse the dark areas with bleach and forget about it, or if i need to remove part of the subfloor and replace it. (assuming it is solid when it has finished drying...)

[bddog]

Was there mold on the 1/4 inch sub floor? You need to determine the moisture source. Is it still wet?
You probably should have left the 1/4 inch for strength.
Did you calculate the floors deflection to see if you can lay tile without it cracking?
Here is a site you should visit before going any further. www.johnbridge.com. They are very informative and the guys on the forum are pretty cool. I hang out there sometimes.
I like the large dark ones. They look more real, like the natural Travertine they are trying to copy.

[Sailor37]

http://www.crystalsodablast.com/blasting-types/ice-blasting/mold-remediation

That's probably overkill, but pretty ingenious....



or treat it with tea tree oil

[McGyver]

So i ripped out all the 1/4 inch plywood that was covering the sub-floor in preparation for the Hardback concrete board. under the fridge area was worse than i thought and it looks like it spread to under the hardwood floor in the hallway. i dont want to half-ass this because it is my house. what do i need to do to fix it?









and the particle board in that area looks sorta green:


so you can see how far the mold/mildew has spread:


thanks for the help!

[z31maniac]

Because it's going to get destroyed by people like me.

Me and my 3 roommates eventually broke the floor in a couple places in one of our rent houses, like the floor collapsed. I know the carpet had to be replaced since it was soaked with beer 50% of the time from drunk asses spilling keg beer. The walls in the "smoke hole" room started white, but were yellow by the time we left.


But you seem determined to try to spend extra money, time and effort to make something nice.

Go for it.