tile be gone!

June 25, 2005 12:03 PM

DIYFilter: My kitchen floor still has the original tile from 70s (yuk!). I'd like to update it somehow on the cheap. So short of re-tiling, anyone have a good idea what I can do to update it?
posted by menace303 to home & garden (6 answers total)

What's under the tile? Here in Texas, most homes are on slabs and I've know a few people who have painted their concrete floors. You can do really interesting designs, then put some polyurethane over the top. The worst part is getting the old tiles up.
posted by Doohickie at 12:11 PM on June 25, 2005

I'm not sure if this would work for you, but I once re-floored a kitchen that had linoleum already down, using pre-cut ZipStik lino squares. Snap a chalk line over the existing floor, dividing the room into quadrants. Then start from the center and work your way out, peeling and sticking tiles as you go, right over the old linoleum. We went from dark maroon tile to an off-white color, and did a small kitchen in one afternoon - the change was amazing, the whole room was much brighter.
posted by autojack at 12:31 PM on June 25, 2005

Laminates are perfect for this assuming the tile is in decent shape. Cheap, easy, and quick.
posted by Mitheral at 1:27 PM on June 25, 2005

Staining concrete does look nice. Autojack's suggestion is good, and you can also buy Marmoleum tiles in about 500 different colors/patterns for about $3 sq/ft. I'd put it right on top of vinyl or sheet laminate, as long as the stuff underneat isn't textured.

Reclaimed wood flooring isn't expensive either, especially if you can refinish and install it yourself.
posted by luriete at 1:57 PM on June 25, 2005

If linoleum is your thing, there is a paste you can apply to the tile to even out the surface, after which you sand it flat and put the linoleum over the top of it.
posted by y0mbo at 5:09 AM on June 26, 2005

I'm guessing that your're talking about tiles, but if it is linoleum you should take the time to find out if the linoleum or the mastic (glue) underneath contains asbestos. Homes built in the 1970's often contain various forms of asbestos. Getting a sample analyzed varies in cost, but I paid $50 to get the texturized ceiling paint tested (it contained 15% asbestos). The EPA lists accredited labs that can do the testing or look in your phonebook under "asbestos" or "environmental".
posted by FakeOutdoorsman at 8:09 PM on June 26, 2005