Swapping tiles for wood.
 

Hi there,

We are looking at houses at the moment and some houses I really like the exteria and the layout but they have the most horrible tiles. Has anyone dug up their tiled floors and put down some nice wood.

I want to know if this is a realistic option and what sort of price it would cost. I am not against tiles completely as I know I can dress with rugs etc but if it is the completely wrong colour I know it would put me off buying.

Does anyone else have any pointers for house hunting out here? How can I tell if one build differs from another? Is it just location, size and layout. I know I can add my own taste later (perhaps not tiles).

Thanks for any advice.

Regards

PoppetUK

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

We are about to do the same thing. There are companies that come in with jackhammers and remove tiles so don't worry there. To get decent timber floor we have priced up at about $100 per square metre fitted.

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

Do you know how much it cost to rip a floor up. I guess that's the bit I am most concerned about cos its got to be messy i guess.

Cheers

J

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

I haven't had the price for that yet but I have about 100sqm of tiles rip up and they have told me they will do it in a day. The room has to be empty completely and it will be messy.

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

Everyone we've spoken to (expert wise) have said if the tiles are sound and level there is no point taking them up, just lay the wood on top. This is all well and good providing you have enough room between the floor and outside door bottoms to fit the extra. We don't so will have to take up miles of tiles. The one job we have so far put off for 18 months and I hate hate hate these tiles:ohmy:

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

Ours are slate and I hate them with a passion. I cannot wait for the jackhammer to come in and get rid!

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

We've got solid wood (merbu) flooring and it's a pain in the neck to keep clean and shiney looking! I'd rather have tiles!!!

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

my friends have varnished jarrah and say the same thing.

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

Totally agree, we have wooden flooring in our lounge room, bloody nightmare!

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

The darn stuff shows up every tiny crumb and mark! With two kids, two cats and an untidy hubby ARRRGGGHHH!! :eek:

I want to have carpet throughout!!!!!

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

What do you clean yours with TraceyW? i've tried every cleaner on the market, all leave smears!

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

why not just tile over the tiles. by far the easiest option.

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

I use really hot water and a little disinfectant...get rid of the germs!

My mate uses just really hot water, then once a month she puts a bit of metholated spirits into the water to bring up the shine.

I get sick of looking at it. I can mop one day in the morning and by tea time I can see footprints and smears all over the place from the kids...bless 'em :mad:

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

Used to have wood flooring in the UK and wouldn't have it again. It does look lovely but it's not practical or durable. Ours had loads of scratches and dents from the kids playing with their toy cars.
We've got tiles in family room etc and a good laminate in the 3 minor bedrooms - it's great with the kids.
The only carpets we have are in our bedroom and the lounge room - but I wish I could get rid of them too. Hate getting the hoover out.
The only problem I have with tiles is in the toilet - the grout gets rotten. You can imagine with 2 young boys (and their Dad ). When we build I'm going to have brown tiles and brown grout that doesn't show any 'drip' marks!

Re: Swapping tiles for wood.
 

We had a company come in and remove some hideous slate tiles in two areas and they charged $30 per square metre. It was a team of about 4 or 5 men that come in with their jackhammer, tools and brooms, hang a few plastic sheets to try and contain the dust as much as possible and although it was a bit messy, it was sooo worth it:).