All Forum Posts by: Amie D.

I'm looking at the vinyl planks, click lock, again. They tell me it's waterproof. Less expensive than buying a large piece of floating sheet vinyl and throwing half away, and the pre-cut vinyl is very thin.

The vct I've found around here just has the speckled pattern seen in commercial installs and I don't think it would look right in this bathroom.

Yeah, the bathroom floor has too much bounce/flex for tile. I am OK with a vinyl product in there just wondering what grade people typically use.

What grade of sheet vinyl flooring do you use in your rentals? I have to replace flooring in a small bathroom in a mid-range single family home.

The bathroom is somewhat small, and the only smaller pieces the big box stores have are the cheapest grade. The remnants they have of the better stuff are so large that I'd be better off just buying new by the foot. So I'd need to pay more per foot, but also buy more square feet, a larger piece (12 x) and waste a lot of it.

I'm OK with paying the extra if people have found the quality and durability worth it. That being said I'd hate to put in the premium grade stuff and have someone's pet leave stains on it, etc.

I don't really want to go with vinyl plank as I don't want seams in the bathroom.

Thanks!

Mike Franco I won't be at the property for another couple of weeks, so right now I can't recall what the difference in height is. It would be difficult to measure anyway since it's not like an UP-DOWN-UP-DOWN, it's a gradual slope across the floor.

I think I am just going to do vinyl plank on there. This really isn't major surgery. My whole point of the original thread was to ask about people's experience using vinyl plank when the surface isn't perfect.

In fact in the adjoining bedroom I had wood laminate put down just over the old floor. I've had zero problems with that. I originally wanted the same in the kitchen, but was warned against it at the time due to possibly moisture issues with tenants doing this or that in the kitchen. I was told that moisture would not be a problem with the vinyl.

So I think vinyl plank would really work fine.

Lol. There is no problem with the foundation. I had that inspector look at it, in fact another one did who I asked to come for a separate issue with the drainage in a different part of the house at a different time. Both said it was fine. The original home inspector said it was fine. The insurance inspector as a matter of fact pointed out on his report the foundation looked unusually good for a house of its age.

If there was a foundation or joist/structural problem it would also show up in different rooms, walls, etc. There are none.
The cracks the happen over time are because of what I already explained, uneven floor, install issues/amount of deflection in hardwood planking.

Thanks.

Jeff S., yes, this is an area of homes in an historic district and it is common in that area, no one bats an eye at it, people love the area.

For me personally anyway I would really not want to try to apply a $20 fix on a house this old. So you jack up the floor in some areas then what happens to the existing piers as they start to move? And you're right, old wood is very hard and cracking a joist would not be pretty, nor would cracking a floor boards that have been there for 100+ years that is holding everything else up. You could put the piers on a concrete pad, but those would have to be dug and properly poured to the proper depth and with proper drainage as well, because there is no concrete floor in the crawlspace of houses this old. Then, what happens to the floors in the other rooms, in which the tile or other flooring is currently stable, when you lift this room. The hardwood planks in older homes are very long and cross under walls through the whole house. You can't raise the level in one room without affecting the levels/stability of other rooms.

It's the old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it..." making such adjustments in older homes for cosmetic reasons is probably asking for a whole host of problems. If there was something structurally wrong with the house or it was extremely visually unappealing, sure. But for cosmetic reasons that don't seem to apply, I'm not going to go there.

The tile gets hairline cracks over the years and needs to be occasionally replaced or grout lines refilled. I guess there is no maintenance free flooring anyway. The tile has been down for over a decade so not like a new install. And frankly, I believe the tiles themselves were very inexpensive and the mortar and grout used, similarly inexpensive. Had a floor leveler been used, quality (thick) and smaller floor tiles, as well as something like a Tec Super Flex or Laticrete polymer modified mortar, or even Ditra w/an epoxy grout, we would most likely not be having this conversation right now. That being said, the underlaying hardwood floors even with concrete board added really have too much deflection for tile in the first place.

But, great suggestions, thanks for the opinions.

Rob K, floor leveler "might" work, since a large part of the kitchen is taken up by appliances and cabinets, the actual "floor" area is smaller than the 12x14 dimension. The main thing is I just don't really want the floor to sit higher than it does from the other floors, which are just the hardwood. I'm going there in two weeks and will assess. Some great options given here.

Tom Goans, how is this a "growing problem", when as I have said, I had a foundation inspector look at the floor/foundation/crawlspace and he said there is nothing wrong?

If I have not had tenants, in 11 years, reject the property due to this cosmetic issue, why would they all of a sudden start? I've always had a signed lease on it before the next tenants have moved out. If someone is going to reject the house due to a flaw in a kitchen floor that can't really be seen without close inspection, then I probably don't want such nit-picking tenants anyway. It's not like someone can trip on the floor or a table would not sit properly, it just causes a problem with larger ceramic tiles, which demand a flat floor for proper long term wear.

Why would I discount the sale when the houses in the area were all built similarly and have similar things going on? There is also a commercial area nearby in which similar houses were made into restaurants, shops, etc and they all have this same flooring issue going on. And they have not "fixed" it, either. People just know about the older houses in this area and call these things a part of their character.

I know all about "take care of your investment", so no worries there that I ignore my properties.

LOL to those who say fix the floor... of a 100+ year old house. There is no subfloor. In those days they put the wood planks directly on the joists/piers. The process is as I stated, it's not like a newer house where you can just go in and replace some 3/4 ply. Jason Libert. trust me in the 11 years I have owned this house it is not something I have lost sleep over. I'm not even sure that doing that will make the house last longer, or less, since the house is done settling, that would probably structurally affect/unbalance the rest of the house too.

As the foundation inspector said... you could spend thousands re-leveling joists, re-setting piers and trying to make a picture perfect house, or you can just work with what it is - an old house. Nothing structurally wrong with what is there. I could see paying that much money for a foundation problem or something structurally affecting the house in some way. But for a cosmetic issue on a rental, I don't think it is realistic.

The house rents quickly so it's not an issue at all. I just don't want to pay the maintenance on fixing tile cracks every year.

Anyway I will check out the Allure flooring more in depth. It's not a big town but there are the big box stores down there so I can see pricing. I suppose you could see the waviness if you stared at the floor or knew it was there. Probably a monochromatic design would not show this effect as much.

Thanks for the input. I will check out the various options. I've not seen linoleum I've liked but haven't looked in a while. I think some of the Allure stuff looks like tile as well but I need to check if it would not sit right at the seams. I think it does have flex built into it, I looked at some similar product before.

Jon Holdman, I've had the floor/foundation inspected, and there's nothing wrong with it, it's just old and has settled. In order to "fix" it, I'd have to have the entire floor ripped out while the adjoining rooms were secured on additional piers, possibly re-level the joists, then put a new subfloor in, and then put new flooring in. That's not an expense I'm willing to do for pure cosmetic reasons on a rental. It's quite common in houses it that area because most of them are old, so not like a negative or something odd if the house is eventually sold as well.