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Tile regret WWYD
(Forgive me in advance for this being long...)
We remodled our kitchen last year and I'm having ongoing second thoughts about the tile we selected. The tile is Daltile ColorBody Porcelain. It's a dark gray with slightly lighter grout. The tiles are 12x24 and set in an off-center brick pattern (off-center so it plays off the pattern of a brick wall in our kitchen).
Current list of hates about the tile:
- I think it was poorly installed. Well, I know it was poorly installed. It's uneven in several spots and in front of our fridge there are several loose tiles. I need to get that spot in particular fixed, but I'm also delaying because of my other hates...
- The grout is uneven in color.
- I wanted very thin grout lines between the tile and we have average- to large-size grout lines.
- I cannot, for the life of me, keep the freakin' tile clean. I've mopped it every different way I can fathom and within minutes it gets footprints, spots, etc. This is by far my biggest issue. (My steam mop works the best, but again, within minutes it's spotty.)
- Other general angst: too cold in winter (like bitter cold), hard to stand on when cooking for long periods, and generally a growing dislike of the color.
Here are some photos for reference (can click for larger images)...
http://midcenturymonster.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/dsc_0957.jpg
http://midcenturymonster.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/dsc_0928.jpg
(Pardon the lack of shelves on the back wall...these are photos from last year.)
I originally wanted to go with wood floors. (On the backside of the brick wall in the kitchen is our living room and that currently has carpet...the grand plan for that side is wood). But because our ceilings are wood, and with the wood cabinets, I thought it had a high chance of being just too much wood. We also wanted a darker color because we have dogs and cats and thought it would be forgiving with pet hair (which it is, but not water spots, etc.). Also, the kitchen also has our front door (just to the right of the 2nd picture), and I thought tile would be better for an entry area. (I'm also from FL where tile is everywhere in a house; we're in ATL.)
We spent over $2k on this tile (not including installation -- that was another issue wherein the entire subfloor had to be replaced too). We have 80sq ft of it leftover in our basement.
I figure my current options are:
(A) Suck it up. This option includes repairing what is currently needed (e.g., loose tiles with missing grout). And possibly pulling out some of the uneven tiles and having those areas fixed with the spare tile in our basement. This might also include somehow insulating the floor beneath (which in unfinished basement on the kitchen-side of the house).
(B) Rip it out. Do some fixing to what is needed, and then just rip everything out and install wood floors throughout the entire kitchen/living room area. (Wood floors will maybe come in the next year or two.)
Thoughts? WWD&RD? Any other options you can think of? I hate to p*ss away the money we spent on this tile. But every time I mop it it makes me want to cry. Every. Time.
Re: Tile regret WWYD
That stinks about the issues you're having
. Your kitchen is beautiful! I love the look of the tile in your kitchen and think it provides a good balance with the wood floors and ceilings. I'm not sure that wood would look as good. I find even our wood floors cold so I wear slippers all the time for my freezing feet. What about washable rugs in the areas you stand a lot? I've heard about people dying their grout a different color - is that an option for changing the grout color? You might be able to change it to a color that is closer to the tile color which might make the grout lines more even in color and seem smaller.
First of all, I LOVE that tile!! I wanted that tile (in a different finish) for our basement reno, but ended up with going with something cheaper since this isn't our "forever" house.
Anyway, I digress...based on the photos you posted, I think the tile looks great! I can't tell by the photos that the grout color is uneven and I think the thickness of the lines looks fine (my humble opinion), but if it bugs you that much, I would ask the tile installers to come back and make the repairs to the loose tiles and if possible, regrout. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything that can be done about thick grout lines, but if you're willing to regrout in a darker color, then the grout lines would be less obvious. I really like how they look now though.
as for the water spots, I have dark floors in my kitchen and I always have water spots. They're just really visible on dark floors.
And I like the PPer suggestion of using washable rugs to warm up the space. I have kitchen mats in front of my sinks and my stove b/c it makes it easier on my knees.
Sorry. It sucks when you don't love it. I have a non-love for my bathroom grout as well, it's not as dark as I expected it to be and it jumps out at me. Someday soon (translation: several years from now), I will get my grout stained darker.
I think that getting your grout colored would help you as well. I think the size of your grout lines looks absolutely fine. But if they seem to be staring at you, making them closer to the tile color will help.
What does your handyman say about the loose tiles? I thought getting some loose tiles was pretty normal? The last 2 tile guys I've had dealings with both said they'd come back and fix anything like that, it just happened sometimes, is pretty normal, etc. And they fixed it for free.
I vote Option A, with added grout staining and a gel mat.
I really like the look of it and to me wood floors don't make sense in a kitchen especially with the entry way being nearby. I was just at my aunt's house for Easter this weekend and she hates her wood floors in the kitchen because they scratch and dent easily (they are oak so not the hardest wood you can get but also not the softest) compared to the rest of the main floor which has the same flooring. They are also really difficult to keep clean. Dark wood floors would be the same way so I don't see tearing up the tile as being a benefit there.
12x24 is a large format tile. They are very difficult to install perfectly level. The pattern you have should have never been used...if you had hired an experienced installer they would have known that. Large format tiles cup in the middle so an offset of at most 1/3 should be used. Even then it's hard to get everything level. It involves a lot of pulling up the tiles that were just installed and relaying them. Also if the tile does not have much of a bevel on the sides it makes lippage even harder to avoid.
Very thin grout lines are also very difficult to do. Especially with a tile that size anything smaller than 1/8" would have been extremely time consuming if not impossible. That brand of tile is inexpensive and I'm guessing it's not rectified (meaning the tile is recut after it's been fired to ensure every corner is perfectly 90 degrees and every side is straight). If the tile wasn't rectified tight grout lines are not possible.
The loose tiles need to be redone. It's not to hard. Have the installer come back to do it. Odds are they didn't get enough thinset under those tile and they didn't add an extra dollup under each corner. In large format tiles the cupping makes for an uneven thinset coverage on the back so the corners need extra thinset. In areas where a heavy amount of weight will be on the tile the corners can crack or cause the tile to pop off otherwise. I'm guessing the weight of your fridge being rolled over the tiles caused this.
As far as the temperature goes is this area slab on grade or does it have a crawlspace/basement underneath? You might have some options to insulate underneath for warmth. But really how cold does it even get in Atlanta? Put on some slippers.
Wood floors are hard and cold. I have them throughout my house. They may be a bit better than tile, but not enough to make me want to rip out.
your best option to me sounds like changing the color of your grout lines and adding some rugs to make it less cold and hard
The pattern is offset at 1/3 of the tile, which is the max our installer recommended and just happened to be what I wanted because our brick wall is offset 1/3 (so, not 1/2, like standard brick). And we wanted the grout line that was recommended by the manufacturer -- the installer said that was do-able, and then didn't do it. I'm pretty sure tighter grout lines were definitely achievable with this tile. (Especially given that we had to do a new subfloor, and thus, that should have been pretty darn level compared to the 1964 subfloor we ripped out.)
Thanks for all the feedback, ladies. It's helpful to have fresh eyes give me some perspective. I've been so tunnel-visioned with my angst.
I'm tempted to cough up the dough of having a different installer come out and fix my issues. Since I wasn't thrilled the first time around, I don't expect a top-notch job using the same guy on round two.
This exactly. Also, wear slippers in the winter.
I agree that it looks great. How long are you planning on staying in this house?
What are you mopping with? I've read that if what you're using has ammonia in it, it can cause the grout to discolor unevenly (for some reason, I seem to read this mostly about Datile)...you may well be aware of this, but since you bought up uneven grout color, I figured I'd mention it just in case. I've also heard that you don't want to use bleach, or anything acidic (even vinegar and water) when you're mopping Datile.
If this is the house you plan to stay in forever, and you'll hate the tile forever, then I might consider replacing it just because it will drive you crazy forever. But, I think the tile is quite beautiful, and if you anticipate selling any time in the next 5-10 years, I'd probably live with it, using some of the recommendations for rugs that other posters have mentioned.
I have wood floors in my kitchen and I really love them. I don't have many issues with spills, stains, dents, scratches and such and I spend the majority of my evenings after work in the kitchen. My floors are dark so I see every single piece of cat/dog hair known to man but I do have two large dogs and two cats so, oh well.
I think the tile looks great but if you don't love it, get rid of it. Renovations are too expensive to be stuck with something that you don't love.
And yes...get some slippers, girl!
Thanks for all the feedback!
As far as how long we're staying in the house, right now for the indefinite future...but I'd say at least 5-7 years (looking into my crystal ball).
And on the mopping question... I have to look at what I'm using. Mostly I steam steam mop, but I also use a Method cleaner and occasional a quick Swiffer (which is practically useless, but works in emergency-guests-are-coming-over-situations -- and actually doesn't even seem to touch the grout!). The grout has always looked wonky from the install. I was told it would take a while to 'cure' (or somesuch term) and the color would even out. Yeahno, that didn't happen.
And I do have slippers, y'all! But I hate them! I'm from FL, I live barefoot!
I think my 'suck it up' option is the way to go. I'm going to get the broken stuff fixed, try to fix the iffy parts (uneven tiles and grout color issue), and insulate my darn subfloor.
Thanks!
ETA: We do also have a rug runner on the sink-side of the island. But it's not wide enough, so when I stand at the sink, I'm on tile. (If that makes sense.)
Invest in a gel mat for in front of your sink....it will change your life.lol They actually have them for a really good price at Big Lots.
I hear you on the bare feet...I grew up in southern AZ and I live in SoCal. It is kind of cold here though, so I wear slipper socks/socks much of the time.