In the early part of 2024 we noticed the kitchen floor by the door to the side of the house had started to swell. Moisture had somehow penetrated from outside and gotten under the laminate. So, the
decision was made to bite the bullet and have the entire kitchen floor replaced. We didn't want to do laminate again because if it got wet we would have to deal with this all over, so we looked only at tile.
It took weeks before we settled on something we liked. Then, of course, the tile we wanted was backordered so we had to wait an additional month before we could pick it up. Despite, the delay we ordered the
tile and had our contractor set a date to remove the old laminate, level the kitchen floor, install an underlayment, and then finally install the tile. When the job was about 85% done we discovered there
wasn't going to be enough tile. Luckily, it didn't take as long to reorder some more so the delay was only a couple of days. It was during this down time we noticed some of the 12" x 24" tile we liked didn't
lie flat. There was a bow in the middle of some of the pieces causing uneven high spots. We thought about it long and hard and decided to stop the job and reconsider whether or not to proceed with the tile
we bought. We were very fortunate that our contractor was sympathetic to our concerns and he said if it were him he'd stop and get something else. This meant we would have to go back to the drawing board and
find new tile or some other alternative. During this time we discovered vinyl laminate that had an almost hardwood look and feel but was, more importantly, waterproof. Installation would also be much easier.
The problem was the newly installed tile would have to be completely removed before the new laminate could be put down. We set a date with our contractor in the early part of September when he would remove
the old/new tile and install the vinyl. From beginning to end, the total time was longer than we imagined, but we're completely happy with the results.
February 13, 2024
Old floor.
Old floor.
Water penetrated laminate.
Swelling.
Removal of bad pieces.
June 17, 2024
Covering cabinets.
Moving appliances.
Installing underlayment.
Underlayment.
Self-leveling compound.
Almost done.
June 18, 2024
Laying it out.
Other side.
June 19, 2024
This is what it will look like.
Other side.
June 20, 2024
Adding some more tile.
Getting closer.
Laundry closet.
June 21, 2024
This is finished.
This side is done too.
This is when we ran out of tile.
So close.
From here it looks good.
Looking at samples (7/8/24).
September 3, 2024
Starting to remove tile.
Not an easy job.
Getting there.
Lots of dust.
Down to the plywood.
They removed it all in one day.
After the old/new tile was completely removed, our contractor said the new floor would go down in a day. The issue was that when the tile was installed, all our baseboards were cut to accommodate the
thickness of the tile. Since the laminate is much thinner he had to go out and find new baseboards not only for the walls but the cabinets as well. Also, to make sure water doesn't penetrate by the door
again, new weather stripping was installed along with a new door sweep. All told, this work only took two days to complete.
