Replacing linoleum price and with tile... budgeting ?'s

[disneybound31]

We have 10 year old deteriorating linoleum. We have been saving to replace it with tile and although we want to do it right and get nice ceramic tile we do NOT want to go over budget. We have the tile samples from our local and highly reputable mom and pop flooring company... they will be coming to measure and give us estimates at the first of the week... now that we have taken the first steps toward this home improvement I am starting to get nervous that it is going to cost a fortune.

Can anyone with more experience and info give me some ballpark numbers? We have multiple tile samples- some Shaw, Mannington and Mohawk. Our space is dining/kitchen combo rectangle measuring 26 feet by 12 feet... I know there is a subfloor/pad upgrade as there is in carpet but I don't know if it is needed. Should I be planning to get the upgrade or does it matter?

I know without more specific tile info it is hard to get an estimate, but I'm just wondering ballpark? Am I looking at a couple thousand or way more than that My fear is that the numbers are going to come back so high that we cannot do it yet. Guess no harm in having to wait if it comes to that. They say $8 a square foot and up ... this sound reasonable? This family owned company is considered pricey in our area, but the best. We used Lowe's for our carpeting a couple years ago and I swore never again- it was so horrible that any $ saved over the mom and pop store was NOT worth the headache. We also try to use family owned over big box whenever possible as we have a family business as well.

I have rambled on way too much- TIA!

 

[Calliaz]

I don't know what type of pad you would put under tile. Are you sure you're not talking about laminate that looks like tile?

If you are talking about the tile, it really depends on the price per square foot of the tile you choose along with how complicated the layout is for the installer. A $4/sq. ft. tile would be around $1200 for the tile alone. With labor you could be looking at $4.50-$7.00 per sq. ft. You'd be looking at around $2600. It all depends, though.

 

[tileman]

Hi there been installing Tile & Epoxy floors for over 27 yr.

When we bid jobs it runs around $7 to $ 9 a SF labor & mat and some prep work.

Just for your info Mohawk ownes dal-tile and all so AO tile all about the same tile.

 

[disneybound31]

Thanks for the info- no, it's tile. We did briefly look at the laminate tile-look, but decided against. Maybe that is where I got the pad info mixed up. She said $8 and up for ceramic tile including installation so I am looking at 2500-3000k? I was hoping for around 2k, maybe a bit more... Guess we'll just have to see.

Thank you tileman for the numbers- actually, now that I think harder she specifically said $8.75 and up per sq. foot. Glad to hear that is in range.

 

[FLAngie]

Something you may want to consider is installing the tile yourself. Lowe's and Home Depot both have classes. At first we thought it was a little overwhelming, but due to the budget, we decided what does it hurt to at least try it. It came out beautiful! We did have to cut a few tile more than once to get the cuts right. A wet saw, chalk lines and the right spacers were a must for us, but we save a lot of money. If you give it a try and it is not turning out, you are only out a few tiles and can still have it done by professionals.

Good luck with what ever you decide.

 

[Frye7127]

you will probably need to put down Hardibacker subflooring down before the tile unless it going down on concrete already. It keeps the flooring from flexing with the wood. I am going to say 3,500 - 4,500. Of course, it depends on the price of tile and grout. For some reason, I always head straight for special order stuff - it never fails. I like what I like!

Plus, if the mom and pop place is neat and clean in their work, it will be worth every penny.

 

[disneybound31]

you will probably need to put down Hardibacker subflooring down before the tile unless it going down on concrete already. It keeps the flooring from flexing with the wood. I am going to say 3,500 - 4,500. Of course, it depends on the price of tile and grout. For some reason, I always head straight for special order stuff - it never fails. I like what I like!

Plus, if the mom and pop place is neat and clean in their work, it will be worth every penny.

OP here-

Well, they came to measure today. Looked at the subfloor and said it would need the backer board put down because the subfloor is too thin. So I guess it is going to be on the high end. I gave him my top three ceramic tile choices (2 are porcelain adn one true ceramic) and they will work up all three estimates. I'm nervous. He said the porcelain is stronger than the ceramic...

 

[msmayor]

As I type, I'm having the vinyl flooring in my kitchen replaced (the guy is out today putting 1/4" luan down on top of the old vinyl).

Anyway, my total cost for new vinyl is $2800. I selected a higher quality vinyl with a 15-year residential warranty and have a kitchen that isn't nice and square, so I'm ending up with a good 75 sf of material that will go to waste. My kitchen is about 350 sf with a 9'x6' pantry 'room' with my washer/dryer that will also get the new vinyl.

The guy who did my estimate said that material-wise I'd have less waste with ceramic, but my installation costs would skyrocket. He estimated that with a good quality tile I'd be looking at anywhere from $6,000-7,000.

 

[punkin]

I am also considering replacing my kitchen linoleum with tile, but have not yet committed to spending the money. Some useful info on this thread...

 

[micheleq]

Not sure if this will help you since you already have an installer, but when we re-did our house (total gut job), our tile guy would get an additional 10% off tile if we bought it thru him at a particular store. I had basic tile on the bathroom floor (ceramic but looks like traverine), but the extra discount allowed me to get a special detail tile for our tub surround.

My mother also bought tile for her kitchen backsplash that was overstock at a local tile & flooring store. They may not have overstocks out in the showroom, but it never hurts to ask.

I put wood laminate (mohawk) in my kitchen and bought it as overstock. Just shop around and don't be afraid to ask "Can you give me a better price?"

Good luck!

 

[Green Tea]

It is so easy to install the tile yourself!! Rent a wet saw and do it yourself over the weekend!

 

[disneybound31]

As I type, I'm having the vinyl flooring in my kitchen replaced (the guy is out today putting 1/4" luan down on top of the old vinyl).

Anyway, my total cost for new vinyl is $2800. I selected a higher quality vinyl with a 15-year residential warranty and have a kitchen that isn't nice and square, so I'm ending up with a good 75 sf of material that will go to waste. My kitchen is about 350 sf with a 9'x6' pantry 'room' with my washer/dryer that will also get the new vinyl.

The guy who did my estimate said that material-wise I'd have less waste with ceramic, but my installation costs would skyrocket. He estimated that with a good quality tile I'd be looking at anywhere from $6,000-7,000.

This is exactly what has happened to us- OP here- our estimates came back this afternoon and i am so bummed! Sounds like msmayor and I have the same type room footage and laundry room deal going on- just the dining/kitchen area was over $5,300 for the high end tile and $4600 for the lowest priced tile we picked and one in between at $4900. To get the adjoining laundry/mudroom done would add an additional $1600- $2200 and that room is SMALL!

DH says we can go with a cheaper product (not more linoleum, please!) or do it ourselves. That gets as my vote. His brother put tile in his bathroom and so I guess DH thinks we can get his 'expertise' and go with it. The words 'wet saw' put huge fear in my heart. Be honest, how difficult is it?

 

[msmayor]

I personally wouldn't touch tiling and grouting a kitchen that size. To me, a big kitchen...a room that everyone sees...is not the place to learn to lay ceramic tile. But I guess if you have help and someone who knows what they're doing, it should work...but I think it takes longer than just a weekend or so.

Obvioulsy personal tastes and desires, but I am just not a fan of ceramic in the kitchen. Aside from how cold the floor can be in the winter, I'd always dread dropping a glass and having it shatter into a million pieces. I also don't want the hassle of constantly cleaning/sealing the grout, which I understand can easily stain if you're not careful. To me, much easier to just wet-mop a high-quality vinyl.

And honestly...the vinyl products out there today are MUCH different than those from 10-12 years ago. Gone is the shiny finish that was the first to scratch and dull. I personally think they look pretty darned good compared to the floors I had to choose from when our house was built back in '94.

 

[NVDisMom]

Been there done it and its not that bad. Start small. Begin in the laundry room. If you hate it, stop there and hire someone when you can afford it to do the rest of the kitchen. We redid an A-frame a few years back...lots of square footage and cuts around the timbered walls. We had a couple of mistakes around the timbers at the beginning, but got the hang of it in no time. Good thing we started where it was least noticable! The wet saw was a piece of cake to work with. The rental company will give you a quick lesson. Have you priced tile similar to what you chose at the mom and pop place at Lowe's or Home Depot? Maybe you could purchase the tile at the big box and hire the mom and pop to install it? You might come out ahead. My mom did that last year when she tiled her kitchen/pantry/laundry room area. She chose a very simple 12 inch tile that they carry in stock. No special order, that wuld have driven the price up quite a bit. Good luck!

 

[FLAngie]

I would say try tiling it yourself. It is really not that difficult. I posted earlier about it too and the classes at Lowe's/Home Depot. I don't know much about the backer board that you need as our floors are all cement. The first project that we did was a bathroom about 12 x 5. We were a little intimidated by using a wet saw so tried doing it with a tile cutter. About half way through we got over our fears and went out and rented one. We did go through approx. one box having to re-cut tiles, but a lot of that was due to the tile cutter we were using. The next bathroom was a little bigger, we rented the wet saw right from the beginning and had very little tile waste. The last room we did was the living room. The area is approx. 20 x 20 and we even had 1 1/2 boxes of tile left over- I don't remember having to re-cut any of the pieces there, but there must have been a few. Grout is very easy to do. You can purchase pre-mixed or mix it yourself. Just make sure it is mixed well or the grout color will be uneven and/or too wet/dry. There are several types of grout sealers. They are all pretty easy to use.

We purchased our tile from a tile store but the grout, cement and installation supplies came from Lowe's. Your BIL might already have most of the installation supplies.

 

[Green Tea]

Honestly, tile is not hard, and a larger room is easier. You have more tiles you can just set right in. You see more progress to keep up the motivation! You only need to know the cent of the room (with chalk line) to get started on a course that will end up beautiful.

I would recommend porcelain tiles instead of ceramic, The slick ceramic surface can be a hazard in a wet space. Very slippery!