Nacktschnecken omlet Cube

[abwsco]

We currently have lino and wanted to sand the floorboards BUT not only do we have at least three layers of lino there is also oil cloth glued down on the floorboards which will be a pig to get rid of.

 

Eldest DD's boyfriend is a builder so he has said he will tile the floor for us. Does anyone have slate and if so how do you find it?

[Shirl]

We had riven slate in our old house and I wouldn't have it again. It never looked clean and not really black either. Although you can get colour intensifiers it doesn't make it truly black. You also have to to treat it at least once a year. You have to remove any old sealer before you apply the new. The sealer smells and of course you can't walk on it for quite some time. We have also had unriven slate as a hearth and it scratches really easily and looks awful. Personally I'd go for slate effect. I think there are some really good fake slate tiles now. Generally I don't like "fake" products but in this instance I'd go fake.

[abwsco]

Thanks Shirl, your post has been really helpful and we won't be having it. Didn't realise you'd to take the old sealant off first.

[snowberry]

From memory, it's not good to drop something on it either..

[Redwing]

We had slate floors in our old house and they were lovely, very easy to keep clean but the grouting looks dirty quite quickly. We had insulation under it and underfloor heating too and I dont think I'd lay a tile floor without it

 

We have tiles in this house and the floor is always freezing

 

You can get 'laminate floor' that looks like tiles and that is very effective, warmer and less 'hard'

 

Or maybe go for real wood flooring laid over the old stuff

[fluffy chick]

Just to give you another view, we had it in our old bathroom and I loved it. It wasn't grey/black though it was a natural stone colour with golds and greens in it (ok it sounds awful now I type) but if you imagine all coppery colours we liked it anyway. We had to seal it every couple of years but it always mopped well and stayed water tight. Having said that we have sanded floor boards in our new bathroom and I like the look of that too, it does let drafts through a bit though

[abwsco]

Oh, you've confused me now Tasha and Sarah BTW Sarah, your slate sound lovely. Also, floorboards, have you filled the gaps? We've done it on all floors we've sanded and don't have any drafts. Just use sawdust, wet it and then add PVA glue and squash it in. The mix always reminds us of tuna It sets rock hard and you can't tell it's there.

[chick wiggle]

We had chinese slate from the front door to the back door, and although the hallway still has the tiles, we got rid of the ones in the kitchen as i just couldnt keep them clean, and been natural, they were not even and lots of bumps and ridges which were a pig to clean too.

Id never have them in a kitchen again.

Just my twopennorth worth

[Christian]

Try Karndean - my parents had t fitted in their kitchen and it looks amazing. It isn't cheap, but very hard wearing and looks good.

 

http://www.karndean.co.uk/site/products.cfm?effect_ID=2

 

I have just had the brown ( ) lino removed from my kitchen. Cream porcelain tiles now down and it looks great!

[abwsco]

We've got a lovely 70's lino as our bottom layer

 

As it will be a job for 2012 no doubt I'll be back asking opinions again-lols

Edited December 4, 2011 by Guest

[CatieB]

karndean is absolutely beautiful, unfortunately it was out of our price range for our kitchen, utility and downstairs loo as its a big area.

 

We bought bargain "fake slate" tiles (that were in an end of line tile place) and they are so easy to care for and look great.

 

PS Would love floor boards but there are none in our relatively new house

[Chicken shack]

Another vote for Karndean here. My sister has it and we have just got quotes to have our hall, down stairs loo, Kitchen, landing and bathroom done. It is expensive but it will last 15 years.

[Olly]

Can't comment on either the slate or the Karndean, but my view is that a 'soft' surface, lino or cushionfloor or similar, can't be beaten. Tiles are cold, the grout gets dirty, and if you drop anything there is NO second chance. I've got ceramic tiles which probably cost a fortune (installed by previous owner) and I'd swap for a cosy, easy to clean lino type flooring any day.

[Cinnamon]

We have ceramic tiles in a nice terracotta colour,which is also in the wall tiles.

I like the look of slate,but this is a cottage,so light is restricted & I didn't want anything too dark.

 

If you can afford it & do it,do think about under floor heating - it is wonderful!

[WitchHazel]

Another vote for Karndean here.

They do different qualities, I would recommend that (if you can afford it) you go for one of the ones with a bevelled edge, which makes them look much more like the real thing. We have DaVinci, which has been fantastic

 

As well as slate effect ones, and the woodplank, they do a fantastic range called Art Select. I;m mentioning this because you talked about floorboards - their EW range is incredible. We would have had this, but by the time it came out we had lighter oak in the rest of the downstairs and it would have looked odd. This is an example: https://www.karndeanartselect.co.uk/web/guest/ew02

 

I'm not sure where in the country you are, but at their HQ in Evesham they have an superb showroom, understandably much more extensive than you get in flooring showrooms. It was a bit of a trek for us, but well worth it. When I went, I thought I'd come back deciding that I wanted Art Select in my kitchen, but actually we chose one of the slate (effect) products.

[The Dogmother]

My friends have slate tiles (from Wickes) in their kitchen and they look lovely. Mine has original quarry tiles in alternate black and red; very easy to mop clean with 2 dogs in there.

[majorbloodnock]

How clear can you get your kitchen? Do you have to work around kitchen units, or can you get to a point where it's pretty much an empty room?

 

Reason I ask is that if your first choice is sanded floorboards and you've a clear room, it may not actually be a particularly big job to take up the floorboards and turn them over. It's only the first board that's awkward to remove, and once that's done the others become pretty accessible. It allows you to fix any that need it, and the underside then becomes a simple job of sanding bare wood smooth. It's obviously does require some extra effort, and would be impossible if you've kitchen units all over the place, but it's worth a thought.

[The Dogmother]

Good thinking That Man!

[abwsco]

How clear can you get your kitchen? Do you have to work around kitchen units, or can you get to a point where it's pretty much an empty room?

 

Reason I ask is that if your first choice is sanded floorboards and you've a clear room, it may not actually be a particularly big job to take up the floorboards and turn them over. It's only the first board that's awkward to remove, and once that's done the others become pretty accessible. It allows you to fix any that need it, and the underside then becomes a simple job of sanding bare wood smooth. It's obviously does require some extra effort, and would be impossible if you've kitchen units all over the place, but it's worth a thought.

 

Oh, what a good idea. Unfortunately the fitted units will be in the way. The floorboards run across the width rather than the length of the room. However, there would be nothing stopping us laying new floorboards running lengthways on top of the old ones would there. Could we lay them down in the "walkway" part of the kitchen first and work outwards

[majorbloodnock]

...Unfortunately the fitted units will be in the way. The floorboards run across the width rather than the length of the room. However, there would be nothing stopping us laying new floorboards running lengthways on top of the old ones would there. Could we lay them down in the "walkway" part of the kitchen first and work outwards

Nothing to stop you doing this at all except for the change in levels; the extra floorboards will add about half inch of height to your kitchen floor, making it necessary to put some kind of step between kitchen and adjacent rooms. This wouldn't be all that noticeable. However, it'll also effectively lower your work surface by about an inch, which will feel more noticeable; great if you're a little on the short side and find the work surfaces a tad high to be comfortable, but not so good if you're tall and already feel you stoop a bit when working in the kitchen. Exactly the same issue applies, of course, with any false flooring where the thickness of what you lay is anything more than a few millimetres.

 

To be honest, were I in your position I'd bite the bullet and either hoik up the oilcloth or take the kitchen units out and flip the floorboards over. Anything else you do is effectively masking a problem rather than dealing with it, and will bring with it its own set of compromises.

[abwsco]

...Unfortunately the fitted units will be in the way. The floorboards run across the width rather than the length of the room. However, there would be nothing stopping us laying new floorboards running lengthways on top of the old ones would there. Could we lay them down in the "walkway" part of the kitchen first and work outwards

Nothing to stop you doing this at all except for the change in levels; the extra floorboards will add about half inch of height to your kitchen floor, making it necessary to put some kind of step between kitchen and adjacent rooms. This wouldn't be all that noticeable. However, it'll also effectively lower your work surface by about an inch, which will feel more noticeable; great if you're a little on the short side and find the work surfaces a tad high to be comfortable, but not so good if you're tall and already feel you stoop a bit when working in the kitchen. Exactly the same issue applies, of course, with any false flooring where the thickness of what you lay is anything more than a few millimetres.

 

To be honest, were I in your position I'd bite the bullet and either hoik up the oilcloth or take the kitchen units out and flip the floorboards over. Anything else you do is effectively masking a problem rather than dealing with it, and will bring with it its own set of compromises.

 

Might have another think about getting the oil cloth off as taking the units out is a definate no no.

[fluffy chick]

Oh, you've confused me now Tasha and Sarah BTW Sarah, your slate sound lovely. Also, floorboards, have you filled the gaps? We've done it on all floors we've sanded and don't have any drafts. Just use sawdust, wet it and then add PVA glue and squash it in. The mix always reminds us of tuna It sets rock hard and you can't tell it's there.

 

Thanks! Yes I have heard of this, might give this a go!

[Chicken shack]

Ordered my Karndean yesterday to be fitted in January.

[WitchHazel]

Ordered my Karndean yesterday to be fitted in January.

 

ooh, what did you get?

[craftyhunnypie]

We have some wierd kitchen floor, but I love it. It's called Terrazo or something like that. It's composite marble. Hubby says it would cost a small fortune these days, so I guess we got a bonus. Best is, the local pub has the same in its loos!

Slate is lovely, but I have seen a lot of chipped & cracked slate floors.

Emma.x