You can install over the tile what they term engineered wood, click-and-join floor, assuming floor is level. We have never done this but sounds enticing. Pros: any observations? (By the way, this light saltillo is not what we use here, are you sure it is saltillo?)

No, you can not install engineered wood or vinyl over an uneven tile base with grout depressions. Jeesh. Thats been covered multiple times.

That’s not Saltillo. It’s a glazed quarry tile. Another classic that doesn’t need to be ruined. And it just needs a proper cleaning.

I received an estimate for about $3.00 a sq ft for covering my Mexican tile with a specific type of concrete that levels well and the tiles do not need to be sanded down first. Some doors will have to be trimmed because the floor will be higher. I saw this work done with a wood floor over regular tile and it looked great. The rooms and doorways that weren't redone blended the height difference well with transition threshold molding and reducer moldings.

Wow, can't believe no one has even mentioned the very real benefit of the huge heat sink saltillo floors add to a house. My 1600 sf late 80s ranch is done in them and while the whitewash is no longer as beautiful (as when new - need a major refurb), the house is way more energy efficient in retaining either cool in summer or heat in winter. It's a passive solar principle and putting all that mass into a house does make a real difference in managing extreme temps, vital here in AZ.

A friend in Tempe, AZ, just had all 3600 sq ft of hideous Satillo covered in polyurea. (Urea...NOT epoxy.) It's a "poured floor". Her new floor is level, a color she likes, and impervious to stains and chipping. She was only sorry that she waited so many years to do it.

I had Saltillo tiles in my last house. The uneven texture was a joy to walk over. They are amazing. Something that you may not be aware of is the tiles can be white washed when they are refinished and sealed to make them lower maintenance and keep the grout looking probably more to your liking. The white washing lends a completely different more mild look that you may find much more appealing. Good luck with your decision!

I’m not sure what you decided on your floors. We had Saltillo put into our home 25 years ago, and I still love it. I wanted a more custom treatment, so elected to have the tile inset with hand cut slate in some areas (a laborious and expensive task). I never tire of it. It’s easy on the feet (unlike harder ceramic), unique, doesn’t show dirt and I find it classic and beautiful. It complements the other warm and rustic features of our home. However, I realize folks are divided on using it. We are getting ready to list our property, and have had a potential buyer view it three times (we have a “coming soon” sign in the yard). They sent a contractor to measure all the tile, so I’m thinking they might want to tear it out. Although this makes me wince, if they DO become the new home owner, they are free to customize as they wish. However, after hearing that the house “needs a lot of work” from their realtor...I am hopeful that if an offer is made, they won’t expect us to absorb the cost of redoing the floor! There are some additional updates that could be done, but there’s a fine line between “updating” and “redecorating”!

deb, thank you for posting! Your home is beautiful. Contractors are coming tomorrow for demo and I am still so conflicted on how to best update my kitchen and keep my saltillo and concrete inlaid floors. I have my new cabinets, but the countertops and backsplash choices are killing me. There are virtually no pictures on the internet with saltillo floors, white cabinets and black countertops! My fireplace is even the same brick as yours. Best of luck and thank you for providing me with some vision of the beauty my new kitchen might be.

oh my goodness, Judy, I just found a picture you will want to see! here it is...

https://www.mariakillam.com/flagstone/

this is saltillo done well! Y'all...I have changed my mind! I'm keeping it! I just can't stand the thought of a MAJOR gut job...I'm going to get my original quoter back out to walk through details of stripping and cleaning and resealing. How can I get them more "rustic" and matte? I dislike the high sheen on them now and don't want a very shiny floor. I have just recently found more photos on here and pinterest of much more modern homes and updated older homes where there is a lot of natural textile and very light gray or white or cream walls and they don't bother me nearly as bad. Also, saving $10k in new flooring so that I can do the kitchen the way I want makes me REALLY happy. I will keep y'all posted;)

*who does saltillo well in DFW area that will come to Tyler?*

What do you end up doing?

We stripped the old paint off-left it natural, & sealed it. I can't tell you how that held up because sold the house and moved to a retirement community .

Hi Judy...just now seeing your comment. I'm not on here often. I hope your remodel worked out, and am glad I could give you some idea of what it might look like. Would love to see photos!

Hi everyone! So help me out- we got a company to come do a test patch of 4 squares. He was really trying to talk me into having it demoed and removed and have the same flooring throughout, which I would love visually as far as not breaking it up. But I also got a second opinion and found ONE other person who’s been restoring tile and brick for 40 years locally. He did a test patch as well and his quote was much better. I’m still debating if it makes more sense to keep or remove but here’s a photo for reference. What do y’all think?

Megan, if the newly revealed colors are ok with your color scheme, go for it. Just remember that when you put a sealer (required & can be either matte, satin or gloss) over this tile, it will get darker. You can wet these tiles and see for yourself about how dark it will be when sealed. Mine is whitewashed but it's pretty worn in many places and I still love the look, very much a neutral color (as opposed to B & W, grey & beige) that doesn't really clash unless you have a very B & W pallette without any other color influences. I've had saltillo for 30+ years and still love it for it's unique rustic and handmade look, cool underfoot temps (in our hot summers), the assist with reducing allergens in the home, easy care (mop, sweet and that's it!) and for the added thermal mass it brings into our home that helps moderate day to night temp swings. Because saltillo is so thick it's a lot more of a temperature moderating influence in the home than regular tile. If you don't know about thermal mass, you can find info on how it's a main feature of adobe homes and how it's used in some of the more passive solar collection techniques (water & mass based) to keep temp swings down which results in a more comfy home and lower utility bills. Good luck! I think stripping that dark tone and glossy look is a great idea.

Thanks Kathleen, I think we are leaning towards moving ahead! It’s going to be around $1700-2000 for a 480 SF room. But that’s better than demo, new floors, labor etc. and it’s a 45 year old we’re trying to breathe new life into and not completely gut (although we are mostly starting over with the kitchen, which is why I need to save somewhere lol). As far as the entry, dining, kitchen, breakfast nook, we’re going for engineered wood floors with white simple cabinets, light counters, some wood accents like cedar floating shelves and butcher block, simple backsplash. The Saltillo will be adjacent to a new bar dividing the kitchen and living room so I’m wondering what tone wood floor to do? My natural inclination is a medium oak color, not too dark/light/red/orange...just medium brown, warm. But I’m wondering if I should lighten the wood floors a bit to better blend with the Saltillo flow? Maybe something like this? First two are inspo, third is our room. Going whiter on walks also and likely changing window treatments because the shutters are a dark cream now and I don’t think it will look good, plus they are worn out and don’t stay open well:/ also, stripping the brick back to natural because it’s a pretty antique brick. Haha sorry, if you give a mouse a cookie

Megan, I would get your saltillo done first and then pick your wood flooring using samples in mid tones so you can find the exact best blend. I really like your room and it will look great with that brick fireplace restored, those tones will definitely play off the saltillo. It's so nice to have a mix of old and new surfaces when done well. The room's nice light area rug, walls & shutters will also keep the room lighter and also blend with your lighter cabinets & counters color scheme. Be sure to post back when you get things going so we can see how nice it looks. Can't wait :)

@kathleen, I found a lighter colored sample that is really pretty and I think would blend well. What do you think? I tend to gravitate towards darker floors but I think for our house, lighter might be better!

I like it and I think it would look great with your inspiration kitchen photo too. Seems like a great blend with saltillo and your color choices.

I have small brick Saltillo throughout my house. Did you know that if you hire a professional carpet steam cleaning company that they can steam clean your Saltillo tile and that it strips off the glaze. We did this, and then were able to reseal ourselves. The tile and grout looked amazing afterwards and it was super cheap because I used a groupon.

I needed this thread. I bought my house many years ago and it had this awful Mexican tile. I’m from the North and had never seen this kind of flooring before. After a consultation about jack hammering it up, I decided it’d be too much mess, work, and money for that. I kept it for many years before deciding for have it stripped, cleaned, reglazed, and have the grout painted a lighter color. For the first time I actually liked how it looked. I’m still not a huge fan but the alternative is too much 🤷🏽‍♀️. I’ve attached pics of before, during, and after.

We stripped the floors (twice), cleaned , neutralized any remaining chemicals, stained a couple coats, cleaned again

then 7 thin coats of sealer. Probably cost about $2/sq' for materials. A ton of work.

I finally decided after much research from my contractor to put Luxury Vinyl Planks over the tile. That was really my only option. Could not do solid plank hardwood because the floors would be too uneven even after being ground down. My contractor used a machine to grind over the top of the tiles to make them as level as possible, then he used a leveler material. They were still not completely level but it was as level as possible without tearing them out.
As a homeowner and a realtor, this choice of flooring is a nightmare. Almost everyone wants to change flooring at some point and this tile is extremely difficult to change. I would NEVER put them in a house voluntarily unless you live in an area where there are vendors who know how to care for them. Even then, you are very committed and it’s very difficult to remove or cover.

@Tony Svob - what kind of sealer did you use? Mine has an acrylic sealer that is supposed to to cleaned with no chemicals, just water. And you can’t use a steam cleaner on it without it damaging the sealer.
I’d like to strip it all and use a different sealer, but have been told I’ll never get all the acrylic off.

We were told the same. We got it done with a ton of work! Just stripping was about 6 hours per day for my wife and I for 8 or 9 days (350sq').

I used the following:

sealer - Behr Wet Look

stain - AquaMix SpanishOak (amazon)

stripper - Klean Strip Kwik-Strip Varnish Stripper (used a scraper, stripper brush and green pads from paint section). I dont know what kind of sealer was there prior.

Note: test a piece. After staining, it wont look good (muddy). Get it wet to see closer to what it will be after sealing.

@Angela, your floor looks amazing!!! Does it have give when you walk or does it feel pretty solid with the tiles underneath? My in laws have saltillos in there house and this could be a great option!

Thank you! It gives in a few places where there were really high bumps in the tile.

It can be beautiful in photos shown. I might install it some day - California.

From houzz: By using more unrefined and natural materials, we hope to build links that help us connect physically rather than just digitally to our world. What could be closer to nature than terra cotta, literally “baked earth”? A rich, warm and ancient material, it’s enjoying a resurgence as we get back to basics.

@angela Carson as a realtor you wouldn’t suggest this option? It looks great.

I never updated yall- they’re imperfect, but have lots of character and have grown on me. Also we limewashed our brick fireplace and my husband built a gorgeous cedar mantle. I like it!

I hate my vinyl and would love to have your tile! I guess the grass is always greener!

@tonysvob, floors look amazing! quick question of anyone who would like to respond. can you pit the sealer over the tile and grout? or? do you have to seal the grout and tile with separate types of sealer? thanks so much

It all depends on whatever’s there already. My tile had acrylic sealer already, so I’m stuck with that. I cleaned it all, and put a better sealer on the grout, then resealed over everything with the acrylic. If they haven’t been sealed yet, you should be able to seal both together. Don’t use acrylic.

Acrylic is water only to clean, no steamers. It also requires resealing frequently.

I see lots of people love this kind of floor but I would gladly get rid of it. At home we have that kind of floor. It is installed in the most rustic manner posible. Everything is uneven, the space between the tiles is huge and lots of tiles have huge holes that are growing be the day. I sweep and dirt comes out of those holes so now I vacuum my floor, which I hate. I don’t know if mine are Saltillo tiles or terracota or what but they are terrible. I also like natural floor but I much rather have wood, stone or ceramic than these kind of floor. I get it they are not as cold as ceramic but it is too rustic for my taste. I have been thinking that maybe if I repair the holes with resin that would make things a little better but then I remember the unevenness and the huge space between them and just sigh. I don’t think it can be fixed. It is hard to show the unevenness in pictures but I have my easel on wheels in that room and every time I try to move it around I just get frustrated. The holes in this room are not the worse in the house. I like the look of these floors but hate that they are uneven and dirty. If I could make it more even and fix the holes I would like it

Oh and my budget is that of a DiYer so if someone has any suggestions they are totally welcome

@Angela Carson - RE agent in Arizona told me, "One of the first questions I ask someone seeking a home - How do you feel about Saltillo?" She said 9 out of 10 people won't even look at a home with Saltillo. You've just increased the pool of potential buyers...Congrats!

Thank you! We like it much better.

@Celia Gallardo : if you start a new post, you may get some helpful responses about what to do with your old saltillo tiles.

Thank you. I’ll try that. I’m new to this, still learning how the app works. Thank you

I saw the condition of tiles, and thought of my concrete patio.

So, what about a concrete layer - popular nowadays?

Sorry Peter. Just saw this. Seal over tile and grout.

@angela Carson thank you so much for sharing this information. I have saltillo and desperately I want to remove it however the cost and mess is too much. So now knowing I can have tiles installed over it is great. By chance are you in Phoenix area and could supply company name? Thanks in advance

I have a friend that said you can put self leveling cement over it then tile over it...

May be you can put cork tiles on top of them. At least in some areas where you would prefer the cozy touch of semi-soft flooring. They are durable and pleasant and have the same warm colours. I had such case with the livingroom and the kitchen of a young couple who did not want their tiles removed and we glued cork on them.

This is the kitchen before the renovation:

This was several years ago and they are still happy with the cork tiles. As you can see we used similar pattern granite for the backsplash and countertops wich softens the dark brown cupboards.

@Angelacarson after fixing your floors a few months ago how are they holding up? I just bought a house with saltillo tile and I’m getting different advice from people. My contractor is telling me he could put a floating floor and lay vinyl, but a flooring company is telling me to that if do that I will regret it and have damage and issues within months - and then he told me demo would be $5k. I don’t know who to believe.

You can get rid of any flooring, it's how much do you want to spend? That's the question that matters most -your budget. Floors are a big budget item, as they should be -you'll have them for as long as you live there.

@Marisa Lemen. We just had our Saltillo tile removed - about 800-1000 sq ft maybe. The contractor charged us about 2 k. Well worth it. It was really messy though. I personally like Saltillo but I wanted all the flooring in my house to be the same. 1) couldn’t find any contractors who installed it; 2) it’s very controversial. When I bought the house I loved it, but many people hate it. So I figured with new flooring I’m increasing the resale value.

hello, I want to remove the saltillo tiles in my kitchen too. Problem is I have a very nice cabinetry and granite which cost a lost to reinstall. Is there a way to remove these without removing the cabinets?

@angelacarson How are they holding up? We are about to do t he same - I'd also Love another contractor opinion