Software
Houzz Logo Print
bluntasarus

ceramic wood tile

6 years ago

Hello this is really new to this and wanted to redo most of the floors in my home. I would like to go with a darker ceramic wood tile, but I do not know how to find the same style and color for the stairs and upstairs landing area. Ideally I would like to do the living-room stairs and upstairs landing area the same style. does anyone know how or where I can find the ceramic wood tile that would match my needs?

Comments (7)

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    You could post a photo of it to see if anyone here knows the product. Or you could visit an actual flooring store. Avoid companies like Home Depot or Lowes, you get what you pay for.

  • 6 years ago

    honestly I do not know where I can find flooring besides Lows or Home Depot, and maybe lumber liquidators

  • PRO
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I would avoid tile on stairs. Slip once and you'll regret it.

  • 6 years ago

    so my stairs are going to be pricey, they only have planks I believe underneath the carpet I want to get pulled up. I will be able to provide pictures when I get home from work. all upstairs is carpet I'd like to remove the carpet from the stairs and the upstairs landing area and put the porcelain wood tile. The biggest issue or planning issue I have is how do I chose a pattern that matches both upstairs landing the stairs (I'd like to do) and the downstairs I'd like to get done. I have no other plans besides getting the inside of my home painted.

  • 6 years ago

    So you have carpet where you want tile (at least on the stairs and the upstairs areas). You are going to discover the hidden "fun" that carpets hide. When homes are built to accommodate carpet, some of the cheapest, thinnest products are used. Why? Because carpet doesn't CARE and because carpet is rather light and because carpet molds itself to any surface no matter how bumpy and lumpy. In fact it is very cheap to install because the subfloor PREPARATION for carpet is ZERO. Zilch. Nada. Nix. Carpet HIDES some of the worst subfloors in the world.

    Once the carpet is removed, you will probably have to STIFFEN the subfloor. Ceramic/porcelain/stone have requirements for "deflection ratings". That is to say the joists have to be measured and the thickness of the subfloor have to be measured and then the deflection rating can then be calculated. Assuming it is NOT stiff enough (stiffness = expensive subfloor + underlayment) you will have to ADD to the upstairs. How much, won't be known until you get a professional tile layer in to give walk the floor (and do the calculations that you SPECIFICALLY ask for).

    Once you find that out, you MIGHT have to look at doing something to the stairs because the last step (the landing) at the top of the stairs might be too high = against code.

    Whew. And at that point, you might have to resurface the treads to add some thickness so that you stairs remain code compliant.

    So....once you have had ALL OF THESE things assessed, you can then decide if tile is right for you. For the record, many, many, many vinyl plank products are allowed over the same type of substrates that carpet is allowed over top of. So long as the subfloor is smooth and flat, you are good to go. And vinyl is rather thin...which means it won't upset the stairs. And vinyl planks are well suited to go over stair treads (assuming the flooring installer has all the skills needed to get it to work).

    Or you can do a relatively easy thing:

    #1: Tiles on the main floor as originally planned

    #2: Pick a Vinyl plank presentation that is a handsome compliment to the downstairs tile

    #3: Transition the two floors at the stairs by using a handsome stair runner and some painted treads to give a strong statement that looks like it is "on purpose"

    Having the same flooring on BOTH levels AND on the stairs is not necessary. In fact it is well accepted that "upstairs" have a different floor than "downstairs". And it is very well accepted (in the design world) to have carpet runner that transitions the two floors to make it look like everything was PLANNED to be that way.

    If you go for the 1,2,3 approach I list above, you will accomplish everything you want without having to disturb anything. The stairs are ALREADY set to handle carpet so this is a one-to-one replacement. The main floor gets the expensive tile upgrade that you are looking for (your money goes to the public areas that will show off the most to the most amount of people) and the upstairs receives a refresh with a handsome vinyl plank product that will act/react like tile without ALL THE HASSLE of getting tile to sit "upstairs".

    Have a strong think about what I propose. It could save you thousands (if not more) of dollars in renovation costs.

    Kevin thanked SJ McCarthy
  • 6 years ago

    That is an incredible amount of very useful information. It's alot of information to sit on and figure out. this is all new to me that's why I'm here. Thank you so much! I will update when I can and thank you for a warm welcome.