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mtnrdredux_gw

Recent Checkerboard floor experience?

last year
last modified: last year

I am looking to do a checkerboard floor for a screened porch that currently has a painted wood floor. We are converting it to interior space. I don't want to paint the floor (more specifically cannot find anyone I trust to do so).

Does anyone have recent experience with checkerboard tile they like? Peel and stick preferred but not strictly necessary.

I was attracted to this:

https://www.wallpops.com/fp4421-marble-bonneville-peel-and-stick-floor-tiles/FP4421


I ordered one box just to test colors. It is a very cold white, almost a bluish cast, and looks too new for my 1904 home. In addition, one of the tiles had a broken corner, which does not bode well.

I have ordered this sample kit of Forbo tile but am not sure we are sold on the product.



Comments (36)

  • last year

    I think I saw that post, but didn't read it because it was so old ... I should have known to scroll down!


    At any rate, the reviews are disconcerting!

  • last year

    There are a few at the end that might cause pause. But it sounds like they are for a product that has since been updated to be waterproof if I’m reading them correctly.

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked eam44
  • last year
    last modified: last year

    IDK, my conclusion is that the Marmoleum click product is not that well regarded. : (

  • last year

    Well there’s always vinyl!

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked eam44
  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Supposedly Marmo has been updated to be more suited to water. We have the second generation (Click II) and it is awful, though it does look nice if you don’t look under the mat or at the areas that have been gouged or had things spilled. But would hesitate to recommend anything Forbo until there’s a strong track record with the current version (especially if you have kids or dogs--we have both). The one big thing it has going for it (and why we chose it) is that it’s floating, so won’t damage the floor underneath if you want to preserve your wood for future refinishing .

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked artemis78
  • last year

    The texture of the painted wood floor will telegraph right through tile, especially peel and stick. You may be aware of that. But it will look like tile stuck to a wood floor.

  • last year

    Hmm. Good thing we nixed the peel and stick. Do you think that would happen with the click flooring?

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    With Marmoleum it doesn’t because it has a cork underlayer that’s essentially a mini subfloor. It will still show things like nails that didn’t get banged down flush (we have one of those, and also one where I’m pretty sure my husband missed picking up a spacer—but not really noticeable to anyone else). We also have a WhisperWool underlayment in between the wood and the flooring as an extra buffer. Other floating floors will vary, though. We ruled a few out because they needed more perfect subfloors than we had to offer. (Ours is Douglas fir that we eventually plan to refinish.)

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked artemis78
  • last year

    Artemis, have you ever posted a pic of your floor?

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Probably not since it was new back in the GW days! Here are a few:

    Newly laid before the cabinets went in, being supervised by the foreman--you can more or less see the pattern here, which isn't a checkerboard but was intended to echo one. (It was the only part of the project my husband felt strongly about, so he designed the pattern and laid the floor. This was put in back before gray became the "it" thing a few years later, much to his chagrin.)

    Still newish when kitchen was finished:

    And a few from today--you can see a little of how it's worn over the years here (it was put in back in 2010).

    And this one shows a bit of the discoloration from light:

    I will say that I often caution people about the downsides of Marmoleum because I think it's important to have eyes wide open about those, but it also has some great attributes. It feels really wonderful underfoot--we had ceramic tile in this room before we renovated and this is so much warmer to walk on barefoot, especially because our kitchen isn't heated. It was pretty straightforward to install as a DIY project, which made it very inexpensive, and it could be laid without adhesive, which was important to preserve the wood underneath. In theory the older Click II can be sanded down and refinished--I do plan to try that at some point. I think it's not a bad option to consider if peel and stick tile is your plan B, especially in a space that won't get as wet as a kitchen, but I wouldn't do the version we have as a permanent floor again. Hopefully the updated version is an improvement!

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked artemis78
  • last year

    Can the search for someone you trust to paint the floor continue? There has to be someone within a couple of hours.

  • last year

    Could you get a custom sized vinyl floor cloth instead?

  • last year

    Allison, well, i agree, it is looking like that is the better choice. I am influenced by the fact that we wanted to do this in the kitchen when we first remodeled 10 ish years ago, and our contractor could not find anyone who had any experience in it. A quick Google search yesterday came up with nothing but I suppose I need to go next level.


    Local, I looked at those and did not care for what I found, plus I am not sure I would like that look ... if it doesnt lay perfectly flat.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Mtn, if there is a local paint store, you might ask there for recommendations for a painter with the experience you need. Or ask a local real estate agent if he/she is aware of any house in the area with a painted floor then ask those folks who they used.


    ETA: From a Google search. May be worth some investigation… http://www.coastalclassicpainting.com/decorative-painted-floors-maine

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked bbstx
  • last year

    I agree with painting it...it would be perfect for the mood of the room. There are skilled people out there. I have great result with having recommendations from hardware/paint stores.

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked Annie Deighnaugh
  • last year

    BBSTX, they look perfect, but they are 2.5 hours from us so maybe not ideal.

  • last year

    @mtnrdredux_gw what kind of temperature and humidity swings might the floor have to endure on your screened in porch? I don’t know how each of your options might fare but it is something to consider.

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked Isaac
  • last year

    You never know, Mtn. As an incentive you could always offer for them to stay at the house (alone) while they do the work.

  • PRO
    last year

    Peel and stick doesn't even last the 5 minutes for all those Insta posts. It's never an option for someone's owned home. A painted wood floor isn't even all of that to DIY. You just sand what's there, prime, paint the light color, wait for the cure, then tape and paint the dark color. It's a long weekend of work. But, classic black and white is very hard to live with. Something softer usually works best. Cream and tan. Cream and sage. Milk chocolate and greige. etc.


    mtnrdredux_gw thanked Minardi
  • last year
    last modified: last year

    I have a 20 yr experience with a black/white matte finish tile floor in my kitchen. I had always loved the look but the maintenance in a kitchen is more than I care for! I know someone who just had her front porch floor painted black/white. The painter was meticulous in taping it off...a good painter with attention to detail could do.it.

    An indoor/outdoor rug with the same look that comes in multiples color ways...here it us in green.



    mtnrdredux_gw thanked Arapaho-Rd
  • last year

    NEVER EVER use peel and stick! Ask me how I know, lol. A worn out floor that needs painting looks and wears much better.

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked Sherry8aNorthAL
  • last year

    Mtn, I would definitely call that company Allison found. A two 1/2 drive is not such a big deal in rural Maine. My kitchen countertop installers drove almost that far. I drive 2 hours to the car dealership.

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked localeater
  • last year

    Very helpful, everyone!


    Local, DH jokes that the house is not really in Maine,...he calls it Fake Maine or Maine "Lite" because we are almost in NH. But you are right, I should let them decide if it is too far.


    Sherry, I love painted wood floors, and I agree that they can be "shabby chic" in a way tile really cannot.


    Ohh Arapaho Id love to see your floor. It will help that this will probably be the least used room in the house, will have an area rug, and we no longer have a pet. 😔


    @Minardi, If we do this, we will probably do two softer colors, because of the direction we are now heading with the rest of the room.


    @Isaac, the screened porch is being closed in so all of that is less of a consideration, although we are on the ocean so humidity is always tricky.

  • last year

    This one says serving NH, Mass, and Southern ME

    http://www.coddecorativepainting.com/

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked localeater
  • PRO
    last year

    My interior designer friend and colleague used Spicher & Co vinyl floor mats in a smaller laundry room and had it installed. Not sure how or with what. But her photos are beautiful. She and I are now working on a kitchen with a new product by Spicher & Co. They have rolled sheet goods. No checkerboard though, but check them out!


    https://spicherandco.com/product-category/rolled-goods/

    mtnrdredux_gw thanked The Kitchen Place
  • last year
    last modified: last year

    I did look at that company, but their only checkerboard is very distressed, so I passed.

  • PRO
    last year

    Watch this video about the product above....on youtube. I love the last one he shows....so watch til the end


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkKFgAO8uvQ

  • PRO
    last year

    This is my friends laundry room in the vinyl checkboard. I want to do this in my kitchen now.



    mtnrdredux_gw thanked The Kitchen Place
  • last year

    Hmm I did not see that pattern in their rolled goods? And the floorcloth was, as I said, very distressed.

  • PRO
    last year

    That is not in their rolled goods. That was the floor that my friend did in their standard floor mats but she installed wall to wall like rolled floor.

  • last year

    Well, here she is. Small galley kitchen but even at that it makes me crazy! Showing a slight sheen because I most likely mopped it before taking this photo.


    mtnrdredux_gw thanked Arapaho-Rd
  • last year

    Arapaho, that is gorgeous!


    That was the floor that my friend did in their standard floor mats but she installed wall to wall like rolled floor.


    That sounds iffy

  • last year

    I just watched the video and I love the rolled goods vinyl floors that spicher and company produce. It seems that they sell only to interior decorators. Is this correct?

  • last year

    fwiw, I did not find a company. Just made a suggestion afterwards.


    Arapaho, your tile floor is so pretty.

  • last year

    I have called and emailed three companies. So far crickets, but hope springs eternal.

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