vinyl or wood floors for entry way / mud room
What is the best material to install in our A) mud/laundry room B) entry way (there is no separate vestibule – when you walk in the front door, you’re in the house) C) vestibule which our tenants will enter into Unfortunately we cannot install tile in any of these locations because the doors are already in place and they’re not high enough to clear the tile. (Ugh!) So it’s vinyl or hardwood or engineered wood floors. These areas, especially the tenant’s vestibule and our entry way, will be high traffic areas of course which will see plenty of snowy boots in the winter! Obviously want something super durable but, at least for the entry ways, attractive as well. I’m thinking vinyl but all the vinyl I’m seeing is ugly. Are there any simple/classic or funky durable vinyl tiles out there? And do we get the groutable kind? Just starting to learn about this… Thanks!
ps158
in Flooring 10 years and 2 months ago
11
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11 replies
jmitchell5231 | 10 years and 2 months ago
You can use an LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tile) it’s not the cheap peel and stick that the Depot sells. Armstrong makes Alterna and Alterna Reserve. They have ground limestone in them to help make them as real as possible. You can grout the tiles just like normal porcelain, but you use a flexible acrylic grout that you don’t have to seal. You don’t have to build up the floor with cement board. You us 1/4″ lauan board. In your case use an exterior grade one and then the tile is adhered with S-288 adhesive. You can variable grout sizes. With this you’ll get the look and wear I think you want. Armincoflooring
greenmountain | 10 years and 2 months ago
Try this thin-floor attic shot
greenmountain | 10 years and 2 months ago
Lets get back to the snowy boots thing. A good old-fashioned mud-set, with proper hydration during setting, and effective bonding of tile, isn’t so bad, but this is no longer the place for it, if it ever was. Just saying, common mud-set failures are easy to explain, starting with unnecessary in the first place. And, they are porous. I think mud-sets are the worst thing for a vestibule, because they are always soaking in dirty, salty water from the street. It is different when tile is set on a thin substrate with waterproof membranes. I use the same membranes under my bathroom tile jobs. Almost no water soaks in, because it isn’t very porous. So you can mop it up with all the salt and dirt. Put the boots on an old towel, or door mat, and wash it later. The floor will be clean and solid. No other surface is as long-lasting, practical, and better-looking than tile. Warm weather is here. I will be out on some stoops with my tile saw setting vestibules this spring, summer and fall. If you or another ‘Stoner has a contractor working on the interior, you can still have me over to tile the vestibules after they leave. Here is another thin floor, the attic ceiling was way too low to raise the floor 2’, so I kept the floor in plane. Green Mountain.
ps158 | 10 years and 2 months ago
greenmountain – yes, our contractor says mud will make the tile sit too high for the door to clear.
greenmountain | 10 years and 2 months ago
I am not sure why you think your floor would be higher if you installed tile, compared to another surface. Tile isn’t thicker than other materials. Are you suggesting substrate for tile has to be thick to be strong and long-lasting? I install new substrate, waterproof and uncoupling membranes, using appropriate mortar, in plain with adjacent floors. I see a lot of failures in thick mud-sets. Tiles come loose and crack on thick floors, especially when the mud was not kept wet during curing. I also see when doors were cut above the bottom mortice and tenon joits, which eventually destroys them. Here is a picture of one of my floors. It is a reproduction, in the same elevation as the original. There was no reason to cut the doors. I see the clients from time to time, they haven’t had a problem with this floor for more than 10 years. You can find me in the Local Home Pros above. Green Mountain
sleestack | 10 years and 2 months ago
They now have porcelain tile that looks like wood. I was skeptical when I heard about this, but I saw it recently at a high end renovation and thought it looked quite good.
ps158 | 10 years and 2 months ago
Rising hinges? Never heard of them. Will ask contractor. In the meantime, I’ll be hitting Ritchie’s – I had no idea that was there, and I live so close!! Thanks for that Cate.
cmu | 10 years and 2 months ago
Maybe rising-hinges would work? Not sure how much they raise the door as it opens, but may clear new tile floor.
cate | 10 years and 2 months ago
I think I recall seeing funky penny tile style rubber/plastic flooring that I thought was pretty cool — maybe at Ritchie’s Flooring of Bay Ridge. (If I didn’t see it there it was probably Anderson in Manhattan.) Can’t remember if it’s large tiles or sheet. Probably the former. It has raised dots on it.
ps158 | 10 years and 2 months ago
I thought wood wouldn’t be a problem, but what I read online and what the hardwood stores sales reps say make it sound like like the floors won’t hold up well to water. Are they fear mongering – are they trying to shirk responsibility if the floors don’t hold up lol? Perhaps. Our contractor said the doors can’t be cut now. I don’t know why that would be…
BobMarvin | 10 years and 2 months ago
If you really want tile it’s pretty easy to trim doors. A tile installer will most likely do it for you. FWIW we have the original 1899 tile inside our main, but normally use the downstairs, under the stoop, entrance, which has the original parquet. There’s no noticeable damage there, over the 40 years we’ve been in the house, or the 75 previous years. I think you can use whatever flooring you want, protected by some kind of door mat.