Putting vinyl over kitchen tiles - good or bad idea?

breadlinebetty

My aunt (who is not computer literate - hence me posting on her behalf) has good quality brown tiles on her kitchen floor. The tiles have a nice sheen to them and are well-laid but my aunt hates the colour of them and they make the kitchen dark (it's a ground floor kitchen which doesn't get much light through the window, due to a garden wall)

If she has good quality cream coloured vinyl laid, she would need the floor screeding, which would destroy the tiles underneath if new buyers in years to come wanted to pull the vinyl up.

Her main concern is: would potential buyers think that vinyl is cheap (even if it's a good quality one) and do people prefer tiled floors to vinyl?

What would be worse: a vinyl floor, or sticking with the brown tiles and having a darker kitchen?:cool:

Any ideas would be much appreciated!:)

sooz

Does she actually plan to sell, or is this just at some point if & when I sell?

If she dislikes the tiles, no matter how good quality they were when they were laid, no one else will like them.

Tell her to enjoy her house as she wants & not concern herself with resale unless it's imminent.

Nice lino vs horrid tiles is probably irrelevant when any new buyer in x years rips the whole kitchen out and builds an extension.

scottishblondie

I just ripped out my tiled kitchen floor and replaced it with lino. But my tiles were horrid - badly laid by the previous owner, and had reached the end of their life. Personally I would rather live with what I want (within reason!!) rather than worrying too much about what prospective buyers may think years later

phill99

Within 5 months the outline of the tiles will start to show through the lino (vinyl, as it is now). It will look naff, regardless of the quality of the vinyl.

There is only one way to do a job, and that is: properly. You either need to lift the tiles and then level the floor, or put a levelling compound over the ceramic tiles.

I would be tempted to leave well alone. I'm guessing she has a typical 'Aunties Kitchen' - clean but dated, so who ever goes in will rip the kitchen ut any way.

breadlinebetty

Thanks for the replies.:)

Sooz, her kitchen is fairly new, good quality and has been fitted really well, so it should last a long, long time......of course, everyone has their own taste, but it certainly isn't the sort of kitchen anyone would want to rip out unless they were very picky.

True, my aunt doesn't like the tiles, but then someone else might do....

Phil, she would be having screeding put over the tiles - so they won't ever show through the vinyl at all. It will all be done properly. But as I explained in my initial post, she is worried about effectively destroying good quality tiles simply because she doesn't like the colour of them.

So it's versus keeping the brown floor tiles - or laying good quality cream vinyl to help lighten the room.

scottishblondie

Really it comes down to what your aunt wants to live with - if she doesn't like the tiles, then get rid!

phill99

But if she doen't like the tiles, why would any one else, given that she has now got a nice new kitchen that doesn't match the tiles.

The quality is almost irrelevant. (which is why DFS sell so many sofas). If they are the wrong colour and dated, then get rid.

chopps

B&q or Wickes have cream coloured non-slip floor tiles from about £5 per sq.m so they're cheaper than good quality vinyl.

phill99

chopps wrote: »

B&q or Wickes have cream coloured non-slip floor tiles from about £5 per sq.m so they're cheaper than good quality vinyl.

Buit at that price, they aren't going to be good quality tiles and will chip and deglaze within no time at all.

chopps

Nope, they're as good as the more expensive ones.
Wickes ones have almost 100% good reviews and I've never had any complaints.

breadlinebetty

phill99 wrote: »

But if she doen't like the tiles, why would any one else, given that she has now got a nice new kitchen that doesn't match the tiles.

The quality is almost irrelevant. (which is why DFS sell so many sofas). If they are the wrong colour and dated, then get rid.

As I said before - tiles and furnishings are a personal choice. What one person likes may not be what another person does. The tiles are high quality - it's just the colour she doesn't like.

Her kitchen does match the tiles (her units would go with any colour tiles) and the kitchen was only fitted about 4 years ago. It's a very expensive kitchen, well designed, well fitted and good quality - all we want to know is whether vinyl flooring could be viewed as tacky by prospective buyers in a couple of years from now.

Someone has since told her that rather than screeding, a special underlay can be put under new vinyl instead, but no-one seems to have heard of it.....:cool: