Would you tile the whole downstairs?

Slinky

No, not in this country.

Gloomendoom

My whole ground floor of my sister-in-law's largely open-plan house is tiled with very light grey/off white tiles and it looks ok. Things to aware of sre that they are slippery when wet and if anything is dropped, it will invariably smash.

I wasn't too sure about it at first but after staying with them for a month I came round to it. Having said that, to me, virtually anything is better than the current fad for wall-to-wall laminate. I hate the stuff with a passion.

neverdespairgirl

Depends what kind of tiles, I think.

My parents' house has oak floorboards in the sitting room, living room and dining room, stone tiles in the hallway and scullery, and brick-type tiles in the kitchen. I'd not be that keen on ceramic-type tiles in a living room myself, but brick-like ones would be OK.

claire16c

No way freezing in the winter and I'd always be cleaning it!

Errata

Having lived in a house with orignal slate flags downstairs - never again!
Some people think all tiled ground floor is lovely, but I suspect they're in the minority, so if you have to sell in the future you may experience some difficulty in finding buyers.

peachyprice

No, I wouldn't do it, my kitchen is tiled, it looks lovely, with a design in the middle, but it's absolutely freezing in the winter, too cold to stand bare foot, just about ok if you're walking through, lovely and cool in the summer, but as winters are much longer in the UK than summers no way would I tile the whole house.

Then there's the sheer volume of stuff that's been smashed on it, not even from a great height, even if anything glass/ceramic falls from the bottom shelf of the cupboard it's usually doomed.

And it bloody well hurts if you fall on it, I've fainted in there twice now and have ended up with huge bumps on my head.

I have bamboo flooring in the hall, that's much warmer and very pretty.

shirlgirl2004

We had riven slate in our family room with porcelain tiles in the kitchen but the lounge, dining room, study, wc and hall, stairs and landing were solid oak. The tiles are harder wearing but the oak looked better. Electric underfloor heating is very expensive and isn't really a sole source of heating IME. We had it under the tiled areas but didn't bother with it when refurbing this house and I can't say I've noticed the difference.

Spendless

What sort of tile are you talking about? My ceramic tiles in my Conservatory, 2 have cracked and a third chipped. A tiler is replacing them next week, but has pointed out that the grouting then won't match the others. Am not bothered cos of where tiles are situated but it would be harder to live with in my living room.

Are you talking about the sort of hard wearing tile that Commercial properties like Department Stores have? I can't think what they are called. They're expensive though.

Callie22

lostinrates wrote: »

Depends on the tile. A stone tile I'd use happily without much concern.

I saw an old, extended cottage once where they'd tiled the whole downstairs in some beautiful slate. It looked absolutely stunning and it really tied the old and new bits together.

thorsoak

We tiled the whole of the ground floor in our cottage (previous home) with 12" ceramic tiles from B & Q. In a terracotta sort of colour, with a browny-grey grouting. They were laid on concrete subfloors in the porch, kitchen, hallway, lounge, dining room, utility room and toilet - and were down for about 8 years, and put up with dogs, children and husband - and an unmade road. A mop over and they came up beautifully every time!

I never found them cold when in bare feet, and rugs in the lounge and dining room made them look warm and welcoming.