Flooring Tile - bathroom floor work

We have 2 bathrooms and one powder room. All are with vynal flooring. I am thinking of upgrading it to ceramic or something. I would need your suggestion on what is best for convenience, looks and also for home value.

Ceramic is one option and a handy man just gave me a quote for one powder room size 7 * 4, for everything $350. How does it sound? Do you think i can do it myself? Let me tell i have absolutely no experience with any kind of house work.

Once i pealed cauking and was not able to put it back where floor and tub meet. because vynal was not sticking to floor at the edge..:)


Appreciate your advise on what is best upgade for bathroom. of course i also would like to know howmuch variation it would make in cost.

Before you can put ceramic tile in your bathrooms there are some things you need to do. For starters you have to remove the vinyl and any 1/4" underlayment for the vinyl whether it be luan, particle board or plywood.

Assuming that you are not on a slab you will need to do some other things as well. You also have to make sure that the framing and subfloor are adequate to support a tile installation. Tell us about your bathroom floors. What size are the joists, what is there spacing and what is there unsupported span? What is left on the floor after you remove the vinyl and vinyl underlayment? You may have to add another layer of plywood and you will have to install a cement backerboard or membrane over the plywood.

I really cant say if your handy man is giving you a good price or not. What exactly is he doing? If he is not looking into some of the questions above than he may not be the right man for the job. Find an experienced tile setter who has good credentials and references. You'll get a fair price and a good quality installation. As for being able to do this work on your own, many diy'ers come here get good info and do a great job. If you think you can do it, you probably can. If you don't think so you probably cant.:)

Before you can put ceramic tile in your bathrooms there are some things you need to do. For starters you have to remove the vinyl and any 1/4" underlayment for the vinyl whether it be luan, particle board or plywood.

Assuming that you are not on a slab you will need to do some other things as well. You also have to make sure that the framing and subfloor are adequate to support a tile installation. Tell us about your bathroom floors. What size are the joists, what is there spacing and what is there unsupported span? What is left on the floor after you remove the vinyl and vinyl underlayment? You may have to add another layer of plywood and you will have to install a cement backerboard or membrane over the plywood.

I really cant say if your handy man is giving you a good price or not. What exactly is he doing? If he is not looking into some of the questions above than he may not be the right man for the job. Find an experienced tile setter who has good credentials and references. You'll get a fair price and a good quality installation. As for being able to do this work on your own, many diy'ers come here get good info and do a great job. If you think you can do it, you probably can. If you don't think so you probably cant.:)


HeresJohnny.
Thanks for your response. Sure i understand that ... you can do it if you believe you can :)

Can we find the details you asked for (frame joist and other details .. without disturbing current floor? Did you mean the Handy guy should have done some tests before giving a quote?

How can i find the information you asked.. where and how should i look for it?
You said you have to know if there is adequate support for ceramic floor. How do we know?

BTW ..
Can you please suggest me some alternatives to ceramics .... may be expensive but which could increase house valuation.

If the bathrooms are above an unfinished basement or crawl space you can get this info from below. If the space is finished below its a little more difficult but you can still get the info. Check out the sheetrock on the ceiling below the bathrooms. Many times you can see the nail and screw patterns by observing the ceiling. You should be able to measure the on center spacing from these patterns. If you have floor registers in the bathroom you can pop one off and see the construction of the floor. If not you may have to drill a hole in the floor. You can do this in an inconspicuous place. From there you can insert a measuring tape and measure from the top of the floor to the ceiling below. Then measure the thickness of the floor and subtract that off to determine the joist size. If you have a closet below where you dont mind poking a whole in the sheetrock you could make a small hole in the sheetrock, insert a cut off piece of a wire hanger up into the hole until you hit the floor above. Mark the hanger at the ceiling line, remove it and measure it. Subtract off 1/2" for the sheetrock. This will give you the height of your floor joists. Post back with your findings. We can help you determine if your floor can support a ceramic tile installation. Yes the handy man should find these things out before installing ceramic tile.

This is a ceramic tile and stone forum and I cant think of anything better than ceramic tile or natural stone in a bathroom. But what else would you expect me to say.:D

If the bathrooms are above an unfinished basement or crawl space you can get this info from below. If the space is finished below its a little more difficult but you can still get the info. Check out the sheetrock on the ceiling below the bathrooms. Many times you can see the nail and screw patterns by observing the ceiling. You should be able to measure the on center spacing from these patterns. If you have floor registers in the bathroom you can pop one off and see the construction of the floor. If not you may have to drill a hole in the floor. You can do this in an inconspicuous place. From there you can insert a measuring tape and measure from the top of the floor to the ceiling below. Then measure the thickness of the floor and subtract that off to determine the joist size. If you have a closet below where you dont mind poking a whole in the sheetrock you could make a small hole in the sheetrock, insert a cut off piece of a wire hanger up into the hole until you hit the floor above. Mark the hanger at the ceiling line, remove it and measure it. Subtract off 1/2" for the sheetrock. This will give you the height of your floor joists. Post back with your findings. We can help you determine if your floor can support a ceramic tile installation. Yes the handy man should find these things out before installing ceramic tile.

This is a ceramic tile and stone forum and I cant think of anything better than ceramic tile or natural stone in a bathroom. But what else would you expect me to say.:D

Thank you verymuch. Looks like some work. Will get the details.

I heard some ppl saying marble is better so i wanted to know what you think and any possible other alternatives of that kind.