Asked on Feb 29, 2016

We tiled our kitchen floor, it cracked. So.....

Tara Lynn
by Tara Lynn
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We were advised here to take it out, that it will continue to crack. I am not sure we are prepared to that. Is it possible to "float" laminate flooring over it? Does anyone think that will work?
  10 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Feb 29, 2016
    If you patch up the tiles so that they are even, I do not see any reason for a floating laminate floor not to work. I have that flooring all through my living spaces.
  • Darla Darla on Feb 29, 2016
    In a kitchen, it might be better to use the snap-together luxury vinyl planks, since they're more waterproof. That's also a floating floor.
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Feb 29, 2016
    Just to respond to the snap flooring, Either way the floor is not supposed to bet WET.When cleaning those types of flooring minimal water is used.
  • Shari Shari on Feb 29, 2016
    I have laminate flooring in some of the rooms of my house, including the kitchen, and I DO NOT recommend it, at all. I hate it! Laminate is water-sensitive, some brands more than others, but it cannot tolerate much water before it starts to bubble, warp or peel. Even a random ice cube dropping out of the ice dispenser on the front of my refrigerator will make the laminate bubble if I don't see it and pick it up before it melts. If tile is not working for you, your next best choice for the kitchen is vinyl. Home depot sells a floating vinyl plank flooring called Trafficmaster Allure and the "Ultra" version snaps together and IS WATERPROOF. (The regular Allure is also floating but it has sticky strips that hold the planks together and it is water resistant. I have the regular Allure one bathroom and LOVE it and it should work fine in a kitchen too as long as you don't have a major flood from the dishwasher, a burst pipe under the sink etc.) The only problem with vinyl (any kind of vinyl--planks, squares or solid sheet) is your sub-floor (which in your case would be the tile if you choose not to take it up), has to be relatively level and smooth because vinyl will eventually conform to any lumps, bumps or unevenness of the sub-floor. In other words, the vinyl may eventually show the height difference between the tiles and grout, but they do make floor leveler that you could put down first. If you look at the Trafficmaster Allure or Ultra at Home Depot and like it, or any other vinyl flooring, the flooring professionals can guide you on what you need to do to get your tile ready to put down vinyl.
    • See 1 previous
    • Shari Shari on Feb 29, 2016
      @Janet Pizaro Cleaning the laminate flooring is not the issue. In the kitchen it is moisture from drippy hands around the sink, errant ice cubes. Any kind of liquid spill that is not cleaned up immediately and thoroughly will make the seams bubble. When we had German Shepherds, it was drips from their mouth after they drank from the water bowl, wet paws or people coming in with wet feet. My particular laminate is so water sensitive it practically bubbles if you so much as sneeze on it. Big. Expensive. Mistake.
  • Shari Shari on Feb 29, 2016
    @Tara Lynn I actually got so wrapped up in my *rant* against laminate I forgot to answer your original question. Yes, you can lay laminate over the tile, as long as thickness of the tile and laminate together is not too high to transition smoothly from any rooms that the laminate-over-tile connects to. The laminate in my kitchen and breakfast room was put down over tile. Also, if you are dead set on using laminate, I would suggest you bring home a couple pieces of whichever laminate you think you might be interested in. Snap the pieces together like they would be laid on your floor. Sprinkle them with water and don't wipe it up. Wait a couple days. If there is any sign of bubbling, warping or peeling around the seams, do not spend your hard-earned money on that particular laminate.
  • Tara Lynn Tara Lynn on Feb 29, 2016
    Thank you, I guess it's live with it until we can tear it out. Then yep probably back to vinyl.
  • Tara Lynn Tara Lynn on Mar 02, 2016
    I was looking at a laminate floor that looked like tiles actually, so I am sure it is made for kitchen but yes I would try it our first, a great idea.
  • Tara Lynn Tara Lynn on Mar 02, 2016
    We were looking at a floating laminate floor that actually looks like a stone tile, but yes trying it out for a few days is a great idea.
    • Shari Shari on Mar 02, 2016
      @Tara Lynn All laminate flooring is constructed in layers. The top layer is the image or design layer. This is where the high-resolution image or design is laminated on. The design layer can be made to look like wood or stone. The inner core of laminate is made from high-density fiberboard. High-density fiberboard (HDF) is very similar to medium-density fiberboard, which is the material a lot of cheap, assemble-it-yourself furniture is made of. MDF and HDF are a product of soft woods. The majority of the wood comes from saw dust that has wax and resin added and then it is formed from heat and pressure. So essentially, the core of laminate is pressed saw dust! This is where moisture becomes Enemy #1 of laminate. If moisture seeps down between the seams, it is absorbed by this pressed saw dust and it starts to eat away at it like cancer, causing bubbling, warping and swelling along the seams. In a worst case scenario, where the laminate is exposed to a lot of water (i.e., a leak), the top decorative layer can even start to peel off too. I have this problem now at my back door where we had an undetected slow leak under the threshold. It was only after the laminate started bubbling up and the top layer started peeling off that we realized water was seeping in under the threshold when it rained hard. Just because the design of the laminate floor looks like stone, please don't think it is intended for wet areas like kitchens. Laminate is laminate, regardless of what the design on the top layer looks like. I'm attaching some photos of why I don't recommend laminate. I had to learn this the hard way but perhaps my experience will save others from making the big, expensive mistake I made by picking laminate flooring. I also want to point out, we aren't hard on our stuff. I am borderline obsessive-compulsive about taking very good care of our things so these problems we've had with our laminate is not a case of extreme carelessness or abusing the heck out of this flooring.
  • Happybruin66 Happybruin66 on Mar 02, 2016
    How badly is it cracked? Could the affected tiles be replaced with matching tiles?
    • Tara Lynn Tara Lynn on Mar 02, 2016
      @Happybruin66 We actually bought many extra tiles just in case. But the cracks run across the whole floor, however you really have to be looking to see them, I just figured they will eventually get bigger, but actually after 6 yrs they have not.
  • Tara Lynn Tara Lynn on Mar 02, 2016
    I didn't mean it had any stone qualities, I get it. I know it's laminated on. I guess my idea was they made it look like kitchen flooring so it seems like it would hold up but you are still are correct, ask lots of questions and try it out myself.
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