Removing Tile or Putting Pergo or Something Similar Over It

[umsami]

My house is about half tile, half Pergo.  The Pergo was put in 4 years ago when I had a flood which got rid of the carpet.  It is mainly in the kids' bedrooms and hallway.  The tile goes up to that hallway, and is in the main "great" room, my master bedroom, the kitchen, and the dining area.  There is also a different tile in the bathrooms which would likely stay.

We've had this flooring since the house was built.  It is 20 years old.  The tiles are large with grout.  I looked at cleaning them and regrouting, but that is still very expensive...and the floors would still look dated.  So we're looking at putting some of the newer waterproof vinyl plank flooring down called CoreTek I believe.  If we put that over the tile, then we'll have a different level floor issue--plus we cannot match the old Pergo.  It is no longer made.  So we'll likely have to redo it all. 😞

Anyway we go, it will be expensive. 

Anybody have any ideas?

 

We're also going to re-do the bathroom showers, switch out some fixtures, and change from one of those giant rectangular mirrors over both sinks, to individual mirrors.  Trying to update the home but also very cost conscious.  

 

This pic shows you both the Pergo that we have and the old tile which is through about 1000 square feet of house.

Edited June 16, 2020 by umsami

[prairiewindmomma]

That flooring looks nice to me. If you are being very cost conscious, is this necessary? Otherwise, yes, I would redo it all to the new flooring.

[Pawz4me]

See the piece of moulding that connects the two types of flooring? Most flooring manufacturers make those that accommodate a height difference. The moulding snaps or screws into place, and one half (lengthwise) is higher than the other half. You'd just need to check to make sure CoreTek has them, and what the maximum height difference can be. Does CoreTek make vinyl plank that looks like stone? If so would that be an option, so you wouldn't have to worry about matching the Pergo?

ETA: We ran into the height issue when we put vinyl plank down in the bedrooms here. The hardwood in the main living areas is slightly higher, and I was afraid the height difference was going to be a problem. But with the right piece of moulding it was a non-issue.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Pawz4me

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, umsami said:

If we put that over the tile, then we'll have a different level floor issue--plus we cannot match the old Pergo.  It is no longer made.  So we'll likely have to redo it all.

I would choose a contrasting floor where the tile goes, and I would remove the tile before putting down the new LVP. 

If you already have two different kinds of flooring in those areas, I doubt it would bother you to have two kinds with the new LVP, unless that is one of the reasons you are re-doing the floor in the first place. There are so many colors and textures that I think you could find something that contrasts nicely with the Pergo.

Are you hiring all the work done? Would it save on cost to take the tile out yourselves? We found that the tile usually comes out easily--there may be subfloor that has to be replaced, and if that has been wet or glued, it can be tricky. The majority of the tile we've taken out came out well, quickly, and the subfloor came out fine as well. 

We have had to match flooring levels, and if you do have a mismatch, there are lots of styles of transition strips.  There are also products like Sureply that can help level out floors after you remove tile (if needed). 

We currently have mixed flooring downstairs, and it's fine. It's not ideal, but it works for now, and all the colors are complementary. There is only one area of the house where you can see all the colors at once. Your situation sounds like you'd be going for a relatively even swap in terms of contrasting floors. 

I feel like the current trend of having all the same flooring throughout the house has some merits, but I feel like it's a really exacting/expensive trend to keep up with. Sometimes it's nice to have more defined areas of space too. 

[MEmama]

We put Pergo over our painted tile floor (shudder) in our downstairs half bath. Because the adjacent flooring is 70 years old and could never be matched, we intentionally went with a totally different shade. There was quite a height adjustment, but as Pawz said, with the moulding it’s a total non issue. 
The person who installed the floor had to take a half inch or so from the bottom of the door due to the height difference since we didn’t remove the tile.

Edited June 16, 2020 by MEmama

[KungFuPanda]

I know you have to fill in the grout lines or the pattern will transfer to vinyl flooring. I don’t know how that works with pergo

[Sherry in OH]

25 minutes ago, MEmama said:

We put Pergo over our painted tile floor (shudder) in our downstairs half bath. Because the adjacent flooring is 70 years old and could never be matched, we intentionally went with a totally different shade. There was quite a height adjustment, but as Pawz said, with the moulding it’s a total non issue. 
The person who installed the floor had to take a half inch or so from the bottom of the door due to the height difference since we didn’t remove the tile.

 

What was wrong with the painted tile?  Was it peeling or hard to clean?   I ask because that is something I have been considering.

O.P.  Unless the tile floor is damaged or you absolutely hate it, my vote is keep it.  But ... I am in the midst of a nightmare kitchen remodel including removal of improperly laid tile from a concrete slab.  It most definitely did not come up easily.  I wanted LVT, we are getting porcelain because of the costs and time needed to grind down the old setting compound and then skim coat the rough slab.  Installing LVT over our tile wasn't feasible because (1) the exterior door threshold would then be below the floor risking water getting under the tile and (2) the original tile was not level (hence the need to replace it).  When we considered installing new flooring over the tile we were told that the installer would need to use leveler to bring the grout up to the level of the tile.  Otherwise over time the floor would indent around the tiles.  I do not know whether or not this is true but is what a flooring contractor told us

I have decided that as much as I dislike foyer and bathroom tiles they will be staying indefinitely.  Painting or decals maybe, but not removal.  

[MEmama]

12 minutes ago, Sherry in OH said:

 

What was wrong with the painted tile?  Was it peeling or hard to clean?   I ask because that is something I have been considering.

It was impossible to clean (which, in a bathroom...ugh).
I totally understand remodeling with a budget, but I really, really do not recommend painting over tile. 

[umsami]

20 hours ago, MEmama said:

We put Pergo over our painted tile floor (shudder) in our downstairs half bath. Because the adjacent flooring is 70 years old and could never be matched, we intentionally went with a totally different shade. There was quite a height adjustment, but as Pawz said, with the moulding it’s a total non issue. 
The person who installed the floor had to take a half inch or so from the bottom of the door due to the height difference since we didn’t remove the tile.

Oh thanks for this.  This might work.  We kind of have similar colors as well.

[Guest]

I was going to suggest what @MEmama put up. Whenever you can’t match something, the best bet is usually putting in something completely different. It is better than trying to match and having a failure.