Thanks Tim & Howard! I will bounce this off my contractor guy as it all comes down to timing, unfortunately, with everything needing to be move in ready by the 17th-ish. It's a large area that once dry walled, plumbed, & floor sealed, could allow for the move in and then do the flooring and just move everything around to do so. If ceramic doesn't work out timing-wise, then the vinyl squares may have to do. ________________________________ From: Tim Daneliuk <tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thu, May 6, 2010 11:31:32 AM Subject: [pure-silver] Re: New old home, new lab questions On 5/6/2010 11:12 AM, Howard Efner wrote: > > On May 4, 2010, at 9:26 PM, Eric Nelson wrote: > >> Ceramic would be too much work/time/money for the large area I've got >> to cover, although it would sure would look nice! > > Eric, if you look around you should be able to find some tile for > $1.00/sf or less. When we built the studio/darkroom (24 ft X 32 ft) we > found some close-out 12x12 tile at Home Despot for about $0.65/ sf. > Just make sure they have enough - measured square footage plus ~ 10% and > get it as one lot. Yes it takes time - more time is usually spent on > lay-out, floor prep. and %^)#$% grouting/clean-up that actually putting > the tile on the floor. We also had some stem walls to cover, so on went > some more tile. Now a wet mop and shop vac keeps the place clean. One > thing, if you do any tile work, get the GOOD thinset with the additives > already in the mix - costs a bit more but does a better job. > I second this. Ceramic tile wears well and cleans up in a snap. You do need to put down anti-fatigue mats though, or your back will be screaming at you. I had a family member who is a master tile setter do mine and he suggested something for which I have been eternally grateful. Instead of finishing the floor with the usual wooden trim, he cut tiles in half and edged them around the perimeter of the room. This makes a mop cleanup very easy. You can see this in these photos: http://www.tundraware.com/Photography/Darkroom/Darkroom-02.jpg http://www.tundraware.com/Photography/Darkroom/Darkroom-07.jpg He also used the thinset to level the floor as he went, since poured concrete floors are not entirely flat. Also, bear in mind that the *kind* of grout you use matters. Wider tile spacings require sanded grout. This is my preference because I think it lasts longer and better than the non-sanded grout and close tile spacing approach. The only downside of ceramic tile (other than cost/time) is that it can chip or crack if something heavy is dropped on it. In 15+ years of using mine, I've managed to only do this twice and it's been pretty minor. There are many kinds of tile in the world, so ask your local vendor whether the tile is warm/cold, hard/soft, how it will wear and so on. P.S. I was reminded of why I chose tile over anything else a few years ago when the hard coupling between the house and the outside sewer line cracked in the basement. Thankfully, we'd just done some laundry and all that was in the sewer was soapy rinse water. However, there was some sewage odor. Because the basement floor is entirely tiled, I cleaned up, mopped up, got the cat out of the way who was "helping", and went over it all one last time with a bucket of bleach water. The floor was clean, dry, and odor free in a couple of hours. I would NEVER put down wood or carpeting in a basement for this reason. The cleanup is horrific with such floors. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tim Daneliuk tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx PGP Key: http://www.tundraware.com/PGP/ ============================================================================================================= To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,) and unsubscribe from there.