Need advice on remodel choices (kitchen & bath options)

[Beauchamp]

We recently downsized from 2400sf to a 1540sf townhouse, fully knowing we'd have to redo some things. The carpeting is not in good shape and is 10+ years old. The kitchen has some bad green laminate counters and green tile floor. The baths are also old, and the master bath has no shower.

So for the floors we are considering a mix of carpet, bamboo, strand bamboo, hardwood, and tile. We have no idea about what is best. A carpet guy at a Floorz store told me that "all carpet is recycled or recyclable" when I tried to ask about eco-friendly options. He also asked me what I thought was bad about formaldehyde, and told me it's in all carpeting.

For the counters, we're considering small tiles, granite, solid surface/corian type. The recycled countertops are so pricey, and I'd love to do the eco option, but they have priced us out of that market! DH thinks tile is not nice, but it's so inexpensive, so I like that.

We'd like to keep the budget low. Any BTDT or opinions on these surfaces/material is greatly appreciated!

[ParisApril]

We have remodeled 2 houses. My favorite flooring choice is tile because it's easy to clean and doesn't scratch. Our first remodel we tiled the entire first floor. Seamless. I liked it a lot.

This house we tiled the kitchen, bathroom and by the front door all with the same tile. The living, dining and bedrooms are hardwood and as much as I love it, it shows dirt more and scratches/gouges(dog).

We had to go with laminate counters because the new cupboards were pricey. I love the color we choose.

We have gone back and forth about the basement flooring. We have decided to go with carpet just because it will make the floors warmer and is the easiest and cheapest option. I haven't researched carpet too much so I would be interested to hear more about off gassing and such.

[mumkimum]

Don't know all that much about flooring - we have hardwood that was under carpet here, and prefer simply not carpet or at least not much d/t dh's allergies. I believe true linoleum is relatively eco-friendly and decently priced, that's something else to look into, for some areas at least (truly helpful, I'm sure :nana).

Counter-wise, we ended up going cheap (with laminate). A previous apartment of ours had a kitchen we loved that the landlord had done with large granite tile for the counter - they were pretty nice (they were also the bathroom flooring). I'll also add that Ikea has pretty affordable butcher block counter - we considered it too particularly as I really prefer more natural materials if possible. Personally, with our heavy cookware, I wouldn't choose tile - we've dented laminate flooring with our cast iron pots and pans. I wouldn't want to do that to a counter - just in case you're that way too.

[lucyem]

Originally Posted by mumkimum

I believe true linoleum is relatively eco-friendly and decently priced, that's something else to look into, for some areas at least

.

True linoleum is eco friendly. But most people, including most flooring sales people do not know the difference between vinyl & linoleum. Linoleum has become kind of a catch all phrase like kleenex. It is also a lot more expensive then vinyl flooring. (I will not bore you with my quest for linoleum but it was certainly interesting)

You can get wool carpeting, though I do not know how good or bad it is. We also have to stay away from wall to wall due to allergies.

Bamboo is getting nicer and nicer.

I recommend doing as much research online ahead of time. Get to know the products you want before talking to sales people.

[wombatclay]

We used the IKEA butcherblock counters... love them! If you like a very clean/formal look you might need to sand/seal them more often, but I like the more casual "farm kitchen" look where bumps, scratches, stains sort of add to thye vibe rather than take away from it. It was very affordable and fit our style.

We also used IKEA varda units... they look nice, work well, and fit the budget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flooring- we have a blend of wood and tile. I'm not a fan of carpet, but I did put Flor in the sleeping loft. I like the "modular" aspect and it's a decently eco-friendly option if carpet is a "must". I'd like to move towards cork and natural linoleum for our addition but those are higher up the price chain (like this). For now our addition is just painted subfloor, and it's livable. I've also seen wallpaper used on the floor (covered with a few layers of epoxy) and it looks pretty neat!

The carpet guy is maybe right (depending on what he said exactly ). You can pay to have your carpet recycled. And many carpeting companies do offer lines that contain /all recycled material. The chemicals...well... yes. Conventional carpets do have chemicals (as do the backing materials, the glues, etc). Carpets and related items that don't contain these chemicals can be hard to find, may require a code variance, and are NOT budget friendly. Well, not my budget anyway. But check out Flor and go from there.

[Beauchamp]

DH really wants wall to wall carpet because of the soft feel. We're coming from a house in South Texas where we had tile EVERYWHERE except the bedrooms, which were Berber, and not too soft. I'll tell you...tile in the living room is not great with a newly crawling/walking baby!

So now he really wants carpet. At the very least in the bedroom. The cheaper bamboo (not strand bamboo) is priced right around the same as carpet, though. Although it is softer than hardwood.

For the kitchen counter, we think tile is the cheapest option, and *could* look very cool if we found nice tiles. DH hates that it's not a smooth surface though (the grout). I agree, but we won't be in this house for more than a few years, so I don't really want to invest a ton of money.

What REALLY threw me for a loop was that (at Lowe's) I noticed that some of the laminate flooring was MORE than hardwood. How does THAT work? I figured all laminate was cheaper then wood.

I think we may keep the cabinets as is and just redo the counters, appliances, floor, and hardware in the kitchen. The baths need new floors, probably new tubs/showers/fixtures, and vanities.

We definitely have champagne taste on a beer budget. At least because we know we aren't staying long term.

[nd_deadhead]

Have you considered cork flooring? I want to put cork in our downstairs (but first priority is to replace shingles and windows - floors are going to have to wait!)

I would go for a laminate counter in the kitchen. A couple of years is a long time to live with a tile counter that you hate - especially if you paid for it (not so bad if it came that way).

I got a terrific wool rug at Sam's, when we put in hardwood floors in the living room and dining room. It's 8 years old, as soft as can be, and looks brand new - in spite of the fact that it's under the kitchen table and gets a ton of use.

[wombatclay]

Hmmm... you could do a concrete counter. As a DIY it's easy to do but hard to do well on a first attempt. Find a contractor who does interior concrete work though and the cost is fairly low with what can be amazing results. No grout lines, you can customize colors/shape/built in features, it's durable, and it's a fashionable look in certain styles/markets. Polished up, concrete is very high end. I know several people with concrete floors actually... a few have been cut to mimic inlaid stone work and they look awesome!

Not good IMO for itty bitty kiddos or cold climates unless you go with a lot of rugs and/or radiant heat.

Laminate vs wood... well, the price reflects the product. Laminate can be a better option in some cases, and a high quality laminate is going to cost more than a utility grade/basic wood floor. And the "eco value" can actually balance out (for example, if the wood isn't sustainable/certified but the laminate is). Also the price can reflect how much "extra" is involved... a product that requires underlay vs one that just needs a vapor barrier, a product that needs to be toenailed or glued vs one that click locks and floats, a product with a warranty vs one without.

[beanma]

Hmmmm...

How many years do you think you'll be there? If you really only think it will be a few I wouldn't splurge on big ticket eco items. Is green a big selling point in your area? What are the other townhomes in the complex like?

Are you planning on doing the work yourself or will you hire help?

You might want to nose around http://www.ecohaus.com/ and check out their products. They have good info, even if you don't buy from them.

We're remodeling our kitchen and while we won't stay here forever we'll probably be here for quite a few more years unless DH gets a better job offer somewhere else. We really needed to redo the kitchen, though, whether we stay or go because it was an original kitchen from 1973. Nuff said.

We're going with IKEA and trying to do most of it ourselves. Our neighborhood is older and there aren't that many remodeled homes though there are some. It's not a gotta-have-granite neighborhood, though there are homes in the neighborhood with granite. Granite is not especially eco-friendly in the way that it is quarried, either. So, for our counters we're doing IKEA butcher block because it's inexpensive and it's something we can do ourselves. We can't install granite or quartz or Corian or even formica ourselves. Tile you might be able to do if you're handy.

For our kitchen floor (which also desperately needed to be replaced) we're going with Marmoleum Click panels (real linoleum) which I got on closeout so they were cheap. We'll install that ourselves, too. Marmoleum isn't good for the bath, though. I'd go with tile there.

We have hardwood (from Lowe's) throughout the rest of the first floor (except the baths which are tile) that we had installed about 9 yrs ago. We use area rugs and have really been happy with that.

If you're looking for carpet I think the PP who suggested Flor was right on. I've seen some really nice styles in our local green store and you can replace a single tile if you spill red wine on it or something.

hth

[Ola_]

I would not do tile counters - pain in the butt to keep the grout clean and I think it's terrible for resale (since you mentioned you won't be there for long).

Tile is good for floors in hot climates, but hard on the back. We put in hardwood and I quite like it. I'm not sure about the price of cork but I've heard very good things about softness and warmth. Do consider though how much wear you'll put on the different surfaces. We have two dogs so we chose a very hard hardwood and it's doing beautifully so far. I don't think I would ever consider carpet - many buyers hate it these days, it's hard to get completely clean, and it has issues with stains, etc.

[brittneyscott]

We did tile counters when we redid this kitchen and I've liked them. We did choose a dark grout and small spacing to keep marks from showing on the grout as much and sealed the grout. So far I haven't had any issues with marks on the counter.

[jeninejessica]

I didn't read the other responses, so I apologize if I'm repeating or contradicting!!

DH and I renovated our home EXTENSIVELY, but our main goal was cheap and nice, not eco-friendly. At the time, it wasn't really something I thought of. We're only planning on being here about 7-8 years.

Having seen how dusty our laminate flooring gets-- I would never go back to carpet. Realizing that most of that dust gets stuck into the carpet otherwise just doesn't sit well with me. I haven't had trouble with the flooring being too cold with either our laminate, or our tile.

We used ceramic tile in the bathroom, and I like it, and it was cheap. Did not care for the grout we got. It's wearing very badly. I would definately pay attention to quality there.

For our kitchen, and both entrances to the house we used a peel and stick tile... but not what you think... we used trafficmaster resilient vinyl tile flooring. It's thick tiles that need to be cut like you would a stone tile, and then you put spacers in, and you can grout around them. Just to look at it, it looks 'real', but since I'm a klutz in the kitchen, it has the added bonus of not shattering when we drop things on it. It was pretty foolproof to install as well. I would recommend it to anyone, though obviously-- it is not what I would call an eco friendly decision.

As for laminate-- we used a type that was supposed to be more real-looking, and the edges are slightly bevelled, so that it looks like the edge of a wood plank. It does-- we have tons of people assume that it's real wood. However-- with kids, or pets, any little spill needs to be cleaned up absolutely immediately or the liquid seeps into the edges of the planks. We have several spots that have warped because we didn't notice a spill right away. Also i have trouble finding ways to effectively clean it because of these edges-- any significant amount of liquid, and i worry that we'll ruin the floor even more. All in all, I would go with tile or real hardwood/bamboo and avoid laminates, except in maybe lower traffic areas.

[cristeen]

I haven't read all the responses, but this is what I've learned/experienced.

Carpet - may be recyclable, don't know. But there most definitely are brands that are not full of chemicals. You're probably looking for wool carpeting. It is expensive and you'll probably have to search for it. I've never heard of needing a variance for it.

Countertop - Do not do tile. If you ever like to put food on the counter top, knead bread or roll pastry (pie dough?) or cookies on the countertop, you cannot do it with tile. I've pulled the grout up into bread dough making that mistake. It's impossible to keep clean and when it starts going (dying), it's nasty. Cheapest would be replacing the laminate with a different color laminate. Or else putting in butcher block, which will require a fair bit of care to keep looking nice. If you do decide to do tile, use the largest tiles you can get and the smallest grout line you can (I believe it's something like a 14 inch tile and the grout line is the width of a quarter). I have a friend who did black granite tile countertops with thin black grout and until you get right up close you can't tell it's tile.

Floors - for the kitchen at least, don't do tile. Anything you drop will shatter, and so may the tile. Not to mention you'll kill your back standing on it. If you want linoleum, look for the brand name Marmoleum. That's the true linoleum, and not vinyl. Or else go with a wood of some sort. Cork is the nicest to stand on, but it's pricey.

We have hardwood throughout the house, and while it can be a pain sometimes, it's really the easiest thing in the world when it comes to keeping it clean/looking presentable. We do have a crawler, and I just went out and got a foam playmat to put down in the living room to help with the bumps and bruises. But really the wood doesn't hurt nearly as much as tile would.