Hi Friend’s! I know it’s been a while, but I’m back (and hopefully more often). I’ve been extremely busy with the kiddos, work and the multitude of unfinished projects waiting to be completed. I just can’t figure out why I can’t fully complete anything! Well, one of my most recent projects is my new “Tile” floors. We have been living with white ceramic tile floors throughout our kitchen hallway, bath and stair landing for six years now- the grout was dingy and dated and some of the tiles were cracked, not to mention the amount of times I had to sweep/mop in a week! Here’s an equation for ya: 3 kids+white tile floors=insanity!
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| Before
This pic was taken one morning when I woke up to find my ten year old doing dishes after “cleaning” as a surprise for me-melt my heart-he is the sweetest boy!! (the pink/white desk is a project and is only temporary-we tend to stockpile thrifted furniture) |
Unfortunately, chipping away at the floors and re-tiling wasn’t an option within our budget, but the new TrafficMaster Ceramica tiles were!
They are peel and stick vinyl tiles that can go over the existing floor and can actually be grouted. They look and almost feel like the real thing!
Here’s what I did:
- I washed the floor thoroughly and decided on a diagonal pattern.
- I didn’t use any exact science in figuring out the center of the floor and what-not (1. because I’m impatient and 2. because who would really notice anyway?)
- I then did a dry run and started laying out my tiles in the diagonal pattern in the kitchen area.
- Next, I started peeling and sticking the tiles in place using 1/8” tile spacers as my guide.
I removed some baseboards, but not all -as I planned to use quarter round molding to cover the edges(which I saved for very last).
(please ignore messy kitchen-this is the typical view when I’m working on a project, finishing dinner and need to do dishes—oh and the breakfast bar is a whole other project!)
I peeled and sticked, peeled and sticked, and peeled and sticked some more, trying to complete one straight row at a time. However, I have issues and kept jumping from row to row.
It’s helpful if you have someone peel while you stick. Hubby stayed around for about ten minutes peeling for me then handed the job over to my 7 year old.
She even put some down-Ez Peazy!
AND now for the Fun part- Grouting!
Kitchen and dining area ready.
We removed all spacers and began grouting using the Simple grout premixed grout-in Haystack.
We used:
A large bucket of water
A double sided grouting sponge
and a small plastic putty knife to force grout into grout lines
The directions also say to use a utility knife-which worked great for the straight cuts, but I found that snips, like these work wonders for cutting around tricky edges.
Then my helper and I got to work!
*One Piece of advice*: If you plan to grout be sure you are fully clothed and gloved-we were peeling/scrubbing grout off of our feet and hands for hours!
Grouted
This picture shows it rinsed once-(you’ll need to wipe with a clean, rinsed sponge, rinsing the sponge every few minutes, also changing the water several times).
We filled in the lines being careful not to get grout all over the tiles-as it makes much more mess to clean.
Then we wiped the excess grout away using a wet sponge. Try to wipe the tile clear (unlike in the second pic above) because once it dries it leaves a nasty haze on the tile, making them look dirty.
Here’s a peek at one of the finished sections.
I love, love, LOVE the results. They are easy to clean and look great! Now on to finishing the hall, bathroom and stair landing! Wish me luck!
I’ll be back to show you the finished product!
If you’re interested in seeing how I’ve updated the peninsula with bead board, click here.
Linking up with:
Your new floors look fantastic! I love the color!! Amazing job!!
Great new floor, Carli! Looks much better, Great job!
Wow I need this…what a great transformation. You did a great job I bet it took a while!!! Hopefully they are available in Australia but I doubt it!
Your floor looks amazing….Great job!
Awesome job! That gave me inspiration to change up my foyer!
What a neat product! It looks great. Saw your feature at Under the Table & Dreaming.
It looks awesome, and really is the perfect color for your oh so cute kitchen. Nice work!
Thanks everyone for the awesome comments! I am loving my new floors thus far-such an improvement from the white tile!
That look great. Any issues since install? Looking at doing a bath room.
Hi Carli. It's been a few years since your installation. Have there been any isses? Im thinking of this for a bathroom to start.
Looks very nice! Great job
Great job- looks fantastic! How has it held up for you? –Eric
Hello! I hope you will see this. I want to say that your floors look amazing! I googled Trafficmaster ceramica and found your post. My kitchen, half bath and foyer too have near-white and cracked tiles with yucky stained white grout and I want to put down some new vinyl tiles. But I'm worried if it will work ok if I lay the new tiles on top of the ceramic tiles (e.g. any specific prep work needed? will the old grout lines show?) Also, since your post is dated 2011, I wonder how your floor is holding up now after 2 years? I am concerned about its durability since they are all high traffic areas. Oh and what color is your tiles? They really good! I hope you will see this. Thanks in advance for reading!
Do you still love your floor? I would like to do exactly what you did, but reading everywhere not to install it over the current ceramic floor. Have you had any issues in the couple years its been installed? Thanks!!
I love your floor. Thinking about doing the same thing but have read not to install this flooring over the ceramic tile. Have you had any problems? Thanks in advance!
Hi Carli- I just stumbled upon this blog about your floors. Great job. I am laying my own Ceramica floor right now. I'm so impressed with the results that I feel like a rock star! My husband told me not to do it myself and to hire someone to install it. That's all I needed to hear. I started ripping up the funky, dirty, stained carpet that night! I'm doing my entryway, hallway and kitchen. I'm about halfway done and my husband is really impressed! We Girls Rock!
Hi Carli- I just stumbled upon this blog about your floors. Great job. I am laying my own Ceramica floor right now. I'm so impressed with the results that I feel like a rock star! My husband told me not to do it myself and to hire someone to install it. That's all I needed to hear. I started ripping up the funky, dirty, stained carpet that night! I'm doing my entryway, hallway and kitchen. I'm about halfway done and my husband is really impressed! We Girls Rock!
We are looking into doing this in our kitchen and wondering how the grout holds up? I would love to hear how your opinion since a couple of years have gone by? Thanks!
I am considering ceramica tile as well, your floor look great. How are they looking after a few years of wear?Have they been easy to keep clean and looking new?
Looks great! I wasn't aware you could tile over existing ceramic tile? Have there been any issues feeling the original grout lines thru the new tile? Also what color/brand of vinyl tile did you use?
I just bought the same tiles. Yours look great. Wish me luck.
Carli- Awesome job on the floor!I'm working with Halstead, the manufacturer of Ceramica, to reach out to customers and ask them to share their Ceramica flooring experience. Here is an example: http://youtu.be/mjE0ieU1iaII wanted to get in touch with you to see if you were interested in sharing your experience with allure. Would be a 10 -15 minutes video chat if you are interested.Please send me an email. Again, great work! Look forward to hearing from you.~Aaronallurehalstead (at) gmail.com
Hi Carli!Your floor looks great! That is TrafficMASTER Ceramica, right? Which ones? It's been awhile since you installed them, how does it look now?~Aaron
Love your floors. I was just wondering about the wear and tear 3 years later. Do you have any updates since time has passed on the floors. They look wonderful and I hope to update my bathrooms.
Hi Carli, I just stumbled upon your blog and I love it!! I love the results you attained with the Ceramica tile. I am considering using this product over my existing old shiny "faux marble" bathroom tiles. I just wanted to know.. how are your tiles holding up? Does the old ceramic tile "telegraph" through? All the experts say I should demo the floor first but I can not even begin to fathom that much work! Please advise. Thanks!
I am considering this for my bathroom. How is your floor holding up?
Just found your blog. Great job! I am looking to do something similar and wondered what colour you chose?..thanks.
I am using this product next qeekend. Just curious….did you move you refrigerator and stove? Im debating…
I am using this product next qeekend. Just curious….did you move you refrigerator and stove? Im debating…
Hi Lindsey, I'm pretty sure I did not go under the refrigerator and stove, however if I were to do this project today(being a bit wiser 😄), I probably would.
Your floors look great! We're planning on using the TrafficMaster Ceramica in our bathrooms and laundry room before putting the house on the market. Here's hoping that the floors look as good as yours!
Hi, I was wondering how your tiles are holding up? Thanks in advance. (your house and floors look great!)
I installed the same flooring about 5 years ago and I have not had any issues. I installed it in the kitchen which is the hub of the house where it gets a huge amount of traffic and it does not show any wearing at this point. It looks beautiful and I get comments about how great it looks all the time. My brother had installed the same floor in his house and recommended it when I remodeled my kitchen. I loved it when I put it in and I still love it 5 years later!
Unfortunately they suffered a flood a few months later and had to redo the whole kitchen https://www.fwmadebycarli.com/2016/03/through-years-kitchendining-area.html?m=1
So glad I found this – inspiring! Was debating a diagonal pattern using 18" travertine-look peel and stick in my smallish kitchen and hall so your project gave me a good idea of the final look, which is beautiful.
Amazing – great job! I definitely want to try this instead of paying for installation of $$$ tile. Thanks for the inspiration!
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Hi Judy glad you’re inspired! 🙂