What to replace the granite tiles?
I'm tired of granite tiles in the living room and need a visual change!
A few quick facts about the room.
-Size: 5 m*4.5 m
-Floor: granite tiles including 7 cm high granite baseboard
-Wall: textured plaster
-Stairs to attic floor
-one step of the same granite, as a tool for access to the balcony
-2 radiators
I would like to do away with granite, what options are available to me?
I see the following problems for myself. If I remove the tile, I will also have to remove the baseboards. This will affect the wall, i.e. I will either have to "re-plaster" the wall so well that I will not see a visual difference, which I have not been able to do myself. Alternatively, I could sand the entire wall or plaster over the textured plaster to give the wall a uniform look.
Answers
Yes, of course, there are other possibilities. Depending on what kind of flooring/type of flooring you have in mind, and (link has already been made) whether or not there is underfloor heating.
Undercuts and corners under or near stairs are a big job.
All plinths have to be removed. This shouldn't be a problem, however, as they are usually only "spot glued" on the back side.
For the most part, the wall surfaces are not affected, i.e., damage to the plaster walls remains within normal limits and can be caulked and repainted.
To the floor surfaces:
A basic mechanical cleaning and intensive sanding of the natural stone surface is sufficient as preparation.
Prim with a dispersion approved for non-absorbent substrates, and then fill the surfaces with a 3 mm thick industrial filler.
The result is a substrate that is suitable for resilient flooring because it absorbs moisture evenly.
With underfloor heating, the heat transfer resistance should not be higher than at present. This means: only a relatively thin top layer.
If the parquet is in the room at will (whether glued down or as a floating structure), then you can't do without removing the natural stone.
Because it is impossible to calculate the risk that later the heat supply will no longer be sufficient to adequately heat the room.
I strongly advise against grinding, filling and sealing with pigment. You will not be happy with it for years to come.
I would put good hardwood flooring on it. First of all, I like parquet anyway, and you have something of quality and durability. There are plenty of choices.
You can order baseboards of appropriate height from a joiner to either cover the granite baseboards or cover removed baseboards or damaged areas. There are options. Of course, this adds about 12 to 15 mm.
Vinyl flooring is inexpensive and can be installed like laminate flooring.
It's not what you want to hear, but I think it looks absolutely fine!
Of course, you can knock them out and use something else.
— Parquet is different, but it's also much more sensitive to scratches and such.
— With vinyl, you have to make sure it doesn't look plastic/cheap.
— Of course, other tiles and formats are possible (like 60x60). The only question is whether it will blend in with the rest of the surface.
Maybe there is an alternative to rearrange the neutral floor with other stimuli such as wall color, furniture, lighting?
Obviously you have a stone floor, not tile. They last forever (look at old churches). Research the cost of a stone floor and consider how much you want to demolish or replace it. Unlike my other recommendations, I would seek a reversible solution to preserve the value of the property and put up with slight differences in height if necessary.
Taste is not a consideration, and if you are sick of the floor, so be it. A combination of selectively placed stone carpets such as those from Mater, Louis de Poortere, CPRN Homood, Thibault van Renne, to name just a few are very different for inspiration.
