computid
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| posted on 13/3/23 at 02:21 PM |
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Dealing with rough slate floor tiles in kitchen
Hi all,
Looking for some LCB collective thoughts here!
My kitchen has rough cut black slate floor tiles with raised edges, and not only do they make the room very dark but they're hard to keep clean
and horrible to walk on.
Ideally, I'd like to get rid of them. My kitchen cabinets however are on top of them, and I don't want to remove the cabinets. My current
thinking is that if I remove the base boards from the cabinets, it's just the side panels that are the issue. I figure I can probably use an
oscillating cutting tool to cut around them, and then butt the new floor up to them. My concern is damaging the side boards with the tool, and the
amount of dust that this will undoubtedly generate. Does anybody have any better ideas? Removing the side boards isn't an option as they have a
myriad of things mounted to them. Once the slate is out I intend to replace with wooden flooring, and so cutting around the boards shouldn't be
difficult and I can adjust the base boards as needed.
Keen to hear your thoughts!
Thanks all!
[Edited on 13/3/23 by computid]
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Slimy38
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| posted on 13/3/23 at 02:55 PM |
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Personally I'd look at removing the tiles completely by chiselling/cutting them off the grout and sliding them out? Even if you have to crack the
tiles and remove the shards. Obviously at some point the side panels would be unsupported so be ready with some wooden battens. Then the wooden floor
can tuck under the side panels to take the place of the tiles.
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nick205
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| posted on 13/3/23 at 03:30 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
Personally I'd look at removing the tiles completely by chiselling/cutting them off the grout and sliding them out? Even if you have to crack the
tiles and remove the shards. Obviously at some point the side panels would be unsupported so be ready with some wooden battens. Then the wooden floor
can tuck under the side panels to take the place of the tiles.
Ditto - get the tiles out completely.
I have the same issue with laminate flooring in my kitchen. Floored the room completely then fitted the kitchen over the top. The laminate needs
replacing and I'm putting it off as it means getting it out from under the side panels. Fortunately the laminates not glued down so it should
come out OK. Then I can fit something new.
Probably end up getting asked for new kitchen at that point though 
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JoelP
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| posted on 13/3/23 at 07:10 PM |
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My approach would be to use self levelling over the slate and then lay click vinyl tiles. Much nicer than wood, and more durable. Taking the slate up
will escalate to a big job.
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perksy
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| posted on 13/3/23 at 07:55 PM |
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Ideally they need to come up and yes it will be messy, then prep and use self level compound
I did a kitchen a few years ago in dark Grey tiles and it looked too dark until I grouted with light grey grout and it improved the whole look
*If* you do decide to use levelling compound over the existing slate, make sure you'll have enough clearance under opening doors etc as I've
seen folks have to have carpet wells fitted or doors planed going down this route
Also you might have a step when entering from an adjoining room
If you do go for laminate in the Kitchen be aware that if you ever have a water leak you might be in for some pain 
A mate fitted expensive water proof laminate and had a leak and although he thought he'd got away with it, 3 months later he hadn't as it
started to lift
[Edited on 13/3/23 by perksy]
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 14/3/23 at 09:01 AM |
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I have the same problem with my kitchen tiles they're a bit of a faff to keep clean and they're cold as they're bonded straight onto
the concrete base. But for me they're worth it. If I were removing them, I'd be ripping them out entirely and putting in an insulated
flooring of some sort.
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Sanzomat
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| posted on 14/3/23 at 05:36 PM |
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If the tiles are generally good condition and just a bit too dark then one thing to consider is whether its the sealer making them darker. My kitchen
has oyster slate flooring and when I moved in was a bit dark, as well as being a bit grubby and I couldn't clean it whatever I tried. Eventually
I realised that the sealer that had originally been used had discoloured with age (and also the tiles hadn't been properly cleaned before they
were first sealed as witnessed by the plaster snots under the sealer!). Most of the grout looked dark grey but after stripping I found it was actually
beige. I used Aquamix sealer and coating remover but not sure if its still available as last time I looked I couldn't find any. It goes on a bit
like paint stripper but not quite as nasty. After about half an hour the original sealer turns into a sticky goo that after lots of scrubbing and
rinsing comes off to leave a clean and unsealed slate floor several shades lighter than it was before. I re-sealed with LTP matt colour intensifier
sealer and when dried the colour hardly darkened from the unsealed clean tiles and stayed quite matt. Might be worth trying a small area to see how
much lighter it goes. If you hate the slate this won't help though! It'll probably come back into fashion in another few years. If you hack
them up it'll come back into fashion straight after!
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nick205
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| posted on 15/3/23 at 10:55 AM |
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Just a thought...
Any chance of laying the new flooring over the tiles and not having to remove them?
If they're sound (as in not cracked and well bonded) it may be an easier solution. Just room door clearances to consider with the change in
floor height.
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contaminated
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| posted on 15/3/23 at 02:17 PM |
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This ^
I had the same issue. Whole downstairs was tiled, straight onto a concrete floor. I laid floorboards over them. I removed the unit kickboards, fitting
the new floor and then cut the kickboards down to fit.
Tiger Super Six Independent
www.southernkitcars.com
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 17/3/23 at 12:07 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by contaminated
This ^
I had the same issue. Whole downstairs was tiled, straight onto a concrete floor. I laid floorboards over them. I removed the unit kickboards, fitting
the new floor and then cut the kickboards down to fit.
What about internal door heights etc?!
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contaminated
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| posted on 17/3/23 at 12:27 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
quote:
Originally posted by contaminated
This ^
I had the same issue. Whole downstairs was tiled, straight onto a concrete floor. I laid floorboards over them. I removed the unit kickboards, fitting
the new floor and then cut the kickboards down to fit.
What about internal door heights etc?!
In my case I fitted new doors to size. It's a very old house so I used very old, reclaimed doors. If I had existing doors I would cut these down.
Much less effort than removing all the tiles, at least in my case.
Tiger Super Six Independent
www.southernkitcars.com
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