Hi everyone, I am looking to purchase a PPoR and really like everything about the house besides the flooring. It is wooden flooring (I think laminate) and the house in on stumps I think. The floor creaks a little at certain places and sounds hollow. The floor looks a little damaged (scratches, dents etc) in certain spots and dips as well. I am a big fan of tiled floors rather than wooden. So just wondering if someone could help me out with the following: a) Rough estimate of the cost to replace flooring from wooden to basic tiles. The house is about 26 square including the bathroom (that is tiled) b) does it matter if its on stumps? i.e. does it have to be wooden flooring then or can I get tiles in. Thanks for your help. Also, if there are any recommender flooring specialists that could quote me based on pictures of the house or a floor plan?
What sort of house is it? Would tiled floors look ok? I would have thought to tile over a timber floored house on stumps, you'd need to really make it stable, maybe yellow tongue or thinner layer, well screwed down to create a firm layer and then use flexible adhesive. I cannot imagine a queenslander (timber house on stumps that we have plenty of here in Queensland) having a tiled floor .
What do you mean by what type house? No idea if tile would look better. Just find it more stable. Would reflooring it with another type of wood get rid of the creaking noise or not make it sound hollow?
I'm not sure what sort of house has wooden floors and stumps in other states. Here we have post war houses on stumps and queenslanders on stumps. Both look odd with tiled floors. But I'm not sure what the style of house you are talking about. What is the style called? Whatever the style, is it normal to see tiled floors in that style of house? For post war houses and queenslanders, tiled floors are not "usual" and mostly look wrong. A brick house with tiled floors would be fine and look normal. Not in a queenslander though. I'm thinking you could have the house levelled and stumps packed if they are dipping or creaking. It could be a very easy fix without going to the expense of tiling the floors.
It is definitelt an older house. Yeah if those creaks and dips can be replaced without replacing the whole floor then that definitely works for me. Any idea what the cost would be per m2?
No idea sorry per square metre, but if you get a builder to check the stumps, or a restumper could quote. It shouldn't cost much if it is just stumps that need chocking up. If your floors are laminate and not timber, then you could have some gaps between the laminate and whatever your floor is under the laminate. I don't know much about laminate except some houses have a hollow sound, and I guess that comes down to many things.
Our PPOR is an old place on stumps but the previous owner (my mum ) had a screed laid and tiles put over the top, partly because the floorboards were crooked, but also because she liked the look. Personally Im not a huge fan of tiles in older houses so when we took over we ripped up the tiles and screed to check the floorboards. After realising they were pretty ordinary we relaid a screed and put floaters over the top! A big job but we're really happy with the look and think it's in keeping with the house. If you're putting tiles over the top of floorboards (and probably a screed to go under them), you just need to check that the foundations can handle the added weight. Tiles will stop the squeaky floor because there will be no give in it.
Tiles over timber floors in a timber house is a terrible idea because it looks bad and the grout will crack.
Not a good idea to tile over a wood floor,apart from the bathroom,very easy way to stop all the noise is just repack the stumps,they will drop over the years then just jack them up repack and let back down..
You can pull off tiles on a timber floor with the right flexible bond glue, but I still wouldn't recommend it..
If it's an older style house on stumps, then the floor would be made of chipboard or real wooden slats (hardwood). This really depends on the builder at the time. Whatever the case may be, you can easily pullup the cheap lino flooring and lay tiles. The only things you will need to consider is the quality (ceramic vs. porcelain) of tile, colour, and texture. This is the only factor that will determine price (excluding labor). Regarding the creaky flooring, the wooden slats have most likely pulled away from the crossbeam. A few nails and some packing material should resolve the noise. If the floor dips in places, then this shall be more expensive to resolve and might involve re-stumping.
If it was originally built to the quality where they knew they were going to tile the kitchen it's Ok. Not always great results adding it later where it wasn't intended to go.
I've never seen a queenslander with chipboard flooring (original flooring). Most had either pine or hardwood, not always meant to be polished or seen, but usually so. Maybe in other states the "houses on stumps" had chipboard? Bathrooms and kitchens of course can be tiled, but need the stabilisation of a compressed AC sheet under to stop cracking. Often masonite was used in kitchens under the lino, and I've removed thousands of those little u-shaped nails that held the masonite down over the years. Those guys back then went nuts with the u-shape nails. We've ripped out a few terrazzo bathroom floors when they've been damaged or layout needs changing, but we've also had a few repolished, and they come up beautifully. I think it is a shame when people "modernise" queenslanders with tiles, and I think tiles over floors that "should" be timber devalue the house considerably.
