New Kitchen Flooring

We've been working hard on our house. We got all the mudding and screwing and painting done. Now it is time to install the new flooring. We started with the kitchen. We are using a product called DuraCeramic. It looks like natural stone, but it is warmer and more comfortable under foot than ordinary ceramic. It has scotchgard protection which has stain and soil repellents. It is coated with an aluminum oxide finish for added stain and antibacterial protection.

We measured all the edges and found a center point to start from. You must avoid placing a tile that is only 2 or 3 inches wide on either side. Adjusting your center line from side to side can make larger edge pieces smaller and opposite edge pieces larger. We used Dad's chalk line to set up a guiding line and then started laying tiles. Just spread glue, then lay them down. Make sure the seams are tight together.

We laid all the whole tiles first and then the cut one. The cutting process starts with measuring the depth needed. An eighth of an inch short is best and makes an easy fit. Plus, base boards and caulk will hide the gap.


Then mark the tile and score it using a razor blade knife and a straight edge. After scoring, snap off the extra piece. After the cut, I dry fit it into place. If it does not fit, I was still able to trim off where needed. Then Jennifer would put down glue and get it in place, while I started on the next tile measurements and cuts.

The straight cuts are easy. The most difficult are those that must wrap around the base of the door jam. You must measure and really think it out before you cut. I did mess up one tile trying to get this one right. I did not waste the miscut tile though. I used it on a different corner. I think this cut turned out great and I was very proud of it.

When we first got started, the tile went down quickly. They were full pieces. We were able to put them down as fast as we could spread the glue. Dad commented that we would probably finish the kitchen and the bathroom in about 2 hours. Dad has never laid DuraCeramic. Once we started making cuts, things really slowed down. It took time to measure and cut and think things through. I did not want to rush through things and ruin a bunch of tiles over stupidity. We started work at 7 pm. I asked Jennifer how long she planned on staying. She said that we should just work as long as we were enjoying ourselves and until we were tired. We could always finish another night. We must have really enjoyed ourselves, because we worked until 3 in the morning.

At about 2:30 am, Jennifer sat down on the step, while I cut a tile, with her head in her hands. I finished the tile that I was cutting and then we cleaned up and headed to bed. Jennifer cleaned the glue off the trowel with water and I cleaned up all the empty boxes.

Here is the kitchen all finished. It looks great and we are very pleased. We still need to lay a few more pieces in the bathroom and the pantry and then we are all done.