Everything You Need To Know About Refinishing Tile Floor

Hi there, and welcome to the Jericho Home Improvements blog!

In this article, we’re going to walk you through the basics of everything you need to know about refinishing tile floor around the house.

First, let’s look at ultra-common reasons homeowners find themselves in your position — researching pros and cons.

• The tile flooring in either your kitchen and/or bathroom has become a serious chore to keep clean; high-maintenance.
• Over the years, your grout has gotten so stained and grimy that you don’t recall what color it’s supposed to be anymore.
• When you bought the home, the tile flooring was something you decided to overlook… despite the fact it’s ugly. Now, it’s REALLY ugly.

The Major Problem: You don’t want to invest the funds needed for a completely new tile floor, and trying to simply cover up the stained and outdated tile isn’t working anymore.

You could try a DIY tile refinishing kit, but don’t consider yourself an incredibly handy person…

Besides, cheap, inexpensive ‘solutions’ attempting to make refinishing tile floor as easy as child’s play don’t last.

What Is Tile Refinishing (Reglazing)?

This is the process by which you breathe fresh life into old tile without replacing the whole floor; a facelift, an update! And when you have it done by a professional, it actually seems like you paid for brand new tile flooring!

Have you heard of Kitchen Refinishing? It’s the same concept: giving your kitchen a makeover in a 3rd of the time, at a 3rd of the price of Full Kitchen Remodeling.

Another good example is concrete refinishing. Rather than having someone come in and completely tear out your garage concrete and repour it, they only remove/replace the worn surface layer then recoat or reglaze it. Afterward, the surface looks as new as a commercial showroom.

The Primary Benefits of Refinishing Tile Floor

• Little To No Demolition: Of course, the broken tiles beyond saving will be replaced, but hopefully, that’s only a handful. The rest of the floor can stay where it is. During full replacement jobs, you have to destroy everything and remove it, then completely re-do the entire tile system one by one.
• Long-Term Styling Solution: When you have a professional contractor or company in charge of refinishing tile floor, they will use high-quality cleaning products and Refinishing Materials, not to mention grouting, primer, and enamel. You’ll also have access to a large variety of new long-lasting tile colors, polishes, and designs.
• HUGE Money Saver: Costs vary from place to place across the county, but you can expect to pay less than half the overall price of a brand new tile floor. You’re saving on the costs of new tile and all the labor involved in Rip & Replace.

If we turn to Home Advisor just to put some numbers on the topic, they provide a basic reference point:

“Tile refinishing (or reglazing) is a process that repairs cracked, worn or dull surfaces with specialized equipment and finishes. It is more affordable than replacement, costing on average $1,075 versus anywhere between $850-$3,000 to install new materials. The cost to remove tile also adds to the overall price of a full replacement. Refinishing is a long-lasting and fast solution to restoring the look of your tile.”

Besides, let’s say your tile is glazed ceramic tile. What are you going to do, carefully remove each one and send it back to the kiln? These glazes are baked onto tiles in factories at temperatures ranging from 900F to 2500, so overlaying a new glaze is FAR easier.

Cracks are repaired. Chips are addressed. New grout is floated in, and what you end up with requires as much maintenance as the tiles did when they were first installed.

What About Just Repainting The Tiles?

This is definitely an option, and popular among the DIY crowd. However, the painting doesn’t add any real durability, the surface gloss will not look original anymore, and there’s no comparison in terms of which lasts longer.

Cheap spray enamels and roll-on epoxies don’t look as good as professional reglazing that involves specialized equipment, primers, bonding agents, topcoats, clear finishes, etc.

Wrapping Up: Refinishing Tile Floor Is A Great Cost-Effective Alternative To Full Replacement… Hands Down!

And there you have it, the basics of refinishing tile floor in your home, whether that be a special hallway, the kitchen, or bathroom(s). By reglazing, you save immense amounts of time and money and still get the clean updated look you desire.