Do you have good qualified builders over there, that can handle a major addition without an architects supervision?

Architects don't do that. They draw the plans and put their 'seal' on those plans. Local government (if applicable) then puts their approval on them and issues a building permit.

But who is ultimately responsible? Primary contractor. If you choose to be that, then you are responsible for what every sub-contractor does. Or you hire a builder who does all that for you and demands payment up front.

Some have hired a contractor as a sub AND as an advisor for the project. It is one way to better learn the building business - to suffer the heartaches and reap the joy of success from getting it done. Both are essential for learning.

So, do you want to learn or just add an addition? Notice what is definitely not an option here - cutting costs.

Now, do you know what you want or do you need advise on how best to make that addition look? Many drew up the plans, took them to an architect, who redrew the plans, and charged much money for the architects seal. Others asked the architect (and paid more) for ideas on architectural beauty and making the structure more practical. Those are also what an architect can provide. You must decide who will be the primary contractor - who gets paid most and takes full responsibility for failures and problems.

Meanwhile, no matter what you decide, you are still responsible for all financing.

Sometimes they do, but not on projects as small as a single house. Of course we are both speaking of what's customary in this country.

Does anybody have any experience with self-adhesive vinyl tile? We were going to put some down in our kitchen, but we're stalled at floor prep. We're getting conflicting information about how difficult & practical it will be to smooth over a seam/crack in the existing floor.

We re-did the sub-floor(?) before we put down the peel and stick tile. Its been several years and its still looking great.

how did you redo it?

OK maybe we just layed a new one over the old one. We had too, the old tile (from the 60's I swear) wouldn't budge and was broken up. My memory on what we did exactly is a bit foggy, but I do know getting the surface smooth was important.

yes...I am curious as well...

Hey I was just the helper. Scuse me for my inaccuraccies regarding the work...

Tough crowd.

:o

Yeah! Well see the thing is, there's a seam right down the middle of the existing floor. They make stuff that's supposed to level up any embossing in your existing floor, then blammo, put it down. But we've been getting conflicting reports of whether it actually works or how easy it is.

If there is any uneveness AND movement in the floor around this seam I dont think you can simply 'patch' it up. At least, I would be wary of it. Unless you line up the tiles so that their edges match the seams...maybe.

You don't say how big the cracks are or how high the bumps.

As others noted, the sub floor must be solid - not movement between adjacent floor boards. I assume the floor is quarter inch plywood?

Now, each sub floor must be nailed through to joists. Where two plywood edges meet, there must be an adjacent nail on each plywood; both nails into joists. Also locate a nail half way between joists where plywoods meet.

The nail should be corrugated or ring nails - at least 1 and 1/4 inches long. Those ridges keep the nail embedded and not pushing up through the tile.

Some adhesive tile is very sticky - once it touches, you are done. Other tiles are less adhesive and more forgiving.

Tool rental centers have a roller for pressing the tiles in place. You will be amazed how much air gets squeezed out by a 100 pound roller. That roller is necessary for less sticky tiles and strongly recommended for the sticky tiles. It will make the difference between some tiles coming up years later. Get the roller. Especially important is to press those tiles along the wall and in areas that tend to get wet such as near a sink. We even had success with tiles laid on a concrete floor. Roller meant even the flood some years later cause no tiles to pop.

Plan a floor layout so that some tiles end up in doorways or walls without cutting. That means carefully drawing chalk lines (X & Y axis) in the center of the floor, and laying the first tiles there. Use the 3-4-5 (or 5-12-13) triangle trick to square those lines - making that triangle as large as possible. Do not start laying tile at one end since tile variations will cause the far end to be noticeably skewed or with gaps.

We have self adhesive tile in our bathroom. It was there when we bought our house. I can tell from other bathroom details that the contractors in that bathroom renovation cut corners, so it's likely the installation wasn't done according to instructions. The tiles are about 12 years old. Over the years, they have come unstuck every once in a while and you have to press them down again. They move slightly over time, which has opened up small gaps between some of them. A few of them have also cracked and need to be replaced. They show every bump in the surface below, as evidenced by a screw head here and there that have telegraphed through the tile. It wasn't until about 5 years had gone by that these problems showed up, but we have been living with the ugliness for the last several years. It's on my list of THINGS TO DO to replace them with sheet vinyl. I don't recommend self adhesive tiles. Ours are Armstrong Vernay Series no wax vinyl tile with a 3 year limited warranty. They are crap.