That seems very high. For that much, why not change the floor? How big is the floor?

Where in the country are you? Labor costs vary so much regionally it's hard to give you any input on that. But depending on the size, around here you could have the floor taken out and a new one (that you like!) installed for not a whole lot more $$.

I think you can put linoleum over ceramic tile but you'd need a leveling layer first, which means you'd lose 3/4" of floor height or so -- can you afford that around doors and cabinets?

There are some thicker padded sheet vinyl floors that do not require much prep work of the tile floor below. The thinner vinyl flooring needs to have a smooth subfloor, but some of the thicker padded ones do not. And they look great too!

A floatiing floor, like laminate tiles is the easiest to install over tile (I think.) But I'd look into replacing it.

We are in southern NH.

The floor area is a significant size; it's the kitchen, hallway, laundry area and bathroom.

I guess maybe my concern is if the grouting/sealing is worth it? It's our first time having ceramic tile and it seems that we nor the previous owner took very good care of it. (We washed it/cleaned it like we did our previous home that just had vinyl tiles, not realizing we should have dried the tile after washing rather than air drying.)

I don't think we have 3/4" to spare. We had to pull up some tiles under our dishwasher when we replaced it and just removing those alone was a huge undertaking. (The previous owners removed the bottom of their dishwasher to jam it in, real nice huh? It was a fire hazard we never knew about...)

I attached a couple of pics just to show the floor area; our kitchen doesn't look like this anymore decor/paint-wise, etc. These were the only ones that showed any floor.

Front door area---this hallway leads to kitchen, about 8-9 feet.

this is kitchen floor area, plus through the 2 doors to laundry area and bathroom.

If you're just going to put another floor over it, I wouldn't waste the time or money regrouting or sealing what you have. Let them come in with feather finish and flatten the floor and install the new floor.

I want the new floor, my husband doesn't. :o) And he'd never go for removing the tile that's there now ($$ or dust-wise).

The company we got the estimate from said it's costly because of the pattern our tiles are (it's hard to get in a groove working due to the diagonals)--does that make sense?

Buy A BUNCH of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. Get a towel to pad you knees, and use these to clean the grout. Or pay someone else to do it. Then reseal. This is what I've done on my tile. Took some time, but it cleans it like a charm. The Eraser's aren't cheap, but nowhere close to 1K. You will be amazed at what these Magic Erasers will do to the grout. And you don't even really need to scrub.

Basically, you have 4 rooms that need to be done & from the look of your pictures it seems that you're at about 450 - 500 sf at minimum for all the spaces combined. Really isn't so bad considering how meticulous it is to do (which is why no one wants to do it!) If it were me, I think I'd probably rather clean & seal it myself for the short term and put that money towards saving for something that is more in style to what I want.

If they're talking about coming in ans steam cleaning the grout, it's worth the money. Otherwise, you'd do just as well to DIY it, using Oxyclean, a scrub brush, and a shopvac. Mix the Oxyclean at twice the concentration they recommend on the side of the tub. Use the scrub brush to agitate the grout joints. DO NOT mop up the dirty solution, because all you do is embed the dirt right back into the grout. Use the shop vac, set up for wet pick-up, and vacumn it up. Do the same thing all over again, but this time with clear water (and the brush). Again, vacumn it up. You'll see a big difference. The ONLY way you'll get them cleaner is by someone coming in with professional steam cleaning equipment.

We've had Stanley Steemer clean our tile floor, and we have white grout thanks to the PO. They are quite reasonable.

Bill (and others):

I'm thinking of buying the White Wing-brand steam cleaner to keep our (soon-to-be) newly grouted floors looking new. It produces steam up to 285-degrees F. This steamer with the basic accessory kit sells for $599. Is this good enough/hot enough to effectively clean grout? (The next model up is $1,450 and goes to 298-degrees F, but is a continuous-fill model). Thanks!

Keep in mind that steam cleaning isn't meant to be a normal cleaning kind of thing. If used as even once a month or once every couple of months, it could ruin the grout (I don't remember how, but it can happen), especially in the case of epoxy grout, which is extreme heat sensitive. ADditionally, if your floor is over woodframe (instead of slab) it could over time, ruin the subfloor, as well. Steam cleaning the grout is something that shouldn't happen more than MAYBE once every couple of YEARS.

It is very hard work. Did they tell you, that some times the grout comes out looking uneven after being cleaned. Than it has to be color sealed. But after it is done it looks like a brand new floor. I, think the price is good with replacing the four tile's. A stream machine, will get it a lot cleaner than anything else. sharaz

@Bill Vincent:

Are those Steam Shark mops a bad idea to use with tile floors, then? I'm thinking of situations like the OP's, with non-epoxy grout, and sealed.

No. The steam from then doesn't get nearly as hot. Nor does it put out nearly as much steam as the other machines that have been discussed so far, so it won't penetrate nearly as far. Those ARE made for constant surface cleaning, but they won't do the same kind of deep cleaning that the OP's looking for.

Thanks, Bill; reassuring.