When you say linoleum do you mean vinyl tiles? Between vinyl or ceramic I vote for ceramic. Maybe do a faux travertine, that's a popular look now.

Since you are in Michigan have you considered adding a heating system under the tiles? It's a do it yourself project if you are a bit handy and I think it would set your house apart from all the other houses.

I mean vinyl tiles. How hard is it to put in a heating system under the tiles? That's sounds very appealing (especially in the winter!)

Another question - in choosing tile size -do bigger tiles make small rooms look bigger or smaller? I love hex tiles but think it might make the bathroom look too small (not to mention the extra work involved).

Thanks so much!

We're in northern Michigan and sold our house in Brighton, MI in 2006 at the beginning of the housing mess.
In my opinion I would put in vinyl. There are so many empty houses on the market today that you shouldn't drop anymore $ than you have too into each project. Just make the home something that you would be happy living in, in case it doesn't sell. As for heated flooring, that is great in Michigan, but would not be a deal breaker with a buyer. If it isn't there, it is not expected.
Good luck, hope you have a quick sale.
Kathy G in MI

I agree that in the current market for your area you should invest the minimum time and $$$ to make your house appealing to buyers. Clean new vinyl is a lot less effort and money to install and you won't likely sell your home because of tile or heated floors.

For what it's worth, larger tiles (1' or a bit larger) are better than smaller in terms for a spacious look (done it.. it works). You will need a pro for ceramic though - it's harder than it looks and they will want to lift the toilet. Vinyl comes in a lot of really nice looking finishes, some faux, and is a good compromise. I would not spring for heated floors - too much money and electrician or plumber needed.

You don't need a plumber to raise a toilet for tile. The sell flange extenders at all the box stores that just drop right in.

Obviously, tile is more popular than vinyl. If you can DIY tile for a couple hundred bucks, I would. If you are spending much more than that, I would go with an easier/cheaper option.

Thanks for the input! We put ceramic tile in our kitchen ourselves so we already have a tile saw. I figured we'd need about 100 sq ft of flooring. If we did vinyl then we could probably get away w/o replacing the vinyl in the laundry area (it's attached to one of the bathrooms)-which would mean avoiding the hassle of moving our front loaders out of the room (maybe that's reason enough not to do tile :) )
I'm going to price it all out and see what the difference is between the two. Vinyl would certainly be easier! My DH's main concern in the toilet nightmare -this will be the third time we've removed them and it's always been a PITA to put back on (and it looks so easy on those DIY videos.....)

Bill-I think we looked at those extenders before and for some reason they weren't going to work in our situation -but I need to check again b/c that certainly would make our life easier!

Thanks again!

What does the competition have?

My DH's main concern is the toilet nightmare -this will be the third time we've removed them and it's always been a PITA to put back on (and it looks so easy on those DIY videos.....)

Mine were difficult till i put the hold down bolts on the flange first with extra nuts then used the bolts to guide the toilet on. Also put the wax ring on the flange and it wont drop off of the toilet. No more cramming your head between the wall and toilet while trying to hold the bolt and screw on the nut at the same time.

henricus- exactly! I really do think we'll hire a plumber to do it this time -even if it's only to show us how it's done right! lol

brickeye-the competition is probably mostly vinyl -so, I don't think putting vinyl in will hurt us, it's more that ceramic would give us an edge.

I do not get the logic behind the thought that because there is soooo much inventory in Michigan, that they would not want to put in ceramic in order to stand out in the crowd.
If you do ceramic, do it right. Raise the toilet and recess the tiles under it. No butting the tile up against the toilet base. Also, buy a door jamb saw to cut the door jambs so you can tuck the tile under the jambs. Buyers hate it when these two things are not done. Even if buyers do not notice it, most of us agents will point it out to them. Doind it the right way shows buyers that probably other maintenance items have been done well too.

"the competition is probably mostly vinyl"

You might go tour some of the houses and see what they actually have.

A lot of things can affect the 'saleability' of upgrades.

Do you NEED to sell or WANT to sell?

A lower sale price usually speeds things up more than any improvement.

Personally I would prefer vinyl over tile because vinyl is simple to change. I hated most of the tile I saw when I was house hunting, and thought about how much of a pain and expense it would be to replace. I immediately disqualified more than a few houses because of this. Perhaps you could put in vinyl and give a tile allowance to 'stand out'. Although that might just be pointing out a 'problem' that a buyer like me didn't consider a problem...

brickeyee-we don't HAVE to sell -we want to sell b/c we have WAY outgrown this house.

nc-we are very familiar w/ the jamb saw :) I really am leaning towards ceramic tile b/c if we end up not selling (I am still not to the point where I want to GIVE away the house) -I'd rather have ceramic in the bathroom instead of vinyl.

weed-thanks for your input!