Kitchen Flooring - if you had to choose, what would it be?

[greenmamato3]

Our kitchen has had severe water damage due to a long-leaking dishwasher caused by improper installation (by a company,not us). We are now looking at needing to rip out ALL the subflooring, underlayment, tile, etc b/c the grout was squishing, the tiles were cracking, etc.

I'm curious about what types of flooring people have and love. I have issues with floors being easy to clean, and yet not looking dirty if they aren't clean. We have a non-shedding BIG dog, and a few people in the family (grin) who can't stand floors feeling sticky or crummy. ;)

We have hardwoods in most of the other parts of the house. I'm happy to see this particular tile go b/c it's been the bain of my floor-cleaning existence since we moved in three years ago. {it has tiny little dents all along the surface that harbor dirt, and i scrub my floor weekly (sometimes twice) on my hands and knees ... crazy-making floor}

 

thanks for all your thoughts and input -- what do you like? what hasn't worked? we all have kids running so i thought i'd start here to get advice!

[Heather in OK]

We have ceramic tile. The stone look to the tile is great because it doesn't show dirt. And it's very easy to clean. There are six of us, two cats and a dog. I am also VERY picky about the floors being clean. I just don't like walking on even the thinest layer of dust or crumbs. I use a vacuum to pick up pet hair, crumbs, dust, etc. (on that floor and on my hardwoods). Then I use a Shark steam mop to clean it.

Edited July 24, 2010 by Heather in OK

[Barb_]

We have Travertine and I hate it. It's terribly hard on the back and while it doesn't show dirt, it's not terribly easy to see that it's been cleaned either. If I had a choice, I'd go with wood or a high quality laminate.

 

Barb

[laughing lioness]

We just had red oak put in our kitchen to match the fir throughout the rest of the main areas. We had icky laminate before. It's still covered with butcher paper cause we are still doign construction but I know I will love it.

[ElizabethB]

Personally, I like the spongy new thicker vinyl flooring for a kitchen. It is waterproof, too!

 

After my knee surgery, tile hurts my knee if I stand and cook for more than 20 minutes. We also have older friends who had to tear up their tile 2 years after they got it and install softer flooring when the wife's back went bad.

 

If you like the look of wood, a pergo type thing is more waterproof.

 

Just something to think about.

[Ellie]

Our hardwood flooring is throughout the whole downstairs, including the kitchen (not the bathroom or laundry room, though). I love it. I'm seriously considering removing the tile in the bathroom and replacing it with hardwood.

[RoughCollie]

I would get Marmoleum.

 

http://www.forboflooringna.com/Residential/Inspiration_Design/

[Alyce]

we used the new padded vinyl. It's easier on the knees and back to have the cushioning under your feet. We bought one that looks like it is made of large pieces of tile but it's not, it's just one piece of linoleum. It is very smooth with no pimpling or bumps so it is extremely easy to brush and mop. Love it so much better than other linoleum we had. It had pocks all through out and getting dirt out of those were murder. I don't like mopping so didn't want anything to even slightly from slowing me down. Now I just sweep, lightly mop and in magic my floor is clean

[LaxMom]

We have cork and love it. It continues the feel of the wood from the rest of the house, but it's more cushion-y under my feet (and on the occasions something is dropped).

 

Ours is a burl pattern, so it really doesn't show dirt at all, and you clean it the same way you'd clean sealed wood.

[MotherGoose]

I have had hardwoods in kitchens in both my houses. I have white oak that was finished in place (not the prefinished kind) in this house and I like it. The bad thing about floors finished in place is that, in my experience, the finish is not as durable as the prefabricated kind, but the prefabricated kind that I had in my other house had little grooves between the boards that collected dirt. I like these that I have and would put them in again given the choice.

[rlowetx]

We had slate in our house. Absolutely loved it! It does have to be sealed or it will absorb everything, but the sealing is done just like tile. The indian slate we chose had a varying pattern and never showed anything (two cats, dog, and 1 very messy kid).. downside: hard on bare feet, so i just wore slippers all the time. Bonus in Houston was it was always cool...loved it, loved it, loved it.. clean it with a steamer and just sweep in between..

 

I don't like my wood floors now (moved to MA) because in the kitchen it shows everything (my son and I do alot of messy cooking).. I have to sweep it twice a day... and I have to wipe up the dogs water bowl everyday because the water will ruin the wood (we can tell where the previous owners fed their dog, as the wood is splitting)...and it shows the dogs/cats claw marks if they start running..If you want wood, I would look at Pergo or the other "fake" woods...they are more resilient, and I think sometimes a bit less expensive. I'll never have wood floors again..one day,.. the wood floors will go, and the slate will come back..

[Beth in OH]

Personally, I like the spongy new thicker vinyl flooring for a kitchen. It is waterproof, too!

 

I put this high end vinyl in my previous home because I wanted the look of tile without the hard surface under my feet. It was the best floor I've ever had. Easy to clean, didn't show dirt or crumbs, no damage from dogs, very comfortable underfoot, looked beautiful. It was a perfect floor, unless you want to use natural materials such as wood, stone, or tile.

 

My new home has hardwood in the kitchen, and while I love the look, after two years of regular wear with 5 family members (no young ones), and a golden retriever, I can see that I'll need to refinish my floor well before I would want to. I am covering the high traffic areas with rugs to protect them, but cleaning rugs in a kitchen is a high maintenance issue.

 

Beth

[HayesW]

Hardwoods

I like them everywhere.

[newbie]

cork or bamboo

[Desert Rat]

I like tile. Although I have vinyl in my kitchen now and love it. BTW, try a Hoover FloorMate. I bought one a month ago and love it for my bamboo/pergo/vinyl. And I use it on tile for the houses I clean.

[Mom25girls]

We love our bamboo floor. Eight years with 2 Golden Retrievers, a cat and a family of 7 "two footeds"and it still looks good!

[greenmamato3]

:grouphug:

i knew i could rely on you ladies to give me FANTASTIC advice and thoughts. thanks so much!!!!!!

 

we're thinking the hardwood isn't a good idea b/c (a detail i forgot to mention) this flooring will extend under our washer and dryer since it is in a "Closet" off the kitchen. it has to all connect, we're pretty sure.

 

we're inclined toward the cork flooring at the moment b/c after discussion of your thoughts and my husband's preferences, we've decided to try to stick with natural materials. we want the dark-stain cork. anybody with ideas on locations to buy cork flooring?

 

what about bamboo flooring? anyone with experience?

 

we're still considering the really smooth ceramic tiles, but i do loathe grout care.

 

keep the thoughts coming! :thumbup:

[Laurie4b]

We have tile and I hate it. It is c-o-l-d in the winter, and things break very easily when dropped on it. It's also cracking as the underflooring is aging and moving some. I would not every choose tile in my kitchen again.

[greenmamato3]

so today, DH and i went into lowes just to browse for a bit (thought we will definitely not buy our flooring from there). the 20-something and the teenage boys who were working in the flooring section didn't seem to have a clue that cork and bamboo could be used in a kitchen, but they made the remark that it dents really easily.

 

thoughts?

 

if you have/had cork or bamboo, what brand was it, where did you buy it (local or online), and would you recommend it?

 

i found one bamboo that's a dark stain that is hand-scraped so i figure a few extra dents from accidentally dropped items wouldn't matter so much.

 

i'm reall confused about slate tiles .... i'm headed to the tile shop or some other flooring place tomorrow.

[unity]

Hardwood gets all scratched up from a constant-use place like the kitchen, plus discolored if it stays wet for any reason (like a leaky dishwasher).

 

Linoleum looks awful as it ages (although can be great at first, and a lot cheaper).

 

Tile you typically don't have to baby or worry about it getting wet, and it cleans up well. BUT I would suggest 2 things: 1) make sure you get it with three distinct colors to hide the dirt --- like a spongy swirl with white, grey, and rust color --- and 2) pay attention to the "hardness" of the tile when you buy it. I tiled a huge portion of my 1st floor with a tile that's not hard enough for the abuse my kids give it ---nothing intentional, but they drop things on it all the time accidentally, or tip over a stool things like that --- and it is majorly depressing how many cracked tiles we have. Maybe 10-15? We've been in tiled places before with no problems, but this tile has been a nightmare. Whoops! Another cracked tile. And I don't think it's the installation because the same person has installed tile for us also in a different bathroom and our rec room in the basement, and nary a cracked tile there. Plus I know her and she is obsessive about doing work like that in a way that exceeds any professional standards if possible.