Quick Floor Survey

Thursday, June 1st, 2006 at 2:48 pm | Posted in General.

What type of flooring in the kitchen and why?

A. Hardwoods
B. Tile

Don’t bother saying laminate or linoleum, just pick A or B.

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15 Responses to “Quick Floor Survey”

  1. John Lee says:
    June 1st, 2006 at 4:40 pm

    B. Tile - At least 12″ by 12″. When the hardwoods get wet (and they will in the kitchen) they will warp. Right now, I am leaning towards tile if I ever change houses or floors in my kitchen.

    :-)

  2. David says:
    June 1st, 2006 at 4:53 pm

    Have your floors warped?

  3. Eric says:
    June 1st, 2006 at 8:27 pm

    I didn’t think I’d like hardwoods in the kitchen, but they’ve worked out quite nicely for us. We haven’t had any warping so far.

  4. Will says:
    June 1st, 2006 at 9:58 pm

    B

    Wood can show more dirt, but it can warp. Tile is tougher to keep clean, but will probably last longer.

  5. John Lee says:
    June 1st, 2006 at 11:28 pm

    Yep. Especially around the fridge where the kids like to drop ice now and then.

  6. Hugh Williams says:
    June 2nd, 2006 at 7:40 am

    It depends on the wood and the quality of installation.

    If you have real hardwood - where they put down the unfinished boards and then apply the finish, polyurethane, etc. post-installation - that rocks. Engineered hardwoods are a mixed bag. You’ve really got to get the boards to fit together super-tight.

    In our old house we did a do-it-yourself job with Bruce engineered hardwood. In our new house we have another brand of hardwood, but it was professionally done. Our DIY job was adequate — barely. The pros did a much better job of getting the boards pressed tightly together and the new floor is doing nicely.

    I like thie idea of tile, but it’s my understanding that you’ve got to be really careful with heavy stuff (like rolling your fridge across it) to keep them from cracking.

    (dreaming now) My ultimate kitchen floor would be what they’ve got in the labor & delivery rooms at Northside Hospital - the floor curves up to meet the walls. Then I’d add a hose bibb by the sink and a drain (with garbage disposal) in the center of the kitchen floor. Cleaning up would just be a matter of hosing everything down. What could be better?

  7. Josh Byrd says:
    June 2nd, 2006 at 9:01 am

    hard wood

    things are less likely to brake if they hit the floor

    it is easier to clean those broken pieces up because there are not grout seems

    plus i like hard wood better than tile and my dad makes a living wood working

  8. Jeffrey J. Stables says:
    June 2nd, 2006 at 11:43 am

    What color are the cabinets and static appliances in the kitchen?

  9. David says:
    June 2nd, 2006 at 11:58 am

    White but it doesn’t matter, both tile and hardwoods will look fine. We already have both styles selected. The hardwoods would be “real” - unfinished boards that get finished after installation.

  10. Jeffrey J. Stables says:
    June 2nd, 2006 at 12:02 pm

    I’d say wood for no apparent reason. It’s just cooler.

    And food tastes better off it. Perhaps Mrs. Ennis’s coordination is better than mine and that wouldn’t matter, though.

  11. Wayne says:
    June 2nd, 2006 at 1:37 pm

    Just my 2 cents: Yes, hardwood can warp, but only if water gets on it and sits for awhile (i.e. water leak under fridge that you don’t catch for a few days). And that will be a problem for any flooring you choose.

  12. Romath says:
    June 3rd, 2006 at 3:05 pm

    We just did this in our kitchen and picked tile. Initially I thought I would want hardwood and we have hardwood throughout the rest of the house. I truly love the hardwood look. However, I’m REALLY glad we got the tile. It looks incredible and I do like having that floor different than everything else. We extended the tile into the Family Room. We also did a matching tile baseboard. We did 12×12 tiles, but I also like the bigger ones. If you want less grout, go for a smaller spacer. I’ve seen some tiling that looks almost like a solid surface if that’s the look you like.

    Tile can vary in price and type. Some are more prone to breaking than others.

    If you go with hardwood, for sure get a professional installation. With it being an area prone to wetness, the pro’s will make sure the installation is great.

  13. James Moore says:
    June 4th, 2006 at 10:32 pm

    I vote for tile. I hear you found a really good installer. I think the wood will look nice too. Although if you are worried about dropping a bowl and breaking it on the floor, you should be more concerned about dropping a bowl and scratching or denting the beautifull hardwood that costs $750 to refinish.

    - James (Tile installer dude)
    james@myzoox.com

  14. mel says:
    June 6th, 2006 at 11:16 am

    Wood.

    Looks better. For all the years my uncle lived in Grant Park on Hill St. his kitchen never warped, cracked, dented or chipped. Like someone mentioned earlier it depends on the wood, quality and craftsmanship of the job. Done well, it will last quite a while. C’mon, tile is so out of fashion anyway.

  15. David says:
    June 6th, 2006 at 11:52 am

    Thx for the input evertyone. After much consideration we went with hardwoods. They both have their advantages and disadvantages, but seeing that real wood will retain more market value (and it’s less expensive) we decided to go with that. Only a few more days of forest green carpet and one more week of linoleum. :^)

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