DVD Josh

As you know, wife and I just became homeowners. She wants to replace the main floor with hardwood throughout, and I'm game, but she also wants it in the kitchen, which I'm not so sure I like. We have Pergo in our apartment, and plus it's an apt., so I'm not sure she understands the problems with having hardwood in the kitchen. My opinion is that since it's a high traffic and frequently dirtied and damaged area, we might be better off with a more durable, easily cleanable material like linoleum or even tile. What are your opinions?

fernsita

i say tile the kitchen. especially in an apt it will help contrast the rooms in a smaller space.

orangerory

This is the third renovation-related topic I've posted in today. I guess its on my mind. Anyway - I have ceramic tile in my kitchen now but I'm replacing it with wood. My kitchen is open to the rest of the house (which is hardwood) and I think it will look a lot better to have the floors match. Pergo is a lot like linoleum in terms of maintenance - it's a good, affordable alternative. I would go with that over linoleum any day (which I hate). I don't dislike ceramic in a kitchen - but it has issues, too. The grout gets dirty, the tiles can crack, etc...

So - my vote would be:
1. Hardwood
2. Pergo/Cermic (tie)
3. Linoleum

Cemetery Man

Wood would make it look real cool. but I'd say maybe go with tile, or possibly even that really cool poured concrete stuff. Though it wouldn't be comfy to stand on for long periods.

crazyronin

Prefinished hardwood flooring might not be a bad choice. It has a tougher finish than the traditional hardwood urethane finish plus there's no sanding involved.

LurkerDan

this topic interests me, as I have recently decided to replace the nasty linoleum in my house. There are hardwood floors in the rest of the house, so I am figuring on tiling the kitchen (and bathrooms). Definitely interested to hear any advice, advantages, disadvantages, etc.

eXcentris

For kitchens, I much prefer ceramic tiles to hardwood floors. The choice of forms/textures/finishes/colors is almost unlimited, and you can duplicate patterns on wall sections if you wish. Plus, there is a wide variety in resistance/durability. You can pay from about $2 to $10 per square feet, and even more for porcelain tiles.

M2theAX

I prefer the hardwood fllor myself a nice dark stain.

drmoze

I would seriously consider cork flooring. Great for kitchens. Definitely worth a look, and it's not really expensive.

jonw9

Come to say this but alas, I was too late.

Shazam

By lino, are people referring to vinyl? Lino is a natural product and is really quite nice (very similar to cork). Vinyl is a whole other beast.

The one issue with hardwood/tile in the kitchen is that the floor has no give, so it's not the most comfortable floor to stand on for periods of time.

logrus9

Do tables and chairs leave dents in cork flooring? I've never seen it so I wonder if it would be dense enough to handle things like tables and storage racks.

Oraphus

go with tile
kitchen floor will be spilled on, dropped on, and cleaned more frequently then any other part of the house. Most hardwood will not be able to hold that look for too long.

Laminate is okay, but if you have a leak and a large amount of water gets on/under floor it WILL bow.. ask how i know.

Plus tile looks the best in the kitchen IMO... also stay away from dark tiles.. lighter colors will look better.

Sdallnct

Pergo or any "floating" floor system is fine for the kitchen. Water on top of it will not hurt it so long as it is cleaned up reasonable quickly. However, if water gets under it or is constantly wet (like in a bathroom) then you are in trouble....

We went with tile. I don't like it, but wife does. I wanted parquet flooring to match another part of the house, but got over ruled. So our ceramic tile as a wood look to it.

JimRochester

We had a Oak flooring installed in the kitched quite a few years ago and it was beautiful. I was happy with it until we got dogs. Even with small dogs, the constant in and out over the winter causes bad spots by the door. Plus even without the dogs, right by the kitchen table is atough place to keep looking good. I still prefer hardwood v.s any of the Pergo laminates however for the kitchen I would go with a tile next time, keep hardwood for the family room or living room.

Shazam

I hate Pergo. It's totally overrated. There are other laminate products out there that are better looking, more durable and cheaper.

Pergo is the Bose of the flooring world.

SoSpacey

Just redid my kitchen.

Installed 450sf of merbau dark hardwood. If I had to do it again I would have went with tile. The wood looks amazing but it is about 2 months old and you cna see some wear. It was prefinished wood and harder than oak.

Tile- Do NOT get ceramic tile...get porcelain. It is not much more than ceramic but porcelain is #1 - harder, and #2 the color/pattern runs all the way through. ceramic chips and the color is not through so you see it much more.

tile would have cost me ~7500 installed with a mud job. wood cost me around 4k. i liked the look and feel of wood more so it was an easy decision.

i should have done tile.

eXcentris

If you want hardwood and worry about durability, water spills, scratches, etc... then you might want to consider some exotic woods like Jatoba or Ipe for example. Ipe (Brazilian walnut) is 3 times denser than oak. Not only won't water penetrate it, but it's so dense that it won't even catch fire. I would also recommend floors treated with natural oils instead of varnish because they look much more natural. Oiled hardwood floors and exotic woods are extremely popular here and the demand is so great that their prices have come down considerably. Jatoba is now pretty much the same price as oak. Of course, I haven't got a clue if these have caught on in the US and what their availability and prices are there.

eXcentris

Another plus for oiled floors. Wear just gives them more cachet (just looks like older natural wood) and it's easy to just oil scratches. With varnish, at some point, your floor will start to look like shit (especially if you have kids and dogs) and you'll have to have it all sanded down and revarnished which is messy as hell. Not to mention that oiled floors have no nasty chemicals in them.

SoSpacey

i have an exotic, but how do i know if it is oiled?

eXcentris

Believe me if you had seen oiled floors you'd know if you have one. Whether you look at it or touch it, it just feels more like natural wood. It oesn't look nearly as "shiny" as varnished floors.

http://www.planchersdepot.com/versio...e/Prehuile.htm

Shazam

#2 is wrong. There are most certainly porcelain tiles that only have a surface glaze, and ceramic that has the pattern go all the way through. As with most things, you need to check that what you're buying has what you need.

griz

I'm sure a lot of people say "Pergo" and mean laminate, not necessarily the brand Pergo. I have another brand (which slips my mind at the moment), but would tell people "Pergo" so they know what I mean. They wouldn't have a clue if I said the actual brand I have.

Just like people say "Kleenex", but don't necessarily mean that brand (I say "Kleenex", but use Puffs Plus).

BDB

Another pic from my kitchen reno..

I'll vote wood, ours is old softwood. Refinished and stained. I like the feel of it all flowing together, tile would have broken it up, and again added another texture / colour to the mix.

bryce0lynch

Cork.

It looks amazing, is inexpensive, and feels good on the feet. Most people spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and I wouldn't want to stand on very hard tile.