I Need a Kitchen Floor

Alcmene

Please can someone advice on kitchen floors. I have white cabinets and green walls. Just finished plastering and painting the walls and they look great.

At the moment the floor is just concrete. Kitchen is quite big about 4m x 5m so options need to be money saving.

I also have 3 cats so it needs to not need cleaning every day.

What should I get? I am so confused. Tiles, laminate, vinyl????? Or something else.

pandora205

I had slate laid in mine, which wasn't much more expensive than other options and looks lovely. It's very hard wearing too (obviously).

wallbash

I'm a vinyl fan .

hebridean

A porcelain tile or natural stone etc in a mottled pattern of your chosing, but definately not black, unless you like mopping as it shows up everything on it. Wood is nice but would need resanding/sealing in a few years and laminate just looks awful with a few scratches whereas on wood it would possibly add character.

Alcmene

Mmmmm I think I would prefer not to have laminate.

I would love tiles but it means I would have to pay someone to put them down.

I have no skirting boards yet, should they go on before or after the floor?

rachbc

i've had slate in last 3 kitchens and its been a pain to keep clean - gone for amtico this time and love it

Alcmene

rachbc wrote: »

i've had slate in last 3 kitchens and its been a pain to keep clean - gone for amtico this time and love it

I had to look this up, not sure what it is. Think I may go to the shop and have a look.

Where do people recommend I go shopping for kitchen floors?

paddypaws101

Amtico is The Daddy!! But it is expensive even if you go for the Spacia (bargain ) range. I do not think it is a DIY job. To get the guarantee on Amtico you need to use a registered fitter and the floor has to be PERFECT. They use a latex screed to prepare the area, I am playing really safe and getting a liquid damp proof membrane also ( had a leak in under floor pipes ) So the preparation and laying costs more than the tiles themselves.
Personally...and I am sure others will disagree...if you want long lasting and value I think you can do a lot worse than some of the vinyl tiles you get in Homebase, B&Q etc. I had these down for 13 years prior to this re-fit and what is more I put them down myself! Ok it was not perfect but it wasn't bad either.
Sheet vinyl rips and moves around easily. Tiles are solid colour through so any damage or scratches just seem to smooth away and can be glossed over with a good floor cleaner. I had various disasters over the years including dried spilled paint and I just took a green scouring pad to it then polished up afterwards. Individual tiles can be dug up and replaced if damage is really severe.
I have seen nice tile effect and would even consider some of the wood effect plank tiles.
Have a look!!

animal8

Just got Karndean a couple weeks ago. Would recommend... like hundreds of other posts in this forum..

rachbc

yes despite all advice to the contrary my beloved laid the amtico himself it looks amazing but he said he will never do it again

bluesindy_2

Slate for me all the way! Once it's been laid you need to seal it with a matt (or gloss) clear varnish. Mine's been down 15 years and we've just laid the kitchen extension with it. Always looks great and very easy to clean.