real wood vs laminate in kitchen?

Kantankrus_Mare

In process of waiting for new cream kitchen with real wood worktops.

Had heart set on real wood flooring but when we went to look today...............says not suitable for kitchens.

Obviously due to the water in kitchens but every cream kitchen picture ive seen has wood flooring.

Does anyone have it in their kitchen and is it worth risking?

gmgmgm

Don't put real wood in there.

Unless it's underfloor-heated and/or you are 101% on top of drying any wet patches (e.g. walked in), it's going to be a pain.

knowloads

Engineered timber flooring has polyeurathane finish and only top 5mm is real wood, the underside is box wood. but as with any kitchen, if you ever get a leaking washing machine, be prepared for a full scrappng and start again scenario. Timberland Flooring, local wood merchants,sel it in S Manchester.

bubblegumcola

I can only speak from my own experience but I have had decent quality laminate flooring down for the past ten years in my kitchen and its been fine. Its survived a few floods from two different washing machines. The only thing I have noticed is a few chips out of the laminate where I have dropped things, like a tin or a pan but still looks ok. I put laminate in all my downstairs when we moved into our house, had I put carpets down then they would have been ruined years ago by the kids trailing in wet boots,etc. Although it was a big outlay I would definitely do the same again, laminate is alot cheaper now but buy the best you can afford for durability.

TAFFYCLAIRE

I have a cream gloss kitchen with solid oak worktops and i have a good quality vinyl flooring. It is an oak wood effect flooring and matches with the worktop beautifully. Many people have thought it was a wood floor, and surprised when i tell them it is vinyl.

missile

I had real wood flooring in a previous kitchen. We chose a quality manufacturer - engineered boards with three layers laid in opposit direction, which helps stop warping. We had a leaking stop !!!!, spilt water on it, had it let for two years (tennats are never very careful) and never had any issues.

IMHO real wood is not as durable as laminate. We have Quickstep perspective 4 laminate in our new kitchen.

fluffymuffy

We had real wood in the kitchen at our last house. It looked good for a couple of years. Then one day we needed to pull the dishwasher out (as it was broken) and it cut a couple of stripes through the varnish - these weren't noticeable at first but eventually dirt and water got in. Also the varnish wore away between the planks in high traffic areas - leading to more greying and dirt. We thought we'd sand it down one day but it's a lot of trouble to empty your kitchen as everything would be dusty.

Steve_the_fitter

Amtico could be worth looking into. Can make some lovely patterns with it but it isnt the cheapest type of flooring.

chumbasmum

We moved into our home about 3 years ago and it had laminate flooring throughout (and I mean throughout - upstairs and down!!!!)
The only area that is not good is in the kitchen. Where the back door is water has obviously been around at it has started to buckle. It is decent quality and has been laid well.
I am not a big fan of the stuff and was planning to replace it when my children got bigger. I will go for a decent lino or tiles (probably with under floor heating). I haven't looked into it yet but wouldn't put laminate back down - but this is only my opinion. Others will have much different experiences to me.