Kitchen flooring in new build

JamesN

Hi all,

As the title suggests, trying to think of what to do regarding flooring for the kitchen (assuming the deal for the house goes through! still important to budget for it though!).

I was thinking laminate but have seen several threads on various forums highlighting the issue with water damage, etc. So that is off the list.

We can't afford Amtico and I've also been put off Karndean by several stories i've read in terms of quality at the lower end of their offerings.

That basically leaves real wood or ceramic/porcelain tiles. We really like polished tiles but struggling to work out how much upkeep they require. Probably important to note we have a 9 month old baby at that point!

Any advice is greatly appreciated including new ideas!

Thanks all

Lisbon

Worth having a chat with the builders, not least to see if they can get you any (objectively good) deals.

How about a reasonable quality vinyl?

sarah1972

[QUOTE=

I was thinking laminate but have seen several threads on various forums highlighting the issue with water damage, etc. So that is off the list.

Yes, not a good idea to have laminate in a a kitchen as it could lift if it gets wet

We can't afford Amtico and I've also been put off Karndean by several stories i've read in terms of quality at the lower end of their offerings.

I have Karndean in my kitchen and it is the best thing I have ever bought, I got a design that looks like laminate wood and if you feel it, it even has grains running through it so it really does look like wood, its 4 years old so far and looks like new, it is so hard wearing and when I bought it I was told that nothing could beat it

That basically leaves real wood or ceramic/porcelain tiles. We really like polished tiles but struggling to work out how much upkeep they require. Probably important to note we have a 9 month old baby at that point!

Real wood is also not really a good idea as it will shrink and expand with temperature changes and is a !!!!!! to clean, polished tiles are dangerous in a kitchen as a slight bit of oil on the floor and you will fall over and probably hurt yourself as landing on tiles hurts !

JamesN

Thanks both. It may be worth going to topps tiles and having a look around. Maybe standard tiles are the way forward for now. I would probably end up dropping something on them in the kitchen anyway! Are any other shops worth considering other than topps tiles?

Sarah, what class of karndean did you go for? It might be it was just the entry level ones that were poorly rated.

sarah1972

JamesN wrote: »

Thanks both. It may be worth going to topps tiles and having a look around. Maybe standard tiles are the way forward for now. I would probably end up dropping something on them in the kitchen anyway! Are any other shops worth considering other than topps tiles?

Sarah, what class of karndean did you go for? It might be it was just the entry level ones that were poorly rated.

Bear in mind also that tiles are cold on your feet and be careful what grout you get, my friend had her kitchen tiled as she has underfloor heating and the grout was a cream colour but within 4 weeks or so the grout looked so dirty that she now has to steam clean the grout every week to keep the colour and mopping the floor is fine but as she said to me, all she is doing is mopping the dirt onto the grout if that makes sense.

This is what I have http://www.karndean.com/en-gb/floors/look/wood-flooring

Some tips here http://www.karndean.com/en-gb/floors/guides-and-resources/why-karndean/compare-karndean-vs-other-floors