Kitchen Flooring advice

Emmalou

I have been planning to have an engineered oak floor in my new kitchen for some time, now I am having second thoughts. We have 2 kids, are just about to have a puppy and our kitchen leads directly onto our back garden and faces south west (will have alot of sun on it).

Will it be difficult to keep clean, will it start to look tatty before long, will the sunshine make it fade?, all questions going through my head.

So, an alternative is tiles - but they would be laid on a suspended wood floor - and as a previous post suggests, will the movement cause the tiles to crack, however well laid?

Ideally I would like the wood or tiles, but will look at Kardean/laminate or similar if I can't have my first two choices.

What would you do? Any suggestions/advice greatly appreciated. Also if anybody can give any make of engineered wood floor suitable for my situation, I would love to hear it.

Thank you!

zebidee1

Emma, we're the same. Kitchen out to back garden, sunny, kids (1 still young enough to be playing in the garden and will be in and out constantly), 1 labarador puppy and a suspended wood floor.

I've asked the same question over and over again to anyone who will listen, lol. Needless to say, tile stores tell me tiles/grout wont crack if laid on tile backer boards and the underfloor is well screwed down.

Laminate flooring suppliers tell me they will crack and laminate is better, but we have to 'generally take care with it'. (Shop speak for if your kids drop their drink/your dog wee's on it or your w.m floods......you've had it.) My friend's kitchen laminate isn't that great looking after a year, especially at the sink area (Quickstep something or other).

Engineered wood floor....may scratch with children and pup in and out and will need regular attention to keep it looking good. (Not sure about water/moisture thing.)

The only thing that I think will stand the test of time and will be the most practical is vinyl tbh. You could empty your dishwasher on it and it would still look fine. Easily washed when the dog's dirty paw prints are all over it and you get some really up to date good versions these days.

........but my floor isn't good enough to lay it on so I think I'm opting for tiles.

I'll read your thread with interest though.

littlereddevil

Tiles shouldn't crack or move if they are laid with the proper flexible cement. Real wood would be much more high maintenance

mvteng

We've now had a Kahrs engineered wood floor in our kitchen for approx. 1-1/2 years.

It still looks great & I wouldn't hesitate recommending it. It has no apparent wear & generally still looks as good as the day it was laid.

We've got 2 young children & a cat, so its had many muddy boots tramped across it.

Its very easy to maintain, we just brush, & mop lightly once a week.

But there are 2 things to mention :

1/ Condensing Tumble drier - Kahrs recommended that as the area in front of the tumble drier can get quite hot, we should put down a mat in this local area to protect the floor.

2/ If I lift the mat at our very sunny south facing patio door, I can see there is some discolouration. Not a lot, but a little.

Hope this helps. As above, I would highly recommend the engineered wood.

Emmalou

Still torn! Was talking to tile showroom assistant today who said the same as littlereddevil, so that's quite positive about the tiles - good news if you/I go for tiles Zebidee. I do feel that the tiles will be lower maintenance option.

I will definitely also look at the Kahrs floor as I am keen on the warmer feel/look of the wood - what sort of wood it is mvteng? I haven't got a tumble dryer to worry about, just the sun/dog/kids!

cuffie

Same dilemma here! We want oak wood flooring in the hallway and lounge, and tiles in the kitchen, suspended floor etc etc

We did look at Karndean. I think the wood effect Karndean look quite good and there are so many different styles. I hate beading and it would negate the need for that (unless you are laying skirting afterwards). I think the tile effect Karndean is awful, so I am still set on the tiles in the kitchen.

I think like posts above, as long as the proper "surface preparation" is correct, then tiles should not crack (although don't go for ceramic/porcelain tiles - more likely to chip/crack if anything drops on the floor....we are hoping to go for limestone), and Karndean is put on a thick base anyway and we have been assured is fine for suspended floors.

Good luck!

zebidee1

cuffie wrote: »

(although don't go for ceramic/porcelain tiles - more likely to chip/crack if anything drops on the floor....we are hoping to go for limestone)

Do you need to treat or seal limestone tiles? If I have tiles I really dont want to have to do anything with them, I want to lay them and forget them.


Edit:.....I'm now getting worried about tiles full stop actually......my lot can be a bit on the clumsy side and I can see the contents of my crockery cabinet hitting the floor one by one...........:eek:

TimBuckTeeth

Ceramic tiles are pretty tough, if you drop crockery on them then the tiles would win and the crockery would break.
If you have heavy cast iron pans then dropping them could do some damage but then that would also damage wooden or laminate flooring.

Having experienced laminate flooring in the kitchen I would not choose laminate or wood for a kitchen or bathroom. It was fairly cheap but looks a mess after just a couple of years, scratched and warped between the planks where it has got wet.

iwilldoitthistime

Ive got the same situation and have laid engineered oak through the entire ground floor - and I live it!

Ive got a lively 2 year old and it is really easy to care for as long as you dont leave water/damp patches for too long. It is so much warmer than tiles.

When I was deciding what to put on the floor I was talked out of Karndean as I was told it dints when you move furniture - which really put me off because I was worried about wanting to change the furniture around in the future.

oblivious78

Just a thought but have you thought of polyflor camaro or karndean its a vinyl flooring but is very very tough and is only 2.5 mm i fit this flooring and can be very affordable if you shop around if you need addvise just ask and i will try and help.

mvteng

We used this one :

http://www.flooringsupplies.co.uk/productdetails.cfm?flooring=Oak%20Calgary%20(Baden)%20-%20only%2021m2%20left!%20With%20Free%20Underlay&productID=480&type=realwood&cat=Kahrs%20European%20Naturals%20Collection

Thats a great price as well. Cheaper than we paid 1-1/2 years ago