Kitchen Flooring ??

[Glinda64]

What type of flooring do you have in your kitchen? Why do you love it? Why do you hate it? I'm looking to replace my kitchen flooring in the near future and have no idea what to get. I have two boys, ages 7 and 10, so I need something tough but not too expensive. Any ideas other than concrete? LOL

 

[cryssi]

we have laminate flooring and I do NOT recommend it. It bubbles and lifts if moisture gets under it. We have it in the kitchen b/c it just flows throughout our house...looks great, though...

 

[mickeyboat]

We have hardwood. As long as we keep spills cleaned up, it holds up very well. I think it makes the kitchen feel warmer.

Denae

 

[KimR]

We have hardwoods. I love the look and feel but hate the scratches. Granted, my decorator recommended I go with the matte finish to eliminate that problem, but I didn't care for the look. I wanted the high-gloss, but I decided to go with the semi-gloss becuase I thought it would be a good compromise between beauty and practicality, expecially with kids. We still get the scratches, just not as bad

You do have to have the hardwoods refinished every few years, but I think you are going to have some kind of maintenance no matter what you choose unless you go with some sort of laminate like pergo (which looks fake to me). If you get tile, then you have to deal with keeping the grout clean. Alghough at least you can hire someone to come in and clean it without having to worry about fumes and staying off the floors afterwards - probably the biggest drawback to hardwoods, IMO. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Independent]

We also have hardwood. It is sealed with one of the more expensive sealers, but it works wonderfully. It was more expensive to install initially, but the long term upkeep is cheaper.

After 10 years, we had them sanded down and refinished. They replaced a few boards that had worn a bit more than the rest of the floor and filled a couple of deeper scratches. Then they stained and resealed. They looked gorgeous again, and the cost, even with repairs was much, much cheaper than having to replace the floor with tile, vinyl or something else.

Also, we have boisterous kids who often "forget" to clean up spills, lots of friends going in and out, a sliding glass door opening right onto the wood floor (so lots of junk tracked in), and two very, very large (120 lb +) dogs with huge nails, of which I am not the most timely in keeping trimmed. And our floors still have held up well. They are not model home glossy as we have a matte finish (easier to care for I think), but still look good as new.

Also, there are now new products you can use to temporarily re-seal sealed hardwood floors. We use the Bona products. There is a polyurethane that you can put on every three months that protects and refreshes the finish on the floor.

http://www.hardwood-cleaner-resources.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Bona-Hardwood-Refresher

I use it religiously every three months and my floors always look like we have just had them sanded and refinished. For a matte finish, we get a pretty shiny look with the product.

 

[KimR]

Also, there are now new products you can use to temporarily re-seal sealed hardwood floors. We use the Boma products. There is a polyurethane that you can put on every three months that protects and refreshes the finish on the floor. I use it religiously every three months and my floors always look like we have just had them sanded and refinished. For a matte finish, we get a pretty shiny look with the product.

I've never heard of this product. Does it fill in the more superficial scratches? Also, how long do you have to stay off the floors after you apply it?

 

[Independent]

I've never heard of this product. Does it fill in the more superficial scratches? Also, how long do you have to stay off the floors after you apply it?

I just added the link to it in my previous post. Yes, it does fill in the superficial scratches. You only have to stay off the floors for an hour. And it is environmentally safe, so it is ok to use on kitchen floors.

I had not heard of it before either, but the firm that refinished our floors highly recommended it. They had applied the Bona Swedish poly on the floors, so they recommended that we use Bona products to clean and protect. (Of course, they thought I would continue to purchase from them) But then I started hearing about it from others who were happy with it too.

It not only makes our floors look great, but it keeps a skim coat of urethane on the floors to better protect it.

Around us, it is really, really hard to find. It is usually sold by hardwood floor companies, which translates into $$$$. I have found one hardware store about 20 minutes away that carries it. I have never found it in a grocery store or big box hardwares like Lowes or Home Depot. But their online ordering is great. They get it to you pretty quickly.

Caution though - Orange Glow now has a copy of it in grocery stores. The first bottles even said it was compatible with Bona (that has now been removed from the bottles). I tried it first when I saw the Bona name on it. It does not work half as well as the actual Bona products. You really do get what you pay for.

 

[Lisa L from MI]

I have had Pergo in my kitchen for 12 years now....and it still looks new (when it's clean ). My kids are 13 and 11 now and since it has been installed have had 2 big dogs and 4 cats (with nails). I get comments still all the time on it!!

So easy to clean....and SUPER durable.

 

[KimR]

Thank you, Independent!!!! I checked out the website and it sounds like this is just what we need.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Does anyone know if the cleaner will work on any wood floor, or does it have to be hardwood? I have old, wide pine floors that we just had sanded and polyurethaned. They're getting somewhat scratched from the nightly doggy soccer games.....

Jen

 

[Independent]

Thank you, Independent!!!! I checked out the website and it sounds like this is just what we need.

Just make sure your floors are really, really clean when you apply it. And vacuum any carpets thoroughly that abut the floors before applying. It is urethane, so dust will stick to it (I learned the hard way .)

 

[Independent]

Does anyone know if the cleaner will work on any wood floor, or does it have to be hardwood? I have old, wide pine floors that we just had sanded and polyurethaned. They're getting somewhat scratched from the nightly doggy soccer games.....

Jen

According to our hardwood people - it should work on any wood floor that already has a poly coat on it. You cannot use it on wood floors that only have a waxed finish. But since you are really just applying a skim coat of the urethane, it should work on any wood floor that is already sealed with polyurethane.

 

[CEDmom]

We have Armstrong vinyl flooring. It honestly looks like tile. I can't tell you the number of people that have bent down and touched it when I told then what it was. It's so easy to clean and I don't have to worry about shattered dishes like I would with a young child if I had tile. It's not cheap though. We're in a brand new house and cost of this flooring was almost the same as if we went with tile.

 

[Galahad]

We are putting Travertine tile in as we speak - with radiant heating underneath. Can't wait! The old dingy white ceramic tile with the discolored grout was just not happening.

 

[LindaG4458]

We have Armstrong vinyl flooring. It honestly looks like tile. I can't tell you the number of people that have bent down and touched it when I told then what it was. It's so easy to clean and I don't have to worry about shattered dishes like I would with a young child if I had tile. It's not cheap though. We're in a brand new house and cost of this flooring was almost the same as if we went with tile.

Same here. Our neighbors went out and bought the same thing after seeing our installation. It wears like iron, too. We use Swiffers to clean regularly and the hands-and-knees method a couple times a year.

Our FL condo had lousy floor prep before the installation of cheap vinyl flooring. We are going to have it torn out, the base floor levelled, and new Armstrong put in. We've discussed tile, but it is so difficult to change later and costs a fortune to remove.

 

[rie'smom]

We have ceramic tile. I'm not Suzy Homemaker and it's easy for me to keep clean.