OT--Kitchen Floor Options

[kmk160]

Long story but after only two years, our kitchen floor must be replaced.
Has nothing to do with the floor itself, more with the terrible way it was installed.
Now the question is what type of floor to choose?
DH really likes the look on the laminate floors that snap together.
Does anyone have this in their kitchen and if so, any thoughts?
We have vinyl right now and can do that again but are entertaining other options as well.
Not looking to spend a fortune, just want a nice looking floor that will last us more than two years this time!
Thanks in advance.

 

[Gusteau]

I guess it depends on your budget, but if you can afford it I would stay away from the laminate.

We put down the laminate in our kitchen in our condo before we sold it. It looked way better than the vinyl that was there before. But it just had too much of a "fake" feel to it for us. It was a good short term option for us because we were going to be selling less than a year later, but I wouldn't go with it for long term.

We put down tile in the kitchen of our new house when we moved in, but we almost went with a pre-finished hardwood floor.

 

[pixiewings71]

We have ceramic tile in our kitchen. I love it!! We looked a lot of different places and got it for a great price. We had the installer come out and do our stone and tile work after we bought the granite slabs and all the tiles, both the Travertine and the ceremic tiles.

 

[momxx5]

Armstrong flooring had too many choices.
Wood flooring had too many colors and types.

We settled on laminate tile and it looks great. I only had a few choices and matching carpet in adjoining room was easy.

I love it.

 

[tikilyn]

I love the laminate fake wood flooring. I love it so much dh and I installed it ourselves. It looked wonderful until I pulled out the fridge and forgot to unhook the water line to the ice maker. Yup water everywhere due to not being able to close the line fast enough. My beautiful floor ruined. Dh was so upset over it that he won't even change it. I wanted to call the insurance company but dh nix that idea too. Floor wasn't too expensive anyways.

I do plan to replace the flooing sometime this coming year. Haven't decided what kind of flooring it will be yet.

HTHs

 

[loveswdw]

We put laminate in our upstairs bathroom. DH installed it himself in less than a day. We bought the kind with the foam barrier on the the bottom so that makes it easier. It looks great! I love it so much I'm going to do the kitchen in it next! Much much cheaper than our hardwood floor we put in the dining room and the hardwood is such a pain. You have to be so careful when moving anything. Ours is scratched really badly in several spots. So we are forgetting hardwood in the kitchen--going with laminate again!

 

[GreatLakes5]

My husband is a builder & we did the wood laminate BUT we did a darker color. The lighter the color the more "fake wood" it seems to appear to be. Keep in mind, however, that with that product you'll need to be fast about cleaning up water spills, it WILL scratch, & a simple mopping won't necessarily work.

On the plus side - if you enjoy cooking and spend a lot of time in the room it is quite good on the legs (provided it is correctly installed) & the darker shades definitely make a room feel warmer.

 

[tracir]

At our old house, we did laminate that looked like tile not wood. It turned out really pretty. And with babies toddling around- we worried about real tile and them falling. I agree that it was comfortable to stand on when doing a lot of cooking.

The lady that bought our house loved it also.

 

[rcraw45425]

WE have antique hardwood in all of our main level rooms except bathrooms and bed rooms. Our laundry, go figure, they had done in the Armstrong tile squares (older retired couple). We pulled it up and did the laminate wood ourselves. it looks awful and was a nightmare to install. We have a full basement under us so needless to say our floor is not level, not good with that stuff at all. Plus, it just feels "funny" when you walk, not solid like the oak flooring. Our neighbors had Pergo brand professionally installed by Home Depot, it was a nightmare. They had to have it ripped up and reinstalled (at HD's expense). I noticed not too long ago that it was gone and they had installed ceramic tile in it's place. The wife told me that just had a lot of issues with the laminate. Hopefully it's better now than when we installed it.

 

[Anne34]

We have had Pergo in our kitchen/foyer/half bath for ten years now. It has been wonderful with the dog and 3 kids. It doesn't sound like wood -- it is louder with the dog's paws, etc. It has held up really well even when our dishwasher overflowed on it. We had standing water that was quickly cleaned up. There is only one spot that is a little bubbled at the seem, but nobody notices except me.

It does have a ding where we dropped a can on it, but it is still fine and tile would have cracked. Go with whichever one you like the look of better.

 

[bullet875]

I have laminate and LOVE it! Water doesn't wreck it like it would hardwood, the dogs' paws don't scratch it, and when you drop stuff it doesn't dent. If you go with laminate just make sure you go with a durable one...there are different grades.

As far as looking fake, go with a darker wood and single planks. Most laminate is a thick plank that has the picture of several thinnker planks embossed on it...that's what looks fake. The planks in my kitchen are single planks...each plank only has the picture of 1 plank on it...so it looks more like real wood. We went with a brand called Berry in a cherrywood color and it looks great with our whitewashed cabinets and furniture.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

We have ceramic tile and love it.......

 

[Kate and Pete]

After our pipes burst and flooded our main living area (open floorplan!) we had to replace our floors. We actually went with Armstrong's vinyl flooring, BUT, it looks like wood laminate! (We're on a slab, and the slab actually is "wavy" in some spots...so laminate was out of the question since it couldn't lay flat...first house, we're learning!) It's amazing what they can do with that stuff. We went with a very high quality with a great waranty (actually USED the waranty this year after some heavy dog bones put nicks in it - got the flooring replaced for free by Armstrong). All our friends thought it was laminate before we told them!!! It's actually quite nice looking - and not very expensive at all! We got ours through Home Depot (which was a nightmare, and I don't recommend it at all!), but our local flooring places carry it as well!

Good luck!

 

[Gillian]

There are some really, really nice vinyl floors, and they will hold up the best. Ours looks a bit like stone tiles.

Laminate, as mentioned, can be a problem if you have a big spill or leak. It needs to be properly installed and sealed around the edges to minimize damage from even small amounts of water.

Ceramic tile needs to have the right kind of underfloor to make sure it goes in right and doesn't crack. It can look great but is a little harder to take care of than vinyl. It's also a regional thing - in the south you see more tile, in california you see travertine, etc. One of my neighbors here in NJ put tile on her whole first floor. That's weird here, but common in FL, GA.

 

[rockyroad]

I love the laminate fake wood flooring. I love it so much dh and I installed it ourselves. It looked wonderful until I pulled out the fridge and forgot to unhook the water line to the ice maker. Yup water everywhere due to not being able to close the line fast enough. My beautiful floor ruined. Dh was so upset over it that he won't even change it. I wanted to call the insurance company but dh nix that idea too. Floor wasn't too expensive anyways.

I do plan to replace the flooing sometime this coming year. Haven't decided what kind of flooring it will be yet.

HTHs

If it makes you feel any better, we had an ice maker flood while we were not at home and it ruins sheet vinyl too.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

We splurged and went with ceramic tile and love it. It was definitely pricey though- I think around $13/sq foot (which is ONE tile!) two years ago. If installed correctly, it should last forever! We also went with a little darker grout to match the tiles, so it doesn't look dingy when it's not freshly cleaned.

 

[If U Had Wings]

My brother laid Armstrong laminate over some the really hideous 70's laminate that was in my condo when I bought it 8 years ago. I love it! Not a ding or scratch anywhere. No it doesn't look 100% like real wood, but with real wood being out of my price range this was an adequate 2nd choice. I had planned on putting down linoleum, but am so glad my brother talked me into the laminate.

 

[ICan'tWait]

We're planning on having handscraped wood installed. Figured it would hide the dings from the kids but still give me the wood floor I've always wanted. Anybody have any experience with that?

 

[CEDmom]

When we built our house 18 months ago I knew I didn't want tile since I think it's really cold and not forgiving when something is dropped on it. With kids that was a big consideration.

We went with Armstrong vinyl which so much like tile that we've had people actually feel it because they didn't believe it wasn't tile.

It wasn't cheap though. There were many tile options a lot cheaper.

We love it though and it's so easy to take care of.

 

[Darcy03231]

I have ceramic tile and love it. Durable and easy to clean. We had radient (sp?) heat installed under it so its always nice and warm in the cold weather months.