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The Best Kitchen Flooring Choices
from: Maxx Home GuidesWhen building or renovating a home one of the most important concerns is the area flooring of the interior. The interior home flooring is often determined a success only if you have a fabulous kitchen floor.
Kitchen flooring is certainly the most integral part of any home since the kitchen is where much family activity takes place, even more than the family room or porch. The kitchen is where the family wakes-up, where hubby and wife often find themselves alone, where the relatives share a recipe, where you have a nice chat with your guest, where the children peep to mom asking what she's doing while the teens ask what's for dinner. The kitchen flooring is thus subject to more wear-and-tear which means the active kitchen flooring must be strong and durable.
The best and most commonly used kitchen flooring are stone, ceramic tile, vinyl, linoleum, and concrete -- all for some very good reasons. The sheets and squares and tiles in the living room, dinning, or porch may have been popular because it achieves a recognizable style in the over-all look of your home, yet this won't get though if these materials weren't first laid on the kitchen floor.
Vinyl is ‘resilient' because it can bounce-back into shape and adds a cushiony and warm-feel to an otherwise cold kitchen. Vinyl has a protective no-wax coating or a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) surface making it best for a usually stained and cleaned kitchen floor. Choosing vinyl gives you many choices of colors and patterns, no worries about discoloring the floor due to water, no-maintenance beyond sweeping and mopping, plus it resists scratches and stains from kids and pets.
Preferably laid over plywood (like vinyl), Linoleum can be as durable as vinyl. It's quiet, smooth, elastic, comfortable and low-maintenance and, unlike vinyl, it's sturdier and environment friendly since it's made of natural materials. However, Linoleum, has fewer colors and patterns than vinyl and standing water can damage it. Both flooring typse range from $1.25-$5.50/sq. ft. yet aren't totally damage and stain-resistant. Dirt can accumulate underneath which may cause peeling.
Granite, marble, and slate stones are more tough and durable, and you can use them over a radiant heat-system. Although it's expensive, from $7-$100/sq.ft., you'll need to apply sealants periodically to prevent stains, replace chipped stones, plus the light-colored grout in between stone tiles will show stains and dirt. However, the elderly and children may be disadvantaged as it can be slippery, and it's not very warm and comfortable unless you use mats or throw rugs.
Tiles in turn are less expensive, from $1-$100/sq.ft., and just as durable and suitable for radiant heat. You'll have more sizes, patterns, and colors to choose from, and glazed tile resists staining and doesn't require special cleaning the way stone do. Tiles, however, like stone can crack and can be dangerous (slippery un-textured glazed tiles) and uncomfortable.
Concrete kitchen flooring is more stain-free because it doesn't have in-between slabs requiring grout cleaning. It's the most average-priced at about $15-$20/sq.ft., just as durable and suitable for radiant heat, while also having available more sizes, patterns, and colors to choose from. Yet, it requires stronger under-floor support due to heaviness, still requires a sealer/glaze to prevent staining, and is not free from the danger and uncomfortable flooring problem.
Pick your choice. Kitchen flooring should first be practical and safe, before it's attractive and charming. The best material for your kitchen flooring should be chosen carefully according to safety, durability, and then cost and style. After all, if you have a clean and comfortable kitchen, then you also have a very charming one.
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