Remodeling my kitchen - contemplating wood floors

[CPA]

What's everyone's thoughts on wood floors in the kitchen?

Currently, I have travertine tile in the kitchen and while it's pretty when new, it is very porous and fragile. Plus, keeping grout clean in a kitchen is difficult and time consuming. So I'm thinking of replacing it with wood.

it seems that wood is popular right now in kitchens and if done right looks good. But i worry amount spills leaking through and warping it and whether it can sustain heavy traffic (though that can be mitigated by the type of wood used).

Thoughts?

 

[dphantom]

I prefer tile. Had a dishwasher overflow once in a house with wood floors in the kitchen. Not good. Ended up replacing it.

 

[highland145]

I've got red oak. We use that door almost exclusively and, until recently, had a dirt drive so there was always sand tracked in. The floors held up surprisingly well.

Re did the kitchen 2 years ago, including the floors. And the fridge leaked water on them. The edges initially cupped but have since smoothed out...or I quite noticing.

I'm happy with them overall.

I had tile in the old house and the grout lines are a pain to keep clean. I hear that the epoxy grout is the way to go.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Tile is just very unforgiving. You can drop a plate on it from 1 inch away and it will shatter the plate.

 

[CPA]

Tile is just very unforgiving. You can drop a plate on it from 1 inch away and it will shatter the plate.

True, but with travertine, it's can be twice as bad. You can drop a plate, the plate will break, but chances are that the travertine will have a mark or break open an air pocket. And it's easily scratched.

 

[Booty]

We're having the same debate, though our kitchen remodel project is still a couple years off. The only thing going against wood as a choice is the potential for water damage - if we do go with wood, I'll definitely be purchasing quite a bit of extra material and be choosing a product that isn't too difficult to swap out damaged boards.

 

[edro]

I love wood floors. Choose real 3/4" oak and it is bullet proof.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Get wood. If a leak occurs, insurance will buy you new floors.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Everything I've heard from friends tells me not to do wood in the kitchen. Spills, stains...just a beautiful floor waiting to be ruined by the high traffic, preparation, spills, and moisture that the kitchen has. Personally, I'd never do it, but to each their own. MIL/FIL have wood in their lakehouse (70 years old) and their new house (2 years old) - they're insanely careful and don't have to worry about kids, pets, etc.

Everyone's individual choice though. You could always do the wood grain tile if you prefer the look, but don't want the hassle of wood and wetness. Of course if you do do it, don't go cheap...your floor installer and/or GC probably has recommendations.

 

[slag]

we have vinyl planking and love it. Looks good, no worries about water spills or ice cubes falling out of the door and sitting on the floor, etc.

Plus, its easy to clean.

 

[MixMasterTang]

My house has had wood floors (3/4" red oak as someone mentioned above) in the kitchen since it was built in 1993, while they could use refinished they've held up very well and still look pretty damn good. I've had plenty of spills and no warping of any kind. I think you would pretty much need to have the floors constantly soaked in water before they would warp.

With that being said I also like tile floors and if they are done properly should last a very long time too. I tiled my basement and people have knocked balls from the pool table off multiple times and no damage was done to the floors at all. A good grout sealer should keep you from having to clean the grout all of the time.

 

[UnklSnappy]

I like Cumaru flooring especially in a kitchen. Much harder than oak and much more beautiful imo. Also takes stain beautifully if you would like to alter the color of it.

Pic of some cumaru i installed.
20140509_152659 by bladerunnr40, on Flickr

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Only advice is not to put a dark wood floor in. I put an ebony scraped bamboo in my kitchen and dining room. It looked great but constantly looked dirty(dust etc) and any scratches from chairs/table really stuck out.

 

[highland145]

I like Cumaru flooring especially in a kitchen. Much harder than oak and much more beautiful imo. Also takes stain beautifully if you would like to alter the color of it.

Pic of some cumaru i installed.
20140509_152659 by bladerunnr40, on Flickr

Who the heck let the craftsman in with us noobs?

j/k sort of.


Those look very nice.

 

[Humpy]

I think wood floors in a kitchen are pretty nice. Regular wood strip flooring will most often return to it's original profile after drying out, so water leaks that are stopped relatively quickly aren't a huge concern IMO.

Personally, I believe in function over form, and the kitchen being essentially a workshop, I chose vinyl sheet flooring for mine. Every other room, except the bathrooms (vinyl), I installed solid red oak.

 

[shabby]

Tile is just very unforgiving. You can drop a plate on it from 1 inch away and it will shatter the plate.

On the flip side you'll dent your wood floor but have an unbroken plate? Not sure that's better.

 

[Zivic]

I have like $1.50 sq ft bamboo for 8 yrs. It replaced tile that I hated. Redid my kitchen last year and left the wood(bamboo). It has 'character', but has held up great. I farm and track all kinds of crud through my house.. + two dogs and a kid.

Forget tile. Way too much work if you want to replace it; and you will. That said, I kind of like the trendy wood style tile.

 

[MongGrel]

I'd go tile myself, but maybe that's just me.

Have tile in the bathrooms and kitchen, laminate everywhere else.

 

[Zivic]

On the flip side you'll dent your wood floor but have an unbroken plate? Not sure that's better.

Wood 'wears'. That is what I like about it. Tile look dated, where as a lot of wood products won't.

 

[Zivic]

Wood 'wears'. That is what I like about it. Tile look dated, where as a lot of wood products won't.

Progress pics of my remodel



This was during demo of the old kitchen

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

How about cork flooring?

 

[z1ggy]

Wood is definitely "in" right now for flooring choice. As long as you cleaned up any spills (and the floor had moisture barrier under it, and installed properly) I don't see much warping going on.

I have pergo in my kitchen and it has been fine. However, it's floating, so somedays when it's super cold out, I'll notice tiny gaps in some of the connecting joints.

I'd also go lighter color as well. On top of dark wood showing scratches easier, it will also make the kitchen look smaller and less inviting. The only time I think a darker wood looks good, is if the kitchen itself is already very light, ie, white cabinets & counters, etc.

 

[CPA]

How about cork flooring?

I actually have cork in my bedroom and master closet. Installed it myself. While i love its look, moisture and bug resistance, it does not hold up well with traffic.

 

[NutBucket]

We have wood-look tile in the kitchen. First time people see it they think it's wood.

 

[Zorba]

I had a house with 3/4" red oak with polyurethane on it, held up really well and looked great.

My current house house has wood look-a-like tile. It looks nice, but I prefer the real wood. The tile shows dirt/scratches/dog hair a lot worse than the wood did.